I had the opportunity to return to the Eagle Rock Loop trail on the weekend of October 27th-29th, of 2023. If you haven't read about my first attempt to hike the loop, you can find that here. I want to detail a few of the things I learned on that trip here, but it occurred to me some readers may have no idea what the Eagle Rock Loop (ERL) is. So before I dive into the specifics of the important things I took away from this trip with regard to my own skills, gear, and knowledge, I want to share some general information about the ERL trail. The specifics about my recent trip will be in a future post. This one got too long to add all that to it.
It is also helpful to know that the loop is actually made up of three connected trails; The Little Missouri Trail, Big-Athens Fork Trail, and the Viles Branch Horse Trail. Little Missouri is the longest section stretching from the northwest corner along the eastern side of the loop, down to the southeastern corner where it connects to the Viles Branch trail. Viles branch runs along the south end of the loop until it hits the Big-Athens Fork trail. Big-Athens Fork runs north and south along the west side of the loop.
In the table, spur versus direct loop connection is to indicate if the trailhead lies directly on the trail or if you have to hike some distance on a spur trail to access the actual ERL.
The Eagle Rock Loop (ERL) trail is the longest loop trail in Arkansas. Depending on who you ask, it's between 26.8 and 29.2 miles long. ERL has to be one of the most beautiful areas in the whole state. The topography is so diverse and there are so many amazing and beautiful places along the whole trail. There are grand views on mountain tops, overlooking valleys where you can also see rolling mountain ridges in the distance, there are beautiful creeks running through the valleys below with fantastic rock formations and waterfalls. It is challenging because there are river crossings that require you to wade across the river and mountain ridges that you have to hike almost straight up and then back down. I'll get into more detail later.
Here is where it is located geographically in the state. Glenwood and Mena Arkansas are nearