The 2.2-mile stretch of the Buffalo River Trail (BRT) from the Ponca low water bridge to Steel Creek Campground is a very scenic and enjoyable half-day hike. It is 4.4 miles as an out-and-back hike.

This stretch features some nice overlook vistas with river views, seasonal waterfalls, and wonderful bluffs and rock formations.

This is a small part of the Ponca-Kyles Landing section of the BRT. The entire section is about 9.9 miles.

Getting to the Ponca Low Water Bridge Trailhead

To get to the trail, park at the Ponca low-water bridge and then walk out across the low-water bridge to the small parking area on the other side. Just past that parking area, the BRT heads off to the left and the right. The route to the right will take you to Boxley (11 miles).

To go toward Steel Creek, take the route downstream to the left.

The Hike

The trail starts off right along the Buffalo River and after a short stretch goes under the new highway bridge that crosses the river. Right at the spot where you cross under the highway bridge there is a little trail that leads down to an overlook on the river — a very nice little view.

Back on the main trail, it continues along the river for a while. There is another spur off to the left that again heads down to the river. I usually take these spurs just as a method of exploring.

As you continue up the hill a bit, you will get to yet another overlook. This is a great view with the river making two turns in front of you and a bluff in the background.

This is also a challenging stretch of the river for canoeists. (Michelle and I had an epic wipeout at this turn a while back.) So when the water is up and canoeists are on the upper Buffalo, it’s fun to watch people go through here and share in their joy as they make the corner.

As you continue on the trail, it eventually turns to the right a little and heads up the hill. There is about a 200-foot elevation change here, so it’s a pretty significant trek up. (The cumulative elevation gain on this 2.2-mile stretch is a little over 600 feet.)

There are also a few small streams to cross over here. None are challenging or wet crossings, but they make some interesting water features during high water. There is one water flow that we are looking forward to checking out after a hard rain.

As you head out across the higher part of the trail, you are inward from the bluff line a bit– high above the Buffalo River. During leaf-off, there are some spectacular views from up here. During late spring and summer, the leaves will block most of the great views.

Eventually, you’ll head back down the hill again through some really nice rock bluffs and features.

As you get to the bottom of the hill, you are near the Steel Creek Campground. At one point, there is a short spur off to the left. It goes to the campground and the campground bathroom (and running water).

Continue straight ahead for a few hundred yards, and you will eventually cross the paved road that heads from the highway to Steel Creek.

At this point, you’re at 2.2 miles. You can continue across the road to head to Kyles Landing, or walk down to Steel Creek and check out the valley and Roark Bluff. (It’s right in front of you. You can’t miss it.)  

Steel Creek Campground is a great area along the river that is heavily travelled and includes a horse trailer parking area.

When you’re done here, you can turn around and head back the way you came. It’s another 2.2 miles back (and another 600 feet of elevation gain). (The net elevation change between the low and high points is about 320 feet.) Note: the initial climb out of Steel Creek on the way back is easily the steepest and most challenging of the hike.

Final Notes

I rate the difficulty of this hike as moderate (3 of 5). For footwear on this hike, I recommend trail runners or hiking boots.

Although the Buffalo River area is beautiful year around, I think the most scenic time is during high water from November to April.

Most of these photos are from our hike on March 17, 2012.

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[This post was originally published on May 2, 2012 on the blog “Exploring Northwest Arkansas.”]

Last revised: 5-12-2021.

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The Buffalo River Trail (currently) is an approximately 40-mile trail running from Boxley to Pruitt along the Buffalo National River in Newton County.  There are several additional sections along the middle part of the Buffalo that do not connect with these initial 40 miles on the upper Buffalo.

Additional parts of the trail are under construction, and it will eventually span nearly the entire length of the river.

While I have never hiked a portion of the Buffalo River Trail that wasn’t thoroughly amazing, the short hike from the Steel Creek trailhead to the Steel Creek overlook is among my favorites. It’s a great hike to an amazing view of the river.

Getting to the Steel Creek Trailhead

The trailhead is near the Steel Creek Campground, a few miles east of Ponca.

To get there from the west, take Highway 74 east from Ponca for about two miles. The road curves up a steep, windy hill. At a very sharp u-curve, the campground entrance is on your left. There are signs, and it is well marked.

Take the paved road down the hill toward the campground. When you get to the bottom of the hill, the pavement ends. To the right is a horse camp and river access. To the left is the campground.  Find a place to park here at the intersection.

Walk back up the paved road about 100 feet to where the Buffalo River Trail crosses the road. Turn left and start the trail here, heading east toward Kyles Landing.

(Taking the trail to the right (west) would take you to Ponca. My post about that hike is here.)

The Trail

The trail is nicely maintained and heads into the woods and starts to gradually go up some stairs. You will be able to see the horse camp to your left, and a steep hill and some nice, small bluffs off on your right.

