Devil’s Den Trail

Devil’s Den Trail is the place that I’ve hiked more than any where else. When I was a kid, my family walked this trail while we were in Fayetteville for my oldest brother to tour the University of Arkansas. Now my family lives in NWA and when friends come visit, we take them here.

It is a very easy 1.3 mile loop jam packed with features! The first thing you see are cool bolders that are fun to climb. Then you walk up a slight incline. At the top of this incline you come across large cracks in the ground. You can carefully climb down these cracks and walk to the other side of them or just continue on the trail to the other side.

This trail has a few cave entrances, but they are closed. The bats in North America are being killed by White Nose Sydrome which is spread by people carring the fungus from contaminated caves into new ones. This is why there are so many caves closed now in parks.

If you stand in one of the cracks, it is noticably much cooler air coming up. This place is called Devil’s Icebox. During the hot summer, Devil’s Icebox is a popular spot to stop and rest.

At one point on the loop, I found a waterfall just off the trail and over a hill. It isn’t possible to describe the location, but I found it by listening for running water. I climbed up the waterfall, but there wasn’t a second one. The stream got smaller.

The main waterfall in on the trail. It is typically running and there is a nice bridge that goes infront of it. This is a fun place for pictures! After the bridge, you hike down the slope and back towards the river.

Keep on the look out for rocks stacked on the river bed! It is to the right of the trail. You can NOT skip this! Make a rock stack and add to the collection. After this the trail is pretty much over, but there are some pretty bluffs to look at to the left. You were just on top of those bluffs when you looked at the cracks and caves.