Oachita Mountains

Trekked counter clockwise starting at Talimena State Park. Day one, mostly rocky switch backs on the Ouachita trail. Day two, Broadstand trail and Old Military trail mostly clear foot

Hard AF! But rewarding

Hiked the Eagle Rock Loop with my dog, River. Starting out from Little Missouri Falls at 7am, heading counterclockwise, we hiked the Athens-Big Fork Trail and the Viles Branch Trail, stopping at the wide water crossing at Little Missouri River to camp (5pm). I like to get the 5 major ascents over with on day one, so I can cruise on day two. Started day two at 7am and hiked back the the ‘Falls’ by 1:30pm. This section is a more leisurely hike than day one. Met about 25-30 friendly people on the trail and 8-10 dogs, some not so friendly. We had to leash up a few times due to this, but no worries. I was pleasantly surprised that there was very little trash left behind from previous hikers/campers. Proud of River! It was her first time to “loop” and we did it in a day and a half (16.5hrs). I have been coming here for many years and highly recommend trying the loop. Do it at your pace and be sure to take in all the beautiful sights!

Took 2 1/2 days to walk the loop. Walked counter-clockwise starting at the Winding Stairs parking lot to potentially do the biggest water crossings early as rain was predicted. First 12 miles or so going this direction is pretty flat. Many, many places throughout the loop to camp as many previous visitors have carved out campsites...too many in my opinion as some of these were a blight on the environment with people leaving trash and gear behind (sad). No need to carry much water as it is abundantly available! The trail is considered hard and I would agree for those new to hiking for those experienced hikers more like moderate. The Little Missouri River intersects the trail many times requiring numerous water crossings which I thought was a highlight! Bring water shoes unless you plan to hike in wet shoes which is not advisable. In places the trail is poorly marked but had downloaded the AllTrails map which came in very handy at times. Also there are a number of places where trees have fallen across the trail so be prepared to go over, around and even under these obstacles. The peaks which required 300-400ft of climbing on average were challenging but no overwhelming difficult. Overall the trail experience was good but over-use and a lack of trail maintenance have taken a toll on the trail. My opinion there are better loop trails out there.

challenging hills and some flats. Well marked and beautiful hike.

Awesome

Hiked 4/1-4/3 with my brother. Started at ABF - Northern terminus, hiked south to Spirit Rock Vista and camped—nearly all the hills done on Day 1 (8.8 miles, plus all the way up Brush Heap Mtn). Day 2 hiked all the way just past Little Missouri Falls (15.5mi). Finished the last 5.2mi on Day 3. Excellent weather; highs in the 60s lows in the upper 30s/low 40s—the last of early spring weather in the south. The river was nice and low for us. Just 4 mandatory-wet crossings, and all on Day 2. Almost like we planned it that way...

This trail kicked me and my buddies a**’s! Tried 28, made it 21! Hiked 4/4/21-45/21

Awesome trail, great times. Hiked 4/1-4/3

it was a nice trail well marked. little tight in some areas but over all a good trail.

Very intense... wheeeeew

After being lost for 1 1/2 hours. I have written up trailhead directions for ABF south trailhead. From intersection of Hwy 84 and AR-246. (There is a Country store at this intersection called Athens deli and pies) go down 4.9 miles on AR-246. Turn right onto country road 694 (same as Polk road 694) The road sign at this intersection says Shady lake, Bard springs, chaney creek. Go down CR-694 for 1.2 miles. Just after you pass a welcome sign for Ouachita mountains and cross a bridge you will Turn right onto FR38 (no FS marking) onto a gravel forest road.Go down 2.3 miles. Then Turn Left (only marking is a hiker sign with an arrow)and go 8/10 to the trail head parking lot which parks about 4 vehicles

