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.

This is a cool 2.1-mile segment of the Ouachita Trail Section 4 that is pretty accessible, not difficult climbing, and a good length for a day hike (4.2 miles as out-and-back). It is in both Scott and Montgomery Counties, a little bit east of Y City.

And the rocks and boulders along the way are a treat.

Getting to the Forest Road 48 Trailhead.

There is a trailhead with a small parking area right next to where the trail crosses Forest Road 48.

To get there from the northwest or southwest, turn off of Highway 71 at Y City and head east on Highway 270.

From there you go about 11.7 miles and then turn off the highway on the right onto a gravel road. (Don’t expect any signage here.) This is Scott County Road 375 aka Coachlite Road aka Buck Knob Road.

After about 1.8 miles, there is a split where the Coachlite/Buck Knob Road continuing straight and Forest Road 48 goes to the left. It is just before this split that you should see the FR 48 trailhead on your left. That is the place to park for this day hike.

The Hike

The Ouachita Trail crosses Forest Road 48 near this trailhead (probably within 50 yards). It was pretty well marked when I last walked it.

This segment goes up and then along the north side of most of Rockhouse Mountain. It starts (on the west end) in Scott County, but most of it is in Montgomery County.

There is definitely some climbing on this segment but not a huge amount. The west end of this segment is a little over 1,400 feet above sea level. The east end is just under 1,400 feet. The high point is about 1,630 feet.

All the times I have done this segment it has been nearly or completely leaf-off. There are some pretty views to the north and northeast between the trees during leaf off.

Once you are in the higher elevation area, at times you can see a large west-east ridge to the north which is Mill Creek Mountain. Further on, to the northeast, you can see part of Brushy Creek Mountain fairly close. (The trail heads to that mountain as it goes further to the east.)

I am a big fan of hills and rocks on trails. This segment is not that rocky, but there are a number of nice parts of it with rocks lining the trail and also with medium and large boulders near the trail. These are very enjoyable.

At about 1.7 miles into this segment, the trail makes a left turn and heads downhill (northward) off of Rockhouse Mountain. For the last quarter-mile or so, the trail is on a road trace.

This stretch ends when you get to the junction with Forest Road 813. Watch for the signage. (There is also a sign indicating a Rockhouse Trail. Sometime I would like to check that one out.)

So if you are they hiking it like I did, this is your turnaround spot.

Final Notes

As always on the Ouachita Trail, follow the blue blazes.

The trail was in good condition (thanks to the FoOT volunteer trail maintainers) when we did our hikes in November 2021 and January 2022. I’m not sure the mile markers were all in place, but it was well blazed and pretty easy to follow.

I had AT&T cell signal about 80% of the time.

These photos are mostly from my November 22, 2018 hike. A few are from my more recent hike on January 29, 2022.

Photo Gallery

Click below for full-screen photo gallery of these images from my hikes on November 22, 2018 and January 29, 2022.

Map

Last revised: 2-21-2022.

The post Ouachita Trail: 88.2-90.3 – FR 48 to FR 813 on Rockhouse Mtn. (Section 4) appeared first on Arklahoma Hiker.

The 3.9-mile Cattail Pond/Rough Canyon Trail Loop at Robbers Cave State Park (near Wilburton, Latimer County) is a very scenic and enjoyable hike. It takes you through beautiful forested areas of the San Bois Mountains and by picturesque streams during the wet season.

My full profile of this hike is at this link. These are some additional pics from my October 30, 2020 hike. We enjoyed some very nice fall foliage that day.

Photo Gallery

Click below for full-screen photo gallery of these and more pics I took on my October 30, 2020 hike.

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