If you’ve spent much time in the Buffalo River area, you’ve seen pictures of Hawksbill Crag (aka Whitaker Point). It is one of the most photographed spots in the area, and with good reason.

The hike to Hawksbill Crag is a short one, and it is relatively easy. Getting to the trailhead is a bit trickier.

Directions to Hawksbill Crag (Whitaker Point) Trail

The trail is in the part of the Upper Buffalo Wilderness Area (Newton County) that is in the Ozark National Forest.

To get to the trailhead from Ponca, take Highway 43 south from Ponca toward Boxley. When it merges with Highway 21, take the southern route and continue on to Boxley. Right before you cross the Buffalo River, there is a gravel road on the right called Cave Mountain Road. (It may not be marked.)

Turn right onto Cave Mountain Road. You’ll know you’re at the right place when the gravel road heads up, seemingly straight up. This is a rough, rocky, steep road. I will note that we’ve made the trip many times in our 2-wheel drive car without problems, but never when the road was wet and potentially slippery.

The road will eventually level out. Continue on Cave Mountain Road for a total of 6 miles; it will feel like a lot more.

When you pass the Cave Mountain Church and cemetery, you’re just a bit more than a half-mile away.

At 6 miles, you’ll come to a small parking area marked “Wilderness Access.” Find a spot to park here, or on the side of the road if the lot is full.  The trail starts out on the opposite side of the road from the parking lot.

Hiking Hawksbill Crag Trail

This is a heavily used trail, so following it should not be difficult. It starts off down the hill. (Getting back up this hill at the end of the hike is the toughest part of the hike.)

After going down a bit, the trail eventually levels out.

At about the 1-mile mark, the trail dips down a bit and crosses a small stream.  If there is water flowing in this stream, there is a nice little waterfall down to your right over the bluff. This waterfall is called Haley Falls – named after a six-year-old girl who got lost from her group in this area for 3 days and 2 nights. She was eventually found near here.

If you go down to the bluff, there is a tree there that can help you get down to the upper version of this falls (and more importantly, back up).

There is a lower version of the falls that I’ve never been down to because we usually do this hike in October when the leaves are turning and the views here are so tremendous. But there is seldom much water here in October.

As you cross the stream, you have an option to turn left or right. Both trails lead to the Crag.

To the left, the trail heads up on a higher path, farther into the woods and away from the bluff line.

The trail to the right heads right along the edge of the bluff line.

While the upper path is a very nice hike, we usually take the path to the right and come back on the other route.  If you go to the right, the next half-mile is filled with interesting rock formations, great views of the Upper Buffalo Wilderness Area, and a lot of places to stop for a snack or just to soak it all in. (Hitting this area in late October when the trees are in full color is just breathtaking).

Note of caution: As always, be very careful around bluffs because of the risk of a dangerous or fatal fall. A drop from this bluff would be several hundred feet and would likely be fatal.

After a half-mile of bluff top views, you reach the Crag. The views from here are incredible. There are also a lot of little places to get pictures of the Crag itself.

Again, when you venture out on the Crag, be very careful. A fall would likely be fatal.

After taking time out here to enjoy the area, head back the way you came in. When it starts getting steep, you’re getting close to the trailhead.

Final Notes

As an out-and-back hike, the total length is about 2.8 miles.

I rate the difficulty of the hike as mildly challenging (2 of 5), only because of the hike out.

This trail, unlike most in the Buffalo River area, does allow dogs on leashes.  If your dog is the type that will pull you trying to chase a critter, this may not be the best path to take them on.

For footwear, I recommend hiking boots or trail runners.

You can read more about the trail in Tim Ernst’s Buffalo River Hiking Trails. 

These photos are all from our October 16, 2010 hike.

Photo Gallery

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Map

[A version of this post was originally published on December 26, 2011 in the blog “Exploring Northwest Arkansas.”]

[Last updated: 10-22-2019]

The post Hawksbill Crag (Whitaker Point) Trail (Ozark Forest) – 3 mi (o&b) appeared first on Arklahoma Hiker.

Hawksbill Crag/Whitaker Point (Newton County, Upper Buffalo Wilderness Area, Ozark National Forest) is among the most visited and photographed spots Arkansas — and for good reason. However, deep in the valley below Whitaker Point lies a beautiful valley formed by Whitaker Creek. During wet season, there are an abundance of waterfalls that are not visited nearly as often as the popular bluff above.

This area has been on my list for a while, but awaiting the right weather conditions (times of high water and leaf-off are best) has been key.  The area proved to be worth the wait. There are no formal trails here, but when we visited on January 2, we found everything we were looking for without much problem and without a GPS. (We did have the help of a guidebook.)

I suspect reaching these areas in the late spring or summer when the undergrowth has grown up would be a challenge.

Getting There

From the community of Ponca, take Highway 43 south through the Boxley Valley, then turn left (south) onto Highway 21. Just before you cross the Buffalo River bridge in Boxley, turn right onto Cave Mountain Road.

Cave Mountain Road is a very steep, very bumpy road although 4-wheel drive is not required during most weather conditions.

Once you get to the top of the mountain, you will pass Cave Mountain Church at 5.4 miles. The Whitaker Point trailhead is at 6 miles. It is then another 1.1 miles to the “Upper Buffalo Wilderness Boundary” sign. Park along the road here making sure to not block the road from passing traffic.

For approximate Google Maps directions to the Whitaker Point (Hawksbill Crag) trailhead, see this link.

The Hike

The “trail” starts off directly behind the sign and heads straight down the hill. Again, there is no official trail, so just pick your way down the hill as best you can. If you are headed down, you are heading the right way.

We hiked this on January 2, so there wasn’t a lot of undergrowth. We found it to be pleasurable enough hiking on the way down. The hike back up was a bit harder.

At about .3 miles, we reached Whitaker Creek. It runs the length of the valley. You will be following the creek the rest of the way.

As soon as we got to the creek, we immediately saw a waterfall coming in from our left from a side drainage. We checked out Unnamed Waterfall #1. I was also glad to see this falls because it made for a nice marker for when we would need to go back up the hill to get to our car.

From here, Amber Falls was just a few hundred yards upstream, which was to our right. Amber Falls is a very nice 18-foot waterfall that tumbles into a nice pool below.

Amber Falls is named for Amber Ernst. Her father, Tim Ernst, has spent a significant amount of his life exploring the wilderness of northwest Arkansas and documenting it through a series of guidebooks that help people explore and truly enjoy this area.

The trail map to get to these falls is in his book Arkansas Waterfalls.

After enjoying some time at Amber Falls, we turned and went back downstream past Unnamed Falls #1.  A short distance downstream from there we hit another drainage coming in from our left.

Just up this drainage was another unnamed waterfall — Unnamed Falls #2.

From here, we continued following Whitaker Creek downstream. Again, there is no official trail here, but we found following the creek to be pretty manageable and to be very scenic.

The beech trees were really glistening off the reflections of the water on this beautiful winter day.

After about 1 mile (from the car), we arrived at a series of cascades. These cascades are just upstream from Compton’s Double Falls and are very scenic.

The second cascade even comes off at an angle forming an interesting diagonal cascade.

This point is essentially at the top of Compton’s Double Falls. However, the best views are from the bottom, so finding the way down is important.

Note of caution: As always, be very careful around bluffs because of the risk of a dangerous fall. 

From here, we went to the left of the creek as we went downstream. This path goes along the top of the ridge for about 300 yards or so high up on the bluff above the falls. Be very careful as the path here follows very close to the edge.

Eventually, the bluff line started heading downward, and then there was a break that allowed us to get to the bottom of the bluff line. Head down here (again, be careful, this is pretty slick) to get down around creek level.

Once you get to the bottom, you will need to cross Whitaker Creek and head back upstream 300 yards to get to the base of Compton’s Double Falls.

Compton’s Double Falls only runs as a double when the water is pretty high, but it is a beautiful falls that pours 39 feet into a blue pool. It is a fabulous waterfall and canyon area that is very peaceful.

It is named for Neil Compton, one of the advocates that fought to keep the Buffalo River as a natural, flowing river. It was his vision that helped preserve the river and wilderness that we all enjoy.

When you are done at Compton’s Double Falls, there is one more falls to check out as you head back. Literally, 20 feet beyond where you came down the hill to get to the bottom of Compton’s Double Falls, there is another creek that flows in from the right side of the creek (when facing downstream). Follow this creek a hundred yards upstream, and you will get to Owl Falls.

Owl Falls is roughly 20 feet tall and is a fantastic cascading waterfall. I think this one is prettier than my photos indicate as the sun wasn’t my friend at the time of day we were there. (It was directly behind the falls).

There are more waterfalls downstream, but as daylight was running short, we had to save those for another day. From here, we went back the way we came.

Final Notes

It is about 2.1 miles round trip to the top of Compton’s Double Falls. It is .75 miles if you only go to Amber Falls.

Because there is no trail here and the footing is iffy at times, it will feel longer than that. From a timing perspective, there is a lot to enjoy here, so leave yourself plenty of time to explore.