Had a wonderful 3 day/2 night trip around this loop (3/13-3/15). Started in the SE parking lot, hiking in around noon on Saturday. Hiked about 10 miles per day with plenty of time for some nice, long breaks to enjoy the scenery along the way. Hiked out around 5:30 PM on Monday. I would estimate there were over 15 water crossings throughout - VERY glad I brought some sandals to switch in/out of to avoid soaking my shoes on the higher crossings. As many reviews state below, there are plenty of water sources along the way and no need to keep more than 2L of water on you at a time, as you can fill up every couple of hours at least. Lots of other hikers/campers on the trail. If you are looking for a more remote/isolated hike, this is probably not for you. Trail is marked with white markers/dots sprayed onto trees, but can be easy to miss in a few places. DOWNLOAD THE MAP BEFORE YOU GET TO THE AREA. You will need it on the trail and I lost service several miles before even arriving to the forest. Only had service briefly on a couple of the peaks (I'm Verizon, my friend has T-Mobile and he didn't have service ever). A couple of the peaks were pretty strenuous, but nothing someone in decent shape couldn't do. I'm a pretty novice hiker and found this loop to be a nice challenge, but never felt out of my league at all. Highly recommend to bring trekking poles for additional support going up/down peaks and through the water crossings. Weather conditions were pretty good - days in the 60's, nights in the 40's. Was overcast most of the time, and often drizzly. We got one evening of a really intense pour down (lasted maybe 3-4 hours of crazy rain/wind). Luckily, we were aware it was coming and able to get our camp setup and bodies/gear in our tent before it really hit hard. Honestly enjoyed every bit of the weather - made the trip all the more exciting. The scenery was beautiful, in my opinion. I loved all the water crossings the most. All the green surrounding the streams and the sound of the running water was magical! I even took a dip in on the last day and it was so refreshing! It was overcast the entire time we were hiking the peaks, so didn't see much in the way of landscape from above -- not sure if this trail offers views like that, or not. Didn't see any wildlife other than a few birds, squirrels and small fish. There were a couple of abandoned tents along the trail - not sure what those were about. Overall, I recommend this loop for anyone who is looking for a mildly challenging, but not so private adventure! As long as you do your research, prepare for the weather, and bring the right gear (and attitude), you'll be fine!

Great experience (Mar 28-29, 2021)! Weather was perfect, not a cloud the whole time, and temps from about 40 to the high 60's. It had been about 3-4 days since the last 2-inch rain storm so water levels were good. I'm 45, 140 lbs, with a decent motor and half-way in shape. This was my first solo hike so I had a little anxiety, particularly for the night. But everything worked out great. I started at the NW parking lot at 12:30pm and headed south over the 6 hills/mountains, and finished up at 3:40pm the next day. I did 13 miles the first day, and 15 miles the next. I was moving fast because I only wanted to stay one night. But boy did my legs and feet feel it the second day and after. This time of year, most of the deciduous trees are still pretty bare but on my first solo hike, I wanted to be able to see through the forest a bit (I know, silly). I had a full moon on my only night and that was awesome too. I used trail-runner shoes with the ability to drain water, and walked through all but the first water crossing in them (which saved a lot of time). I do get blisters and not the greatest ankle support, but this is what I'm used to... I probably need to research other options. I probably ran into someone every two hours. The 6 peaks were a big time workout but not as bad as I had expected and were not as high as I thought they'd be from the compressed elevation map. But still, I think I need to spend a couple weeks on the stair-stepper machine before I go next time so my legs feel better on day 2.

excellent

Loved it. Beautiful. Ceader creek

Absolutely gorgeous and inspiring. Beware if you go after a good rain. One of the Little Missouri crossings was waist-height (im 5’6). There are dozens and dozens of other water crossings. Bring chacos or some other water shoes, you won’t regret it. We planned to do the whole loop, but bad weather prevented us from doing the peaks section. Overall, we were able to do 21.4 miles in a day and a half (the missing 8.4 miles missing from my recording were cleared away by AllTrails ). We started at the Little Missouri trailhead and worked clockwise.

There were many campsites along the trail, at least one every 1/2 mile or so. Plenty of swimming pockets with super clear water and waterfalls/water flowing from every direction! Be prepared for many water crossings when it’s rainy. Some crossings were knee deep this trip.