Yellow Rock Trail at Devil’s Den State Park (southern Washington County, Arkansas) is one of my favorites.  It’s a 3.1-mile hike with beautiful views and a lot of really cool rock formations.

These are some fall foliage pics I took on November 5, 2017.

My full trail profile is here.

Photo Gallery

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Last revised: 9-17-2019.

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Along with the Yellow Rock Trail, the Devil’s Den Self-Guided Trail is a trail you must see when visiting Devil’s Den State Park (southern Washington County, Ark.). There are wonderful rock formations and a great seasonal waterfall on this 1.2-mile trail.

It is not a difficult walk. The elevation change is only about 100 feet.

Check out my full profile of the trail here.

These are additional photos from my November 5, 2016 with a few pics of Twin Falls taken on July 10, 2016.

Photos

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[Last revised: 12-1-2019]

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The Devil’s Den Self-Guided Trail (Devil’s Den State Park, southern Washington County, Ark.) is one of the coolest state park trails in Arkansas. The rock formations and the seasonal waterfall on this short trail are wonderful.

It’s not a difficult trail. It’s about 1.2 miles long, and there’s not much of an elevation change (about 100 feet).

(At present, the namesake Devil’s Den Cave is closed to the public due to white-nose syndrome.)

Getting to the Trailhead

For most people (coming from north or south), to get to Devil’s Den State Park you should take I-49 to Exit 45 (Winslow exit). Head west on Highway 74.

At about 7 miles, the highway heads into the state park.

There are two trailheads for Devil’s Den Self-Guided Trail, both with some parking. I usually start at the west trailhead behind the visitor center. (The other one, a little to the north, is by the bridge over Lee Creek.)

The Hike

From the west trailhead, you go down some stone steps to the trail. At about .1, you come to the junction with the spur from the north trailhead. Stay right.

This is a well-traveled trail that is easy to follow. There are red blazes. It was in very good condition when I was last there.

The coolest thing on this trail (besides the waterfall, when flowing) are all the great rock formations. One of these is a little past .1 where there is rock formation shaped like a small theater.

At around .2, you get to the main loop. Stay on the right (taking the loop counterclockwise).

Shortly after this, the trail makes the climb up to the area of the Devil’s Den Cave. (The cave is presently closed to prevent the spread of the White-Nose Syndrome fungus among bats.)

Another really cool area is just ahead on the trail. At around .4, there are large crack openings in the ground, referred to as the “crevices.”

Note of caution: There are some large drop-offs at the crevices and other places. Be careful in these areas. A fall could result in serious injury. 

The Devil’s Ice Box, at around .5, is another highlight. This cave entrance gets its name from the cool air you can feel here, especially during the warmer months. (Exploring into the cave is not permitted at present, but it is a great spot to stand and take in the cool air.)

Twin Falls

Twin Falls is at around .65. Most of the year it doesn’t have any significant water flowing, but when it does it is beautiful.

There are some really cool eroded rock bluffs on the trail leading up to the falls.

The main flow is on the south end (with an adjacent wooden bridge), but the north one which you will come to first is also really cool.

Even when the water is not flowing, this is probably the most scenic area of the trail as there are some really nice wide open views in the waterfall area.

After the falls, the trail makes switchbacks down hill and then curves southwest (left) making its way back toward the trailhead. This part of the trail follows along Lee Creek which is also very pretty.

At around .9, there is a spot where the trail makes a turn to the left. You will probably see blazes turning left and continuing straight at this point. I recommend turning left here to finish the loop and get back to the initial spur. (If you go continue straight, you end up having to walk along the highway a little it and then come out by the north trailhead.

Shortly, you will be back where the initial spur connects to the loop. Turn right here to head back to the trailhead.

Final Notes

Most of these photos are from a very nice hike I had on November 5, 2016. There was still a good amount of fall foliage left on the trees. Twin Falls was pretty dry at that point, so I have also included here some pics of the waterfall I took on July 10, 2016.

When I last did the trail, I had virtually no AT&T cell signal the entire time.

