Suggestions for places to go in Ozarks.. 1st time in Arkansas

Got lucky and I'm off work all next week on vacation! I'm in the Memphis, TN area, but love the mountains (went to college in western NC area and can't get enough of it!). I am wanting to go on a backpacking/camping trip in the Ozarks while I have some time off. However, I am not familiar with Arkansas at all. Driven through a time or two and that's it. I want to hike 3-6 miles into a campsite, camp for the night, and then head out. There's a possibility I could make it a 2-nighter and hike more, but I'm not sure yet - have lots of other stuff to get done next week as well.

Any suggestions of a good place for remote backcounty hike-in camping withing a 5 hour drive of Memphis? Directions, where to park, etc?

Thanks!!

Eagle Rock Loop in western Arkansas, just northwest of Glenwood, Arkansas. It is a 26.8 mile loop through the Ouachita Mtns and is a great trail to hike. Lots of water to cross, but well worth it. Most hike this in 3 days.
The Butterfield Loop in western Arkansas just north of Ft. Smith at Devil's Den State Park is another great loop trail. It's 15.5 miles long and is an easy 2-day loop. Very scenic and very nice.
If I had to choose between the two and had the time, I'd pick Eagle Rock.
For more information on both, including topo maps and directions on getting there, go to www.ouachitamaps.com and click on the different trails.
Good luck and let us know which one you hike.
UL

Just to throw this into the mix, check the link that UL gave you for Ouacitamaps.com and check out recent trail conditions. You will find it marked in red on the lower right side of the page. There are recent trail reports there for the Eagle Rock Loop.

My wife and I are planing on going into the Caney Creek Wilderness Area and doing some trail work on the Weekend of Oct. 24, 25 and 26. This is in the same area as the ERL. This trail sees quite abit of traffic and might be worth your wile some time also.

Thanks for the info, I appreciate it. Meant to get back on here sooner, but family has been here visiting and we've been painting my house. Almost done, thankfully. Anyway, I think I'm going to go with the Butterfield loop.. not sure I'm up to a 3 day hike, even though I really want to do that one.

Anyone know how crowded it'll be Wednesday & Thursday? Or maybe Thurs & Fri? How plentiful is water on the Butterfield? Will I need to pack in a bunch of water or can I just use a filter?

Thanks for the info; it's been a big help!

Wednesday and Thursdays are not very crowded at all, Friday afternoon you will begin to see more people. I NEVER worry about water there. The trail is between 2 well flowing creeks that always provide plenty of water. I usually carry a liter with me all the time, and fill up when I can. Use your filter and you will be fine. Take it easy and if you want company for a Thursday-Friday hike let me know. I a dieing to go out

Dwight

Hey TDI,

I emailed the park asking about how crowded the trail will be, they seem to be slow to respond to the few emails I've sent so far, also, I'm pretty sure I'm going up friday morning to do a Friday, Saturday, Sunday morning hike taking it slowly to enjoy the surroundings. The only thing that may hold us back is the rain, watching the weather patterns I've got a feeling it's going to end up raining Thurs, Fri, and Sat instead of Wed and Thurs.

Well, now with the weather, I'm not sure what I'm going to do. I kinda need to be back by mid-afternoon Friday; got plans for the weekend. Am I'm not exactly interested in willingly going out in the rain. So, I guess I'm going to keep a close watch on the weather and see what happens.

Don't let me bum out your trip plans, i'm an analytics man not a weather man and the weather up there is way different than down here in Little Rock! maybe Snowball or Preacha who live up that way will have some better weather insight!

Well, who knows.. the weather report has now changed. 60% chance of rain tomorrow and 20% Thurs and Fri. I'm going to keep checking it tonight and if it gets better, I may leave out in the morning so I can be back for weekend obligations.. would be nice not to have to rush back on Friday.

How'd it go?

Luke,

Did you read mine and Jays report? any way it went well, Jay went ahead and got twisted around and probably saw some backcountry that I havne't seen since the 70's! We did a lot of work and got quite a few miles of trail cleared.

OH

luke102280 wrote:How'd it go?

I had a blast! Due to the long ride from Memphis, I really had to hoof it to get to Junction camp before dark. According to the GPS, I did 11.1 miles in 3hrs & 32 mins.. w/ a 25lb pack. had a few bonus miles due to me overlooking blazes, leaves on the trail, etc. I've never been so happy to see mile marker #9! Got to Junction with just enough sunlight left to put up my tent and gather enough firewood for the evening. Filtered some water and then cooked right at sunset as I was quite hungry. Then got the fire going.. nice and hot, but was a pain to get going since everything was still damp from the rain the day before. I heated a good sized rock by the fire, wrapped it in a tshirt, and put it in my sleeping back. Between my self inflating mattress and the hot rock, I slept great! Nearly 10.5 hours haha.. finally got up and cooked breakfast, packed up, and hit the trail by 10:30 or so. Took it easy for the last 5-6 miles out; got back to the car at 1pm. Ended up doing the Butterfield in right at 24 hours round trip. Didn't plan to go that hard, but the weather, daylight, and weekend plans made it necessary to step it up a bit.

Took lots of pics.. check 'em out at https://s56.photobucket.com/albums/g168/srvblues00/ButterfieldHike/

Oh, and there's still a fair amount of 4" diameter logs left at the 2nd campsite @ Junction that burned in half.. I was too tired to stay up and watch all my wood burn. Was passed out by 9pm. Cool air & the sounds of the crickets & river makes for some good sleeping. Also lots more wood at the top of the spur trail going down the hill to camp. Just drag it downhill with you as you go in.

Just wish I wasn't 6 hours away from that area.. would love to do it again soon, but it's just about too much unless I take a day off work for a long weekend.

Great shots guy, if you camped here




then I used those leftover logs friday night.
Glad you had a good trip, sounds like you didn't have my troubles finding those blazes like I did. I'll post my pictures later this week

I always stop at that place and rest for a while. The kids that I usually take think that it is cool, if I remember right it is just before mile 5, or a little past mile 10 if you are going the other way. Wonderful place.

Dwight

Yep thats it! I could camp there everytime, the sound of the babbling waters, and the excellent wind protection make it a great place in the cooler weather, I'd LOVE to see it when the water is up and really flowing down the stream there.