Indian Creek Trail

Hey guys I just got back from doing the Indian Creek Trail in the Ponca Wilderness. The trail head is in Kyles landing, and if you are up for a little bit of climbing, it is a loop trail of about 8-9 miles. I did it all today with 3 of my friends. It is a primitive trail and is not marked, you MUST look for the trail at all times. The first half of the trail follows Indian Creek, and has some pretty cool views of some caves and bluffs. Near the end of the first half is the Arkansas Cave, the mouth is shaped like Arkansas and is apparently filled with endangered bats. The last half includes some pretty steep climbs, the first is almost straigt up at first and then goes to a steep incline up to a cave where you will work yourself around and crawl through a big tunnel to get to the other side. Do not worry there is plenty of room. From there you go down just a little bit until you make it to the Eye of the Needle, you can either climb through the Eye, or climb around it. Either way it is steep, and with the fall foliage all on the gound, very slippery. You then climb to the ridge line and follow it back around to the main trail of the Buffalo River Trail. The climbs can be intense and a little scary for beginners, but my friends wife did it no problem with a little coaxing. I posted some pics in my gallery for all the want to look.
Dwight

Eddie and I talked about the Indian Creek Trail when we were around there last month. I think it is a little technical and challenging for my tastes right now, but my goal is to work my way up to getting to the point where I can do that one. Thanks for the report!

Great trail one of the most scenic spots in AR!!!


Lew

When I went on the Indian Creek hike we started up by Hammerschmidt Falls ( I believe) and then came down. We turned right off of the main road as your going to Ponca onto a little gravel drive just past HCR.

I met some guys that came in from that spot, we just made a big loop when I did it.