There are two unique loop hikes in the Pedestal Rocks Scenic Area in the Ozark National Forest (north Pope County). One of these is the 1.8-mile Kings Bluff Loop Trail.

This trail features great rock formations and spectacular overlooks. And during the wet season, you can see the 114-foot King Bluff Falls, one of the tallest in Arkansas.

Getting to Pedestal Rocks Scenic Area

To get to Pedestal Rocks Scenic Area, take Highway 7 to the community of Pelsor (28 miles north of Dover, and 28 miles south of Jasper). Turn east (left if coming from the north) onto Highway 16.

Stay on Highway 16 for 6 miles. Watch for the Pedestal Rocks Scenic Area sign on your right.

There is parking there and a pit toilet.

Kings Bluff Loop Trail

The trail heads out just behind the pit toilet and crosses a small bridge. Very quickly the trail splits. To the right is the Kings Bluff Loop, to the left is the return of the Kings Bluff Loop or the start of the Pedestal Rocks Loop. Take a right for Kings Bluff Loop.

The trail starts off into the wooded area and is on the level for a bit. Then eventually it starts to descend.

The trail winds through several switchbacks until eventually, at about .8 miles, it comes to a large (and I do mean large) rock bluff. This is Kings Bluff.

There is definitely more to see here than just the bluff, but be sure to check out the bluff for a while.

To the right is a creek that when the water is flowing well forms the spectacular Kings Bluff Falls off the bluff.

Note of caution: Be very careful around the numerous bluffs on the trail. A fall could be fatal or result in serious injury. 

There is a small fence here on the bluff, but it is more of a visual barrier than something that would prevent you from falling.

The view from here is pretty amazing — particularly during October when the leaves are turning.

From here, the trail takes continues to the left. It curls around the edge of the bluff and then turns to the right.

As you make the turn, there is an unofficial path that heads to the bottom of the bluff that you can follow if the water is really flowing and you want to see the waterfalls from below. If the water is flowing well, there are 2 smaller waterfalls that can be seen below in addition to Kings Bluff Falls. We didn’t head down there on our most recent trip because there was very little water.

Eventually the trail splits. The branch to the left heads straight back into the woods. The one to the right continues along the bluff line. The right one is a much more scenic path, but  be very careful around the bluffs.

Along this stretch, there are a lot of cool rock formations and more great views.

Enjoy. Soak it in.

After following the bluff a little further, the trail will start to curl back into the woods and start to gradually head back up the hill.

At around 1.7 miles, the trail reaches a 4-way juncture. Taking a right or going straight will put you on the Pedestal Rocks Loop Trail.

Take a left to complete the Kings Bluff Loop Trail. The parking area is just another .1 miles from here.

Final Notes

As far as trail difficulty, I rate this one as moderate (3 of 5). The elevation change on the trail is nearly 300 feet.

Tim Ernst profiles this trail in his Arkansas Hiking Trails guidebook.

As for footwear, I recommend trail shoes or hiking boots.

The photos are from my hikes on December 2, 2013 and October 23, 2017, except for the waterfall pics which Mike Newman took on May 13, 2017.

Photo Gallery

Click below for full-screen photo gallery.

Map

[A version of this post was first published on December 21, 2013  on the blog “Exploring Northwest Arkansas.”]
Last revised: 9-21-2019.

The post Kings Bluff Loop Trail + Falls (Ozark Forest) – 2 mi appeared first on Arklahoma Hiker.

The Pedestal Rocks Scenic Area in the Ozark National Forest (north Pope County) is a spectacular recreation area with two unique loop hikes.  These hikes can be done separately for short afternoon trips, or together for a longer day hike.

One of these is the Pedestal Rocks Loop Trail, a 2.4 mile semi-loop hike, which features some great pedestal-shaped rock formations and some spectacular overlooks — and a lot of extra exploring opportunities for the adventurous.

Getting to Pedestal Rocks Scenic Area

To get there, take Highway 7 to the community of Pelsor (28 miles north of Dover, and 28 miles south of Jasper). Turn east (left if coming from the north) onto Highway 16.

Travel 6 miles on Hwy 16 and look for the Pedestal Rocks Scenic Area sign on your right. There is parking there and a pit toilet.

Pedestal Rocks Loop Trail

The trail starts off behind the pit toilet and across a small bridge.

You will immediately come to  fork in the road. Go left for the Pedestal Rocks Trail. (To the right is the King’s Bluff Loop Trail.)

The trail will head down a bit and go down nine stone stairs.

At about .1, the trail will fork again. Stay straight. (To the right is the return of the King’s Bluff Loop. To the left is the return of the Pedestal Rocks Loop.)

