Whitaker Point Trail (Hawksbill Crag)

Trail was a little washed out and the gps didn’t bring me the right way. Beautiful hike

Beautiful trail with amazing views. The trail isn't always well marked. The pathways are pretty wide and well traveled for the most part. It was a little tough for us, but we're not seasoned hikers and we're out of shape.... in saying that we made it and loved it. This area is beautiful and has a lot of trails to explore.

Nice, little hike with beautiful views. :) Definitely kid/pet friendly.

Beautiful

Awesome trail!! Amazing views and if you go around 9am or before (on the weekends), it's a lot quieter in terms of other people around. We got there at 9:30am and we ran into about 2 people on the way out. Dogs did great but there are some spots where you get close to the edge of the cliff and you would want to be extra careful with a pup. But on the way back we ran into about 8 sets of people. There are a couple a couple of weeks rough patches so not great for young kids or those who may be older and not wanting to climb over some rivers and steeper rocks.

Easy hike, long drive to the trailhead. Like others have said, take Cave Mountain Rd, which is .6 mile after the county road Google tells you to take (coming from Ozark). Then it’s 7 long miles down a dirt road, but there are a couple signs that reassure you. Went on a weekend afternoon and there was plenty of parking. Agreed that there are not enough trail markers, and there are a lot of offshoot trails and creek beds, but as I checked in on this app, we were on the trail. It becomes and stays obvious as you hike along the crags. Wonderful views. Worth doing at least once!

Worthy seeing once. I wouldn’t rate it as an ‘easy’ trail. An ‘easy’ trail is one your grandma can take with a cane. Very pretty though. Not marked well. Many trails lead off of main trail so at times you’re slightly unsure which way to go. Cave mountain road (to get to the trail head) is scary as hell. Many cars go up and down it but it’s terrifying. Some places there’s no place to pass, or you’re directly on a cliff or drop off. Our car peeled out several times trying to get up this gravelly road. It was just as scary going back down even at 8-12 mph.

Hiked this in with my wife as a storm thundered in the distance. Got some spectacular photos as the light faded with the DSLR (which I’ll upload later). Hiked it out in the rain as the dusk turned to dark. Amazing, iconic view at the point.

very popular hiking area so you want to get here very early otherwise the parking will be full. i did this in january and almost had no parking. there are two entrance to get to this trail. both are 6 miles on a red clay dirt road (both roads are very rough). the one in boxley is by far the better way to go. the other way (county route 5, kingston) you should not try it without a 4 wheel drive (still for both roads after rain make sure your triple A card is still in effect). either way you are going to need a car wash. i don't know why some rate this trail as moderate i found it to be very easy. the drive on the dirt road is tougher and longer than the trail. lol. anyways its worth the drive. its only a 2.9 mile trail out & back with a small elevation gain of 413 ft. very easy to follow and has a nice little waterfall and the overlook are great rewards.

Long scenic trail. The end view was nice but on a hot summers day it didn't provide much relief from the heat exhaustion it took to get there.

One of the best trails in years. Took two hours there and back. Amazing views on both sides of the trail. Saw deer and squirrels and neither seemed to be alarmed by our presence. I would highly recommend this trail!

Definitely a must do if you are in the Ponca area of the Buffalo National River. At the trailhead it is a little misleading. There is an informational sign on the west side of the parking area and some trails leading behind it. THAT'S NOT THE TRAIL. There is trailhead marker and a NPS marker at the real trailhead. Bring plenty of water, especially during the summer months. I carried a few liters of water and was nearly out at the end of the hike. Another hiker was dry and dehydrated. There are some spots with exposed roots and loose rocks but it is well traveled and easy to follow. There are many spots overlooking the valley below. During the summer there is not many people in the small parking lot so parking was easy. Talking to others familiar with the trail say that fall is a bit crazy with up to 200 cars. There is also a small waterfall trickling down to an overhang cave. The view is phenomenal though. There were lots of various mushrooms but it was midday and not much other wildlife around. Fortunately, the entire trail is covered but it does not allow for much breeze to get in through the canopy. I loved it and my family enjoyed the hike.

