If you have been in an Arkansas state park store lately, you might have noticed something different.

Rather than shirts promoting that specific park, you will notice that almost all the new merchandise just features the generic official ASP logo, with the specific park name relegated to small letters—if it is mentioned at all.

So you may be thrilled to hike the vistas of Mount Magazine, love the waterfall beauty of Petit Jean, or be dazzled by the diamond-hunting experience at Crater of Diamonds, but the only new t-shirt available to commemorate your trip is probably a generic ASP logo shirt.

While store shelves may still hold older, not-yet-sold traditional inventory that promotes individual parks, nearly all the new apparel is just the ASP logo shirts.

I have nothing against the official ASP logo. It’s a great design! But visitors to Petit Jean should be able to buy a shirt boldly promoting Petit Jean (or whichever park) and not just the state system.

Could you imagine if you make a trip to Grand Canyon National Park and they have no shirts boldly promoting that Grand Canyon? Sounds pretty crazy, right?

If you are an Arkansas state park fan like me and you would like to see Arkansas state park stores return to stocking shirts which proudly promote their individual parks, send your constructive feedback to the Arkansas Department of Parks, Heritage, and Tourism:

• Email: parks.info@arkansas.gov
• Phone: 1-888-287-2757

By the way, all the information here is based on my own observations from visiting various Arkansas state park gift shops this year and from speaking directly with staff about current shirt availability.

The post The Great Arkansas State Park Shirt Genericization appeared first on Arklahoma Hiker.

There is nothing like the drama and beauty of a waterfall at flood stage!

Back on April 4, 2026, following a period of heavy rain, I headed up to northwest Crawford County, Arkansas, to check out Natural Dam Falls. This stunning 187-foot-wide natural rock wall spans the entirety of Mountain Fork Creek.

Typically, like here, you’ll just see some flow at just a few sections of the rock wall.

Not on this morning.

The recent downpours had caused the creek to be roaring! In fact, the volume of water completely covered the low-water bridge on Natural Dam Road just south of the falls.

 Since the road to get across was impassable in that area, I just stayed on the east side (closer to Highway 59).

These are some of the shots I got that morning.

Photo Gallery

Click below for full-screen photo gallery.

The post Natural Dam Falls Flood Pics (Ozark Forest) appeared first on Arklahoma Hiker.

The 6-mile War Eagle Valley Loop of the Hidden Diversity Trail is a cool and scenic hike at Hobbs State Park-Conservation Area (Benton County, near Rogers). The overlooks near War Eagle Creek are a real treat.

As with most trails at Hobbs, there is not a lot of elevation change. The high and low point elevation change is about 200 feet.

Getting to the Townsend Ridge Road Trailhead at Hobbs State Park

This hike starts from the Townsend Ridge Road Trailhead, an access to the Hidden Diversity Multi-Use Trail.

To get to Hobbs from Rogers, take Highway 12 and head east for about 10 miles.

Watch for Townsend Ridge Road on your right (to the south). It is .9 miles past the Historic Winkle Trailhead parking area. Turn here. Then drive 1.9 miles. You will see the parking area on the right.

This hike starts on the west side of the parking lot.

The Hike

This is about a 6.3 mile hike. It is a loop except for an initial .3 miles spur which gets repeated at the end of the hike.

You first take the spur to the War Eagle Valley Loop. Take a right at the first loop you come to. Briefly you are also on the Little Clifty Creek Loop.

The trail then will cross Townsend Ridge Road (which you drove in on). Then you are at the War Eagle Valley Loop. I usually take a right to do the trail counterclockwise.

The vast majority of this hike, including the first mile or so, is not rocky and is not that challenging to hike. (There is some climbing in parts though.)

The coolest part of this hike is in the War Eagle Valley overlook area. The valley overlook is at around 1.4 miles. The War Eagle Fair is one of the most popular events in northwest Arkansas. From here, there is an overlook of the scenic valley where this craft fair is held.

Sometimes the view is partially blocked by foliage. The best viewing time is during leaf-off, but there still is a nice view of the valley when the leaves are out.

About another .4 miles past that overlook is the prettiest view of the hike–the War Eagle Creek Overlook. Here there is a beautiful wide open view of a bend in War Eagle Creek. If you have been to the War Eagle Mill, this is the creek that runs next to the mill.

At around 2 miles, there is a pretty cool area that goes for about a half mile where the trail heads downhill into a long hillside stretch that overlooks part of a seasonal stream bed. Of course, this kind of area is even prettier when the water is flowing.