The trail will head out on the level and go through a nice little forest of pines. After a bit, the trail will begin to descend, and then turn right, and then sharply back left again. (There is a wooden post at this sharp left.)

From here, the trail is level for a while. To your right is a big view and the spectacular bluff line you are here to see (and it gets better from here).

Note of caution: Bluffs can be very dangerous. There are no rails on the bluffs so be very careful near bluff lines. 

Shortly after the trail levels out, there is a small volunteer trail that heads to the bluff. Take it. This view from the bluff off this volunteer trail includes one of the “pedestal rocks” that the trail is named for.

Back on the main trail, you’ll follow along the bluff for a bit, with great rock formations and views all around.

At about 1.1, there is a road trace that comes down and joins the trail from the left. At the point where the road meets, just to the right is one of he easiest places to go down below the rock bluff and see some of the cool stuff that is below. If you’re up for some exploring, go down below and look around a bit.

Below the Bluffs

There are no maintained trails below the bluff, but it’s easy to follow and explore. To the right is a walk-through cave that is regularly used for camping, and there is another smaller cave.

There are two “needle eyes” that you can also scramble through, and eventually you’ll get back to the bottom of the first “pedestal” we saw.

As you can see, we had an awful lot of fun climbing and exploring.

To the left are more caves and rock formations.

One especially large cave has several spectacular views from it.

If you keep going in this direction you get to yet another “pedestal.”

Once you are done exploring below the bluffs, you can climb back up the way you came down and continue on the trail.

Back on the Trail

The trail continues out along the bluffs for a while with more great rock formations and more great views.

The trail begins to turn to the left as you follow the bluff line back toward the parking area.

After following the bluff line for a bit, the bluffs begin to disappear and you’re back in the woods.

A little further, you’ll see a large natural bridge (or arch rock) on your right that is big enough to drive a car through. It is worth checking out.

Finally, you’re back on the trail and heading back up the hill.

At about 2.2, the trail finally intersects with the trail you started on. Turn right to finish back at the trailhead. (Or you can go straight ahead to do the Kings Bluff Loop Trail.)

Final Notes

I rate the difficulty of the hike as moderate (3 out of 5).  The net elevation change is about 250 feet.

I recommend wearing trail shoes or hiking boots.

For more info about the trail, check out Tim Ernst’s Arkansas Hiking Trails.

Check out Mike’s photos from his November 2014 hike here.

Map

Photo Gallery

Click below for full-screen photo gallery.

Pedestal Rocks Trail (Ozark Forest)
Location	Pope County (near Newton County), Ozark National Forest, Arkansas
Hike Length/Type	2.4 miles, semi-loop
Difficulty	Mildly Challenging (2 of 5)
Other Permitted Usage	None
Gpx file by Mike	Gpx file link
Date Hiked	12-2-2013
Directions	Google Maps Directions to Pedestal Rocks Scenic Area
Official Info - Phone/Links	(870) 446-5122 (USFS Big Piney Ranger Dist., Jasper) USFS Website Trail Map Flyer (pdf)

[A version of this post was first published on December 23, 2013 on the blog “Exploring Northwest Arkansas.”]

[Last revised: 4-21-2020.]

The post Pedestal Rocks Loop Trail (Ozark Forest) – 2 mi appeared first on Arklahoma Hiker.

Pedestal Rocks Trail and the Kings Bluff Trail are in the Pedestal Rocks Scenic Area at the north end of Pope County (close to Newton County) on Highway 16 near the community of Pelsor.

Pedestal Rocks Trail is a 2.3-mile semi-loop hike that has some climbing, but it is not all that challenging. (See the full trail summary here.)

There are a couple of great overlooks on the trail, but the real highlight are the erosion-made pedestal rock formations near and adjacent to the bluff lines at the south (lower) part of the trail.

One thing to be aware of is that you can only see the top of some of the pedestal rocks from the trail itself. To get a full view of some of them, you would need to (carefully) go a little off the trail.

Caution: as always, be very careful around bluff lines.

I had a great hike there back on November 2. There was some nice fall color and great afternoon sunlight.

These are a few of the pics I took that afternoon. Check out the full-screen photo gallery below.

The next three shots of the pedestal rocks were all taken slightly off the trail. You can see the tops of the rocks depicted from the trail.

Photo Gallery

Click below for full-screen photo gallery.

Last revised: 6-28-2020.

The post Pedestal Rocks Trail (Ozark Forest) Fall Pics appeared first on Arklahoma Hiker.

As talked about in this post, I had a nice visit to the King’s Bluff Loop Trail back in late January.

Here are a few additional photographs that I took at that visit.

The post King’s Bluff Loop Trail Photos (Ozark Forest) appeared first on Arklahoma Hiker.