The trail continues for a while, pretty high above the horse camp and the ranger station. The trail then swings right and heads back into a drainage area.

There are a lot of large rocks back in this area that make for some nice scenery.

Past the drainage, the trail heads back down the hill.

At about .5, the trail gets low into the Steel Creek Valley. (Steel Creek flows into the Buffalo River just downstream — the area is a popular swimming hole in the summer) The trail swings sharply to the right upstream on Steel Creek and away from the river. The trail goes past a fire pit and through an open area (with a couple of power lines that go to the ranger station) and then back into the woods again, past a another primitive campsite.

This would definitely make a great place to spend the night!

At .6, the trail turns left and crosses Steel Creek. When we hiked this in early July 2014, we were able to rock-hop across the creek here without getting wet, but I can definitely see how during the very rainy season this would be a wet crossing — so be prepared for that.

After crossing Steel Creek, the trail heads up the hill and to the right, continuing upstream. This begins the 400-foot climb to the overlook.

The trail continues up, fairly steeply, and then makes a complete turn to the left. At this point, during high water, there is the makings of a very nice, large waterfall just down the hill in front of you. There is no trail to it, and it could be pretty steep, but on a wet day it’s probably worth checking out.

Continuing on the trail as it curves to the left, it continues heading uphill. The trail eventually cuts through a series of very large rocks. This is a great stretch of trail that we really enjoyed.

Then, at 1.4 miles, you get to the overlook. And it is amazing.

At roughly 450 feet above the river, there is a great view of the Steel Creek Campground area, as well as some fantastic views of the Buffalo River as it continues downstream and winds through the valleys among a series of large bluffs.

I highly recommend spending some time and enjoying the view. They don’t come much better than this.

Note of caution: Always exercise extreme care around bluff areas. A fall could result in serious injury or death.

After enjoying the view, you can turn around and make your way back west to where you started at Steel Creek Campground.

If you continued east, it is another 6.5 miles to Kyles Landing.

Final Notes

This is a really great hike to one of the best views in the Buffalo River area. It would probably be much more popular if it were a stand-alone trail rather than a section of the Buffalo River Trail.

As for footwear, I recommend trail shoes or hiking boots. During the wet season, be prepared for a wet stream crossing.

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

Shelley’s post about the Ponca to Kyles Landing hike is here.

These photos are all from our hikes on July 3, 2014 and October 29, 2018.

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[A version of this post was first published on October 17, 2014 on the blog “Exploring Northwest Arkansas.”]

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The Koen Interpretive Trail (Newton County) is short trail that is easy to get to and easy to hike.

The trail is in the Henry R. Koen Experimental Forest, an 800-acre research forest in the Buffalo National River area that is managed by the U.S. Forest Service. It was created in 1950 with the goal of studying plant life in the south Ozarks and understanding sustainability of the forests in the area.

Directions to Koen Interpretive Trail

The trail is easy to get to, as well as to hike. From Jasper, take Highway 7 north for 4 miles to County Road 79 (gravel) (aka Erbie Campground Road). (There is a sign pointing you to Erbie Campground.) This is about 2.5 miles south of Pruitt.

Go west on County Road 79, heading toward the Erbie Campground.

At .4 miles, turn right where the sign indicates to head to the Koen Interpretive Trail. The parking area and picnic spot are about 200 yards down this road.

The Trail

The Koen Interpretive Trail is a short, .25-mile loop through the Koen Interpretive Forest. There are also a couple of short spur trails here that connect the different sides of the loop. If you take them all, it will be about .4 miles total.

The trail is a nice, flat, packed trail, that is handicapped accessible. This is a good trail for folks of all ages.

Along the trail, there are 34 different types of trees and plants that are well-marked to help you recognize both native and non-native species. There are also many different types of wild flowers and bird species in the forest.

There are plenty of sitting areas, as well as a nice little picnic area at the trailhead that help make this a great way to spend some time outdoors with the family.

With the same outing, you can might also want to check out the Ponds Trail, another family friendly trail just down the road.

Final Notes

Any kind of footwear should work fine on this trail.

As for difficulty, I rate it as easy (1 of 5).

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

These photos are from my April 20, 2013 visit to the trail. The bottom 3 were taken by Mike Newman on April 3, 2017.

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[A version of this post was originally published on April 29, 2013 in the blog “Exploring Northwest Arkansas.”]

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At 209 feet tall, Hemmed-in Hollow Falls (Buffalo River Upper District, Newton County near Compton) is the tallest waterfall between the Appalachian Mountains and the Rocky Mountains.  While the hike isn’t easy, it is very popular as hikers are eager to see this towering beauty of the falls, and the Compton trailhead is easy to get to.

