Blue Lakes And Blue Holes
February, 2016 was mostly a cold and dreary month. We had a bit of snow and several weeks of very cold weather. I only had two opportunities to get out and see some sights. There are many blue holes in this part of the country. It seems everyone has their favorite one, however there is only one Blue Hole on the Buffalo National River. David and I took a drive over there one morning. It was an overcast day with a fairly brisk wind.
The Blue Hole is a very popular swimming hole in the warmer months. The park service has picnic tables and restrooms here. The large sandy area makes for a fine beach and can handle a large crowd. After checking out this spot we decided to head over to Mt. Judea and visit Sam's Throne. This is a very popular rock climbing spot and the state has made many improvements over the past years to handle the ever increasing crowds. They now charge a fee to camp there.
The other time we were able to get away was on a sunny but very windy day in late February. We decided to head over towards Eureka Springs and then visit Leatherwood Lake and then Table Rock Lake. We first stopped at the overlook in Eureka and caught a nice view of the historic Crescent Hotel. After a winding trip through the back streets of Eureka Springs we wandered down to Leatherwood Lake.
This is a beautiful small lake. It has all the services that one would expect including a marina and public boat launch. This would be a cool spot to take the family.
This is a beautiful small lake. It has all the services that one would expect including a marina and public boat launch. This would be a cool spot to take the family.
Leaving Leatherwood Lake we traveled down to Beaver, Arkansas. Beaver is on Table Rock Lake and there is a one lane bridge there in remarkable shape. We met a nice lady and she pointed out a short and flat hike we could take along the lake bank. It was a very picturesque trail and family friendly.
There was an abandoned railroad bridge with a mansion high above. The Town of Beaver is a great place to visit. It caters to those who wish to vacation in our area. The fishing is excellent, and there are plenty of lodging and dining choices around. In addition there are several very interesting day trips you can take from this spot. I have included a link to Beaver Arkansas to help you see where we were. After spending quite a bit of time here we headed home on a route that took us past Beaver Lake. We stopped briefly. The wind had really picked up, but we saw a couple guys trying their luck on the choppy water. A visit to Western Sizzlin in Harrison, Arkansas for their evening buffet topped off a really fine day.