Hiking in Devils Den State Park - Arkansas
Devils Den State Park is a 2500 acre park located in the Lee River Valley a short distance from Fayetteville, Arkansas. The park was built by the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) in the 1930s and many of the cabins are still used today for guests to stay. There are a variety of cabin styles available along with a visitor center and a guest area that includes a swimming pool with slides for the hotter summer months. Located close to Fayetteville, Arkansas Devils Den is a great place to visit if you are visiting the Fayetteville area and just want to get outside for a bit.
Devils Den has nine different main hiking trails with a variety of different distances and difficulties.
Devils Den Trail
Distance: 1.1 miles
Trail Type: Loop
Elevation Gain: 128 feet
Time: 45 minutes
Difficulty: Moderate
The Devils Den Trail is a 1.1-mile loop trail that takes you through a number of interesting features in the heavily forested yet rocky state park. The trail departs from a parking area located just to the south of the bridge that crosses the river. The trail is rated moderate not for the distance or the elevation gain, but for the roughness of this trail. There are a lot of steps and areas where you are walking on rocks and uneven surfaces.
From the parking lot, the trail takes off up a set of stairs and begins to work its way up into the woods. As you get further back the trail begins to cross some rocks and continues to climb with a large switchback that makes the climb fairly easy. At about .4 miles into the hike, you have hit the highest spot in the trail and you come to the entrance to a cave. The cave entrance is gated and locked so you can not enter the cave, but it spurs the imagination. At this point, you will walk along a fault line that has created a crevice in the rock that is deep and impressive. The crevice runs for several hundred feet alongside the trail.
At the end of the crevice, the trail drops down and follows along the bottom of the cliff until at .6 miles you reach a small waterfall. The amount of water coming over the falls will change based on the time of the year you visit. A small bridge takes you across the creek at the bottom of the falls and the trail quickly drops down to the bottom of the valley along the main river.
The trail is now headed back to the parking lot and is a quick hike along the river floor. The water is a cool shade of turquoise and gently flows along the trail.
This is a very enjoyable trail and provides lots of unique spots to enjoy nature along the trail.
Moonshiners Cave Trail
Distance: .82 miles
Trail Type: Out and Back
Elevation Gain: 213 feet
Time: 30 minutes
Difficulty: Easy
The Moonshiners Cave Trail is located very close to the south boundary of the park at the south entrance. It is a relatively short trail at less than a half-mile each way. When you park in the parking lot you are going to go down the road just a little distance before turning to the left and heading off into the woods. The trail gradually descends the trees and while I rated it easy there are quite a few rocks in the trail that could trip some people up. I hiked this in February so the trees were still missing their leaves, but the daffodils were out.
After a short hike, you end up at Moonshiner's Cave. There is a small creek that provides water that falls gently over a small cliff. Tucked into the side of a cliff is an alcove that has a man-made masonry wall built in the front to provide shelter. As a approached the cave you think back to a time that it easily could have been used for making moonshine and you kind expect to hear someone shout at you as they protect there secret still.
The hike back up the hill gives you just a little bit of climbing, but it is over before you can really get winded. This is not a destination hike, but it is interesting if you are in the area and want to experience a little be something different and see another small water feature.
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