While the trail to the falls is usually in good condition, at 1,300 feet of elevation change, the hike is not for the faint of heart. But a breathtaking waterfall and secluded canyon await those who make the challenging 5-mile out-and-back hike (2.4 mi each way).

Getting to Compton Trailhead

To get to the Compton Trailhead, go to the community of Compton (8.3 miles north of Ponca on Highway 43) about 15 miles southwest of Harrison. Turn east on the gravel road immediately across from JB Trading Co. (Watch for the sign.)

After about 1/10 of a mile, turn right onto the gravel road and follow it .8 miles and then turn right onto another gravel road. (There is a sign here.)

The parking area and trailhead are just up the hill.

By the way, the nearby JB Trading Co is a fantastic establishment in Compton. They make a great sandwich, and also have maps, trail guides, outerwear, socks, camping supplies and virtually anything you need to make your hike and camp a success.

The Hike

There are two trails at the trailhead — the one to the right is a horse trail that heads down through Sneeds Creek. The one on the left is the main hiking trail. That is our trail.

The trail heads down the hill gradually at first. Off to the left, you will begin to notice a small creek. This is the creek that feeds Hemmed-in Hollow Falls.

At about .7 miles, there is an intersection. Stay straight at this intersection. The trail to the left takes you to Wild Vic’s Cabin, and to the right connects with the horse trail.

The trail continues going down the hill. In some steep parts, there are stone stairs built to make it easier. There are other places that the steep slope has caused the trail to wash out a little and makes for some less-than-sure-footed hiking.

There are great views all around (particularly during leaf-off), so be sure to enjoy them.

While the excitement of getting to the falls is usually prominent, at some point as you may realize that hiking back out of here is going to be hard.

At about 1.5, after a few switchbacks, the trail turns right at a rock slab right along the top of an overlook. It’s a beautiful overlook, and if you look closely you will see a notched out “U” in the bluff on the other side of the valley and you can see the top of Hemmed-in Hollow Falls flowing over the ridge.

This is a great spot to enjoy, and even a better spot to stop and rest to catch your breath on the way back up! Keep going though, the best views are only a mile away.

Caution: Be very careful at bluffs. A fall could be fatal or result in serious injury.

At 1.8 miles there is an intersection. Turn left here. The trail coming from the right is the trail that comes in past Big Bluff and the Goat Trail from Centerpoint Trailhead. 

When you turn left, the trail goes downhill and back below ridge of the the trail you have just hiked down.

At 2.3 you reach a creek that is downstream from Hemmed in Hollow and another trail intersection. Stay straight (left) on the trail.  The trail to the right goes .5 miles to the Buffalo River (and this is the trail that comes in from the river if you choose to float and then hike back to the falls).

Follow the trail as it now goes back uphill to the big falls. After a bit, you will cross a small creek that comes in from your left. Below here is a very nice twin waterfall that is approximately 14 feet tall (note on the pic above that the falls coming in from the left has pretty low flow on this day).

Continue on the trail and you will come across yet another nice, 18-foot(ish) tall waterfall on the main creek.

The Waterfall

At about 2.5 miles, you reach Hemmed in Hollow Falls. It’s a beautiful 209 foot tall falls that pours off into an amazing canyon.

It really worth spending the time here to enjoy the area and have a sandwich or some snacks. You’ve earned it. And you’re going to need to refuel before the trip back up.

You can easily climb back up behind the falls (but be careful, the rocks are very slick here). And notice that when the wind blows, it often makes the falls move from side to side and around almost like it’s dancing in the wind.

After enjoying one of the finest places in the Ozarks, you turn around and head back the way you came.

The hike back up is quite challenging. With 1,300 feet of elevation gain in just 2 miles you’ll feel the burn. Take your time, and drink plenty of water.

Final Notes

I rate the trail difficulty as very strenuous (5 of 5).

This is a wet-weather falls, so it is usually best enjoyed in the winter and spring and when there has been a fair amount of moisture.

As for footwear, I recommend sturdy hiking boots.

You can read more about this trail in Tim Ernst’s “Buffalo River Hiking Trails” and “Arkansas Hiking Trails” books.

The pics are from my January 1, 2016 hike (except for the indicated Mike Newman pics).

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Map

Hemmed-in Hollow Falls Trail (Via Compton) (Buffalo River)
Location	Buffalo National River - Compton, Newton County, Arkansas
Length/Type	4.8 miles out and back (2.4 miles each way).
Difficulty	Very strenuous (5 of 5).
Gpx file (by Mike)	Link
Date Hiked	January 1, 2016
Directions	Google Maps Directions to Compton Trailhead
Official Info	(870) 439-2502 (Tyler Bend Visitor Center Information) Website NPS Trail Map (pdf)

[A version of this post was originally published on January 31, 2016 on the blog “Exploring Northwest Arkansas.”]

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