The Lakeside Trail at Bull Shoals-White River State Park (Baxter and Marion Counties, near Yellville and Mountain Home) is a short but scenic trail with great views of Bull Shoals Lake.

It is an easy and scenic 1.1-mile semi-loop trail. The initial spur is .1 miles and the loop is .9 miles.

About half the loop is close to the shore line with lots of nice views of the lake.

Note: Parts of the trail may be inaccessible due to high water when the Bull Shoals Lake water level is very high.

Getting to Lakeside Trail

The Lakeside Trail starts at the picnic area by the south end of the dam.

If you are heading to Bull Shoals-White River State Park from Yellville (about 17 miles), take Highway 412 east. After 4 miles, take Highway 178 heading east. Highway 178 takes you all the way to the park (via Flippin and the city of Bull Shoals). Cross over the dam. Right after the highway curves left, the picnic area on the left.

If you are coming from Mountain Home, take Highway 5 north to the community of Midway. Then get on Highway 178 heading west (by the Dollar General). The park is 9 miles ahead. The picnic area is the first thing on your right once you enter the park.

There is parking here. The trailhead is marked and on the right (east) end of the picnic area.

The Trail

The initial spur is just .1 miles. On my most recent hike, I turned left at the loop to take it clockwise and do the lakeside part of the loop first.

Once on the loop, it is just a short downhill walk until you are fairly close to the lake. This part (the north side) of the loop generally heads northeast following the shoreline. There are a lot of nice lake views on this stretch, some of them pretty wide open.

There is an overlook area at around .5 miles with a bench and some very nice views of the lake (mostly facing west and north).  You can see Bull Shoals Dam pretty easily from here. It is less than a mile away.

At the overlook, you are nearly at the end of a small peninsula. Shortly after this point, the trail curves and starts heading back (the south side of the loop) mainly in a southwest direction.

From the wooded and scenic south side of the loop, you still may be able to see glimpses of the lake in the distance.

There is a bit of uphill climbing on this part of the loop, but the elevation change on the trail is only about 75 feet.

At around 1 mile, you are back at the initial spur. Take a left to head back to the trailhead.

Final Notes

The trail has yellow blazes. It was in pretty good condition when I hiked it in September 2016. There was a little overgrowth, but it was not bad.

I had AT&T cell signal on the whole trail.

These photos are from my hike on September 11, 2016. It was the same day I made this visit to the Big Bluff Trail.

Photo Gallery

Click below for full-screen photo gallery.

Map

Bull Shoals: Lakeside Trail
Location	Bull Shoals-White River State Park (near Yellville), Baxter County, Arkansas
Hike Length/Type	1 mile semi-loop
Difficulty	Easy (1 of 5)
Other Permitted Usage	Pets on a leash.
Gpx file by Mike	Link
Date Hiked	September 11, 2016
Directions	Google Maps Directions to Lakeside Trailhead
Official Info	(870) 445-3629 Website Official Bull Shoals-White River Trail Brochure (pdf)

Last revised: 8-16-2021.

The post Bull Shoals: Lakeside Trail – 1 mi appeared first on Arklahoma Hiker.

Bull Shoals-White River State Park is a beautiful park in north central Arkansas on the border of Baxter and Marion Counties, near Yellville and Mountain Home.

The park run along both the White River (below Bull Shoals Dam) and Bull Shoals Lake. The visitor center overlooks the dam.

One of the park’s best trails is the Big Bluff Trail, a 1.7-mile hillside semi-loop with a very nice White River overlook.

Getting to Big Bluff Trail

To get to Bull Shoals-White River State Park from Yellville (about 17 miles), take Highway 412 east. After 4 miles, take Highway 178 heading east. 178 will take you all the way to the park (via Flippin and the city of Bull Shoals).

If coming from Mountain Home, take Highway 5 north to the community of Midway. Then get on Highway 178 heading west (by the Dollar General). It’s about 9 miles further.

When you are in the park, head down Powerhouse Road toward the campground.

Just a bit past the campground, there is a parking area on your left next to a small field. The trailhead is at the back of the field.

The Trail

The trail is made up of an initial .2-mile spur and then a 1.3-mile loop, making for a total hike of 1.7 miles.

The trail starts on a flat wooded area that runs next to the campground. It then makes a left turn and crosses Powerhouse Road.

Trails on hills are cool. To me, they are visually appealing, and the climbing (or descent) makes for a more interesting walk. Almost all of this hike is sloped.

When you get to the loop, take a left to take the loop clockwise.

Pretty much the first (north) half of the loop is uphill climbing with the second (south) half heading downhill.

The first part of the loop mostly follows a ridge running parallel to the White River. At around .5, there is a very nice overlook over the White River.

Note of caution: Be very careful in the overlook area. A fall could be fatal or result in serious injury.

The big hill on the opposite side of the river to the left is Bull Shoal Mountain. There is a lookout tower and a radio tower on top.

After the lookout, the trail continues climbing uphill. In places, you may be able to see the river some more through the trees.

The trail’s high point is at around .9 miles. Here, it levels out, curves around, and then starts heading back downhill. The downhill part is a little steeper than the uphill climb.

I think rocks add a lot of beauty and character to a trail. This one has a number of somewhat rocky areas, particularly in the hillier parts.

Final Notes

The elevation change on the trail is about 260 feet. I rated the difficulty as mildly challenging (2 of 5).

The trail was easy to follow and in good condition when I last hiked it on September 11, 2016. It had yellow blazes.

These pics are from that hike.

I had AT&T cell signal the entire time.

Photo Gallery

Click below for full-screen photo gallery.

Map

Bull Shoals: Big Bluff Trail
Location	Bull Shoals-White River State Park (near Yellville), Baxter County, Arkansas
Hike Length/Type	1.7-mile semi-loop
Difficulty	Mildly challenging (2 of 5)
Other Permitted Usage	Pets on a leash.
Gpx file by Mike	Link
Date Hiked	September 11, 2016
Directions	Google Maps Directions to Big Bluff Trailhead
Official Info	(870) 445-3629 Website Official Bull Shoals-White River Trail Brochure (pdf)

Last revised: 6-25-2021.

The post Bull Shoals: Big Bluff Trail – 2 mi appeared first on Arklahoma Hiker.