I rate the difficulty of this hike as strenuous (4 of 5). For footwear, I recommend hiking boots.

For a guidebook, see Tim Ernst’s Arkansas Waterfalls.

These photos are all from our January 2, 2016 visit.

Photo Gallery

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Last revised: 3-15-2020.

The post Compton’s Double Falls, Amber Falls, Owl Falls (Ozark Forest) appeared first on Arklahoma Hiker.

In all my years of going down to the Buffalo River area, I’ve never met anyone who has been to Magnolia Falls, or for that matter, ever heard of anyone even mention this falls. Thus, this waterfall may be the best kept secret in the Buffalo River area.

The falls is in southwest Newton County in the part of the Upper Buffalo Wilderness that is in the Ozark National Forest. There is very easy vehicle access to the trail head and a well-defined trail that is relatively easy to follow.

To get to the parking area, head on Highway 21 to the area between Mossville to the north and Edwards Junction to the south. About 2.5 miles south of the Mossville Church (or 1.8 miles north of Edwards Junction), take County Road 6 (aka Forest Road 1462) to the west.

There is no sign here, but it is a pretty significant gravel road. If you follow your odometer, you should know it when you see it. (For approximate Google Maps directions to this area, follow this link.)

Once you turn west onto CR 6, about .3 miles down the road is a pull-off area for parking. There is a sign on the left side of the road noting “Wilderness Access.” Park here on your right, and enter on the trailhead to your right.

The trail mostly follows an old jeep road. You will pass a couple of campsites, and then several trees that have fallen over the trail that you’ll have to navigate around to continue on your way.

I was a bit concerned about the trail condition at this point, but now I think they have been left there to prevent people driving jeeps down the trail.

After a short stretch you will see a trailhead register.

The trail crosses a creek bed and then a place where the trail seems to split. Take the spur to the left.

Soon you will pass by a stone wall that was built by early settlers in the area. Eventually that wall turns into some interesting rock formations that, if you look closely, have more rocks on top of them as a continuance of the stone wall. It’s an interesting stretch of trail.

The road descends a little, but not steeply. Then at about 1 mile, the trail crosses another little creek bed.

As soon as you cross the creek bed, the trail splits. The main trail continues straight here (and if you follow it, it can eventually lead you down into the valley and back up to the bottom of Woods Boys Falls). But to get to Magnolia Falls, turn left here along the spur trail that follows the creek bed. When we were last here, someone had made an arrow out of rocks on the ground to point in that direction.

As you turn left on the spur trail, you will follow the creek bed gently down. Shortly, the creek hits another larger creek. At this point, to your left will be Magnolia Falls. You can view it from above or scramble down into the valley for a lower-level view of it.

To the right, just a few yards downstream is Woods Boys Falls. It’s a tough angle to photograph from up top, so I’ll have to make a return trip this spring to get some of it from below.

Magnolia Falls itself is a very interesting 26-foot tall waterfall that pours into a great little pool of water. The area around Magnolia Falls is very scenic beyond just the falls itself with some great bluffs and rock features. There was quite a fair amount of water flowing when we were there in spite of it not being terribly wet up to this point this winter. Plus, the cold and snow had created a lot of great ice features for our viewing.

Note of caution: As always, be very careful around bluffs because of the risk of a dangerous fall. 

If you venture around the top of the bluff above Woods Boys Falls, you will also get a great look into the Boen Gulf area and its spectacular bluff lines — especially in winter when  the leaves are off the trees.

There is a volunteer trail along here that is also easy to follow, but be safe since it travels the bluff line and it is a sharp drop down in many places.

If you go far enough (maybe another .25 miles), there will be a way to scramble down through the rocks to get to the base of the valley below.

This is a great little area, and we are so happy to have found it.

Final Notes

It is about 2.1 miles round trip to Magnolia Falls, but plan on spending some time and energy exploring around the area.

I rate the difficulty as mildly challenging (2 of 5).

As for footwear, I always recommend hiking boots in winter weather.

Tim Ernst covers this waterfall in Arkansas Waterfalls and in the Boen Gulf Access part of Buffalo River Hiking Trails — although “Buffalo River Hiking Trails” doesn’t specifically help in finding the waterfalls.

These photos are all from our hike on December 30, 2012.

Photo Gallery

Click below for full-screen photo gallery.

[A version of this post was first published on January 1, 2013 on the blog “Exploring Northwest Arkansas.”]

Last revised: 4-20-2020.

The post Magnolia Falls (Upper Buffalo Wilderness, Ozark Forest) appeared first on Arklahoma Hiker.