One thing that I’m not a fan of with a lot of the trails at Hobbs is that often they will find a ridge and then stick to it for a long time instead of climbing up and down which would be more interesting. (Probably that works well for mountain biking though.)

But then there are areas like this stretch of War Eagle Valley Loop where the trail actually does climb into and out of some valleys making for an interesting and scenic hike.

At around 4.7 miles, the trail hits the junction with Little Clifty Creek Loop. At this point you make a left turn, and the hike is also Little Clifty Creek Loop the rest of the way.

Most of the rest of the hike runs parallel to and not that far from Townsend Ridge Road.

At around 6 miles, the trail arrives back at the initial spur. Take a right here to get back to the Townsend Ridge trailhead parking area.

Final Notes

I had AT&T cell coverage about 75% of the time on this hike.

These photos are all from my November 7, 2020 hike.

Photo Gallery

Click below for full-screen gallery of these plus more pics from my November 7, 2020 hike.

Map

The post Hobbs: Hidden Diversity – War Eagle Valley Loop – 6 mi appeared first on Arklahoma Hiker.

Bashore Ridge Loop hike is an enjoyable and mildly challenging 4.1-mile hike at Hobbs State Park-Conservation Area (near Rogers, Benton County, AR). The highlight is the beautiful Beaver Lake overlook.

The Hidden Diversity Multi-Use Trail is a complex of loops and spurs in the west part of Hobbs. This hike does one of those loops.

Getting to the Hidden Diversity Piney Road Trailhead at Hobbs

The hike starts via Piney Road Trailhead. To get to Hobbs from Rogers, take Highway 12 and head east for about 10 miles.

Watch for Piney Road on your right (to the south). Turn here.

The trailhead parking has 2 paved lots about a mile down this road. You can park on either side. This hike starts on the right (west) side.

The Hike – Initial Spur and Loop North Side

Both the Bashore Ridge Loop and Dutton Hollow Loop start from the west side of the Piney Road Trailhead.

Many of the trails at Hobbs seem to have been laid out with mountain biking in mind in that they spend a large amount of time staying on a fairly level ridge and less time of (more interesting) hill climbing.

This hike has some nice views of surrounding valleys, but it almost entirely avoids going into any of them. Nonetheless, it is a scenic and enjoyable hike.

The terrain in this area–primarily rolling hills–does not have a huge amount of elevation change.

Be sure to look at some of the nearby valley/ravine areas on the hike. Of course, they are more visible during leaf-off.

At around .6 miles, the initial spur ends, and you reach the spot where you need to take a left to do the Bashore Ridge Loop. About 20 yards after this, you arrive at the loop part. I usually turn right to take the loop counterclockwise (i.e., doing the north side first).

On about half of the loop, the trail is fairly level as it winds in and out following the ridge contours.

At around 1.3 miles on the hike, the trail starts working its way downhill toward the lake overlook.

At around 1.5 miles, there is a stretch I like where the trail goes along a hillside.

Lake Overlook

The spur for the lake overlook is at around 1.8 miles. It’s about a .1 mile walk down to the overlook. It’s about a 75-foot descent.

With its 270-degree view, the lake overlook is the visual highlight of the trail.

The bigger view of the lake is straight ahead. And there is a northeast inlet to the right and a southeast inlet to the left.

Caution: The spur down to the lake is quite steep. Be very careful.

South Side of the Loop

After climbing back up from the overlook spur, take a right to continue on.

Over the next mile or so, the trail works its way uphill about 175 feet in elevation. The climb here on the south side of the loop is slightly less steep than on the north side.

As before, be sure to take in some of the ravine/valley views to the right (more visible during leaf-off).

At around 2.7 miles (not including the .2 miles on the overlook spur), the trail becomes fairly level again.

At around 3.3 miles, you are back at the initial spur. Continue straight (or right) to return to the Piney Road Trailhead.

Final Notes

Overall, the trail was in great condition and easy to follow. Hobbs does a great job of keeping their trails maintained. Much of the trail is covered in gravel which helps the trail stay in shape, but be careful for loose gravel when heading downhill.

The difference between the maximum and minimum elevation points is only about 250 feet. (It’s over 300 feet difference including the overlook spur.)

I had AT&T cell coverage about 80% of the hike.

These photos were all taken on a hike I did on October 17, 2020. There was some nice fall foliage that day. September 24, 2022 was my most recent hike here.

Photo Gallery

Click below for full-screen photo gallery.

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Map

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