Falling Waters Creek
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One day some years ago my friend Bill and I decided to visit Richland Creek and then do some exploring of the Ozark National Forest. We had always approached Richland Creek Wilderness Area from the north, driving down through Dicky Junction and down the long dirt road to the campground. For maps we were using the Ozark National Forest map, the Richland Creek Wilderness map, and our old standby the Arkansas Gazzater. We decided to attack it from east this time, and picked out Searcy County Rd 265 as the way to go in. We thought we would take a look at Falling Waters Creek, which feeds into Richland Creek. We started out early in the morning to have enough time to hike both locations. It was overcast when we started but forecast to clear and get sunny.
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Once we entered the wilderness area we passed a road grader that was improving the dirt road after recent rains. Richland Creek Wilderness Area has many interesting rock formations, including one (Stack Rock) that my friends have actually rope climbed. Bill and I stopped to examine two big rock formations, one of which certainly looked like an old Indian shelter. We then decended down and along Falling Waters Creek where we discovered a spot where four small waterfalls were running over some beautifully eroded rocks. Early spring flowers sprang up on the hillsides.
We spent quite a bit of time at this spot since it was so beautiful. Bill explored aways down the creek while I remained up by the waterfall area. It was a cloudy morning with the threat of rain but the temperatures were quite pleasant and we did see an occasional bit of sunshine. After Bill returned we decided to continue driving along the creek, looking for other neat stuff. After a bit we drove up on a very beautiful waterfall (top picture), called Falling Waters Waterfall. It is very easy to find as you can see it from the dirt road.
After exploring Falling Waters Creek we decided to find a spot to just pull off the road and take off hiking in the forest. We drove around and then found a spot to park on a ridge. We decided to try and walk both directions. Off to the left and below the ridge line were several rock shelters and some very colorful and interesting rocks. There was evidence of someone digging for arrowheads underneath the largest of these. Some of the rock formations that were just sticking out of the ground were quite large and Bill climbed up onto one of the larger ones. I managed to get up on a smaller one. We walked until we came to a ravine, then decided to turn around and then go the other way. On the other side we discovered an unused (we saw no four wheeler tracks or any obvious human trail), old logging road and decided to see how far it would take us along the ridge line. As we walked the sun was out finally, and it was a very nice morning. The road led us to some very pretty rock fields however we saw no bluffs to explore, just a ridge and the old road. Once we finished exploring we headed back to town. Northwest Arkansas is full of intersting places to visit, most of them free!! Sure hope you get a chance to visit.
We spent quite a bit of time at this spot since it was so beautiful. Bill explored aways down the creek while I remained up by the waterfall area. It was a cloudy morning with the threat of rain but the temperatures were quite pleasant and we did see an occasional bit of sunshine. After Bill returned we decided to continue driving along the creek, looking for other neat stuff. After a bit we drove up on a very beautiful waterfall (top picture), called Falling Waters Waterfall. It is very easy to find as you can see it from the dirt road.
After exploring Falling Waters Creek we decided to find a spot to just pull off the road and take off hiking in the forest. We drove around and then found a spot to park on a ridge. We decided to try and walk both directions. Off to the left and below the ridge line were several rock shelters and some very colorful and interesting rocks. There was evidence of someone digging for arrowheads underneath the largest of these. Some of the rock formations that were just sticking out of the ground were quite large and Bill climbed up onto one of the larger ones. I managed to get up on a smaller one. We walked until we came to a ravine, then decided to turn around and then go the other way. On the other side we discovered an unused (we saw no four wheeler tracks or any obvious human trail), old logging road and decided to see how far it would take us along the ridge line. As we walked the sun was out finally, and it was a very nice morning. The road led us to some very pretty rock fields however we saw no bluffs to explore, just a ridge and the old road. Once we finished exploring we headed back to town. Northwest Arkansas is full of intersting places to visit, most of them free!! Sure hope you get a chance to visit.