While at Devil’s Den State Park, you might want to also check out the Yellow Rock Trail.

Photo Gallery

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Map

[Last revised: 12-1-2019]

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Yellow Rock Trail at Devil’s Den State Park (southern Washington County, Arkansas) is one of my favorite trails. This 3.1-mile semi-loop hike has beautiful views and wonderfully interesting and scenic rocks formations.

The trail is a semi-loop with two major spurs. The opening half-mile spur connects then to a largely triangular-shaped loop.

At the west end of the loop, there is a .3-mile spur over to the CCC Overlook. Including travelling both spurs, the hike length is 3.1 miles.

It’s a moderately challenging hike with some significant climbing and an elevation change of about 400 feet.

For my money, the highlights of the hike are: (1) the Yellow Rock bluff; (2) the CCC Overlook; and (3) the cool rock formations in the initial spur.

Getting There

For most people (coming from north or south), to get to Devil’s Den State Park, take I-49 to Exit 45 (Winslow exit). Head west on Highway 74. At about 7 miles, the highway heads into the park.

Continue through the park until you cross the bridge over Lee Creek. Take the first right turn after the bridge.

The marked trailhead is about a tenth-mile on this road. There is parking on the right.

The Hike

The trailhead is almost right next to a parking area.

The first .4 miles of the trail is my second favorite part of the hike. In the first area, there are some cool large boulders, apparently which had fallen from the bluffs up above.

In one stretch, there is a giant rock slab on the right. Then the trail heads over to the base of a large rocky bluff where the trail hugs a wall of rock with interesting protruding rocks.

The trail then turns into a fairly steep uphill switchback area. Near the top of the switchback area are a couple of very nice vista areas.

Note of caution: As always, be very careful around bluffs because of the risk of a dangerous or fatal fall. There are no rails on this trail.

At about .5, you arrive at the loop. (Sometimes there is a sign here, but there was not on my last hike.) I usually take a right here to take the loop counterclockwise. This is also the direction toward the Yellow Rock bluff. (Some people just hike to the bluff and then back.)

At about .8, there is a large scenic stream bed. Of course, it most attractive during wet times with water flowing, but this area with its cool rocks is an enjoyable sight any time of year.

At about .9, the trail reaches the Yellow Rock bluff. (There’s actually a spot a little ways earlier where you can see the bluff from a distance.) This is a wonderful and large bluff overlook. There are great views of the Ozark Mountains and Lee Creek Valley.

If you have children with you, be sure they do not get to close to the edge of the bluff. Again, there are no railings here. A fall would likely result in serious injury or death.

After the bluff, the trail continues on heading uphill. At around 1 mile, there is a cool stone staircase. In this area, the trail turns and starts heading west for a little while and then turns heads mostly south.

There is another crossing of that stream at around 1.3 miles (same stream as we crossed earlier below).

At around 1.7, after descending a set of stone stairs, the trails hits another fork. (No sign when I was last there.) Here, you would turn left to continue the loop or turn right to go to the CCC Overlook. I recommend taking the .3-mile spur to the overlook. There are several wooden footbridges along this spur.

The CCC Overlook is a cool spot. (It is also accessible via Highway 170.) The pavilion here was built by the Civilian Conservation Corps in the 1930s. It was renovated in 2000. There also is a cool east-facing vista here facing the park.

After seeing the overlook, turn around and head back down the spur until you reach the loop again. Turn right to continue on the loop.

From here, the trail heads northeast back toward the initial fork. This stretch largely follows a ridge line. During leaf-off there are a number of views through this area, but there are not many when the leaves are out.

When you get back to the fork, turn right to head down the mountain and return to the trailhead.

Final Notes

I had about 60% AT&T cell coverage. The coverage was all in the higher elevation areas.

The trail was in very good condition as usual. This is a frequently travelled trail with white blazes.

These photos are all from my recent hikes on June 25 and September 3, 2016.

While at Devil’s Den State Park, you should also check out the Devil’s Den Self-Guided Trail (with Twin Falls).

Photo Gallery

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Map

[Last updated: 10-28-2019]

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