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.

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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.

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The post Hobbs: Hidden Diversity – Bashore Ridge Loop – 4 mi appeared first on Arklahoma Hiker.

Glory Hole Falls is one of the most unique waterfalls in the Ozarks. The waterfall is formed by a stream that flows through the ceiling of an overhang cave.

When the water is really flowing, the hike to this unique adds to the spectacular appeal of this short trail.

Getting to Glory Hole Falls Trail

The Glory Hole Falls trail is in Newton County in the Big Piney District of the Ozark National Forest.

This is a well-maintained trail, much of it following along old jeep roads. However, there is no official trailhead and no official parking area.

The trailhead is off of Highway 16, about 5.7 miles east of Fallsville. The trailhead is about .5 miles east of a red barn on the north side of the road with a large white “E” on its side. The trail is on the right (south) side of the road.

You should notice a large dirt/gravel area on the side of the road which is used as a parking area.

There is now some good signage here that indicates an official trail head for the “Glory Hole” which has made access more visible and added to the popularity of this trail. V

The Trail

The trail starts off down an old road for a stretch and then hits a trail intersection. Take the road to the right, which then curves to the right and drops down a pretty steep slope. (It won’t feel like much going down, but you’ll definitely notice it more coming back!) Eventually, you cross the stream that leads to the falls. If the stream is really moving here, you’re in for a real treat at the falls.

The main trail stays up high from the creek, but there is a place where you can venture down and follow along the main creek to the falls itself. This pathway is a bit rougher than the maintained trail above, but there are some gorgeous smaller waterfalls and cascades along this stretch that themselves would be worth hiking to.

After about a mile, you get to the top of Glory Hole Falls.  You can get pretty close to the hole itself, but the rocks around the area are very slick. Be very careful here. Falling in this area could result in serious injury.

After taking a few pictures from the top of the falls, you can loop around and venture down to the bottom of the falls.

When the water is high, there is also a nice little waterfall here. (The sixth picture on this page is of my wife Michelle, squatting down next to the top of that waterfall.)

As you loop back around to the right, you get to the base of the Glory Hole Falls and can see the water pouring through the hole above.

This really is one of the most spectacular waterfalls in the area. Its height is about 30 feet and the uniqueness of it flowing through a hole literally burrowed through rock is very impressive!

Plan to spend a little time in the area. We usually like to pack a picnic lunch and hang out here for a bit before heading back up the hill to the car.

The hike out is tougher (and more uphill) than the hike down, but it’s not too bad. Seeing this amazing and unique waterfall area is well worth the 2-mile round trip.

Final Notes

The day I took most of these pictures in May 2011 we had high water after a previous day of rain.

I would strongly recommend checking out this area during the rainy season (winter and spring) for the best water flow.

As for footware, I recommend trail shoes or hiking boots, although tennis shoes would be fine.

Below are some pics of the trail that Mike took in June 2014 and December 2020.

You can read more about this falls in Tim Ernst’s Arkansas Waterfalls.

Check out these posts for more photos (and video):

• Glory Hole Trail (Ozark Forest) in Winter
• Glory Hole Falls Trail (Ozark Forest) Summer Pics
• Glory Hole Falls Trail (Ozark Forest) Winter Pics
• Glory Hole Falls (Ozark Forest) Video Winter

Photo Gallery

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A version of this post was originally published on June 16, 2011 on the blog “Exploring Northwest Arkansas.”

The post Glory Hole Falls Trail (Ozark Forest) – 2 mi (o&b) appeared first on Arklahoma Hiker.

One of the interesting things about spending a lot of time in Northwest Arkansas is that we get to do some of our favorite hikes multiple times. Each season brings a different perspective on the hikes, and that makes them special in their own unique ways.

Spring brings high water and gushing waterfalls, summer brings a host of wildflowers, autumn brings the beautiful fall foliage, and winter brings great views with the leaves not being on the trees and blocking views. So things like bluff lines and the river that are often not able to be seen from trails are viewable.

The combination of great views, snowfall, and ice make winter one of our favorite times to hike in the Ozarks.

These are some winter pics we took in December 2012 of the Glory Hole Falls Trail (Newton County, Ozark National Forest). There was a light dusting of snowfall.

The trail profile for this hike with map and directions is here.

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A version of this post was originally published on March 19, 2013 on the blog “Exploring Northwest Arkansas.”

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