Worth the trek. Instagram photos don’t do it justice. The Crag is much, much bigger in person. Allow for 2-3 hours.

Nice stroll in an uber lush forrest!! Great lookout points all along the ridgeline. Enjoyed a little rain on the hike out!! The entire hike is under a canopy!!! I saw a bear cub just off the highway when leaving!! Freakin' awesome!! He turned around and hauled it back into the forrest!!! So cool!!!

Always a good experience. Such a beautiful view!! It’s a very popular trail so it seems to be busy more for often than not.

I would rate this trail as EASY! I went on July 13, 2019 - first thing in the morning (started the trail at 8:30am) and the weather was perfect. The trail is completely shaded the entire way to the end. It is a little rocky, but 90% of it is completely flat. There are a lot of reviews on here about how to get to the trail from the main road, but none have any road name specifics - I would like to help!! When you set your map to get to Whitaker’s Point, if it tells you to turn down County Road 3605 off of 16 - DO NOT DO IT, UNLESS you have an SUV/Truck that can do some rock climbing. A 4-wheel drive would be preferable. Ru (2019 Subaru Crosstrek AWD) made it up but she wasn’t pleased about it. So, off of 16, take Cave Mount Rd aka County Road 5 (there is actually a sign for Whitaker’s Point that shows to turn down this road.) Once you get to the lot, there isn’t a ton of parking. The sign that tells you about the hike is on one side of the parking lot and the trail head is on the other side of the parking lot. It is marked by a white sign that says “TRAIL”. If you are not an experienced hiker, my recommendation would be to start recording here in the AllTrails app when you start. You will be able to open up the app and see where you are in location to the trail. There are trail markers, but they are pretty far apart! HAPPY HIKING!

Always worth coming out to. Busy because of its popularity but definitely something you have to see for yourself. Absolutely beautiful in the fall!

Went on Mother’s Day (5/12) and it was my first hike. VERY populated that day. Some of the trail is steep and can be hard to maneuver, with nothing but tree roots and soft dirt. The climb back out can be tasking. The view was SO worth it. HOWEVER, this is a VERY popular trail and we ran into several with no trail etiquette. People trying to take pictures and while most people are respectful, this one group refused to move, would walk right into where you were obviously taking pics, and stayed so long we thought we would never wait them out. Super rude. How anyone could fall is beyond me. You don’t have to be anywhere near the edge for good pictures but we saw people jumping up right by the edge for pics, one family let their small boys loose on it, and others were standing on an obviously unsafe broken part of the ledge. It gave me anxiety. I loved the view and the workout and it got me hooked on hiking, but be aware that this one is so popular, you have no idea what kind of ppl you will come across. After watching those yahoos, I knew exactly why people have fallen - no common sense. There is a fall along the trail as well and a few other small bluff overlooks. We didn’t get to explore those bc of the number of people literally “hanging out” all over the place. Perhaps a day that isn’t a Sunday holiday would be less crowded.

One of the best hikes in the Ozarks. Getting there is a challenge because you have to drive up a gravel road. Recruit your best driver (preferably with an SUV) and let them power up the windy hills. On the way down, be sure to put the car in it’s lowest gear when it gets really steep. The trail could be marked better but you’ll never get lost. There are several spectacular views on the way to the final famous spot. Take pictures but don’t get too close to the edge please!

Whitaker Point is beautiful and the trail was wonderful!

Rocky with lots of roots. Easy trail though with great views.

Very nice trail and great view from the crag. Some parts of the trail have lots of rocks and roots. And possible to get lost in a few places. Good to have a trail map.

Trail is awesome! It’s the second time my best friend and I have done the hike. It doesn’t disappoint! We got some great photos met some random nice people. It was a little windy we went Friday June 22nd (2019) but I love it and will do it again in the future.

A great hike! The views are outstanding. As with any hike the better shape you are in the more enjoyable it will be. For all you romantics, this would be a destination to share with someone special!

One of the best trail head, mind there are not restrooms and visitors center. The view is amazing the rock.

I hiked 3 trails in the Ozark National Forest and this one was my favorite. The views were amazing and not just at the point. All along the second half of the trail you can find places to stop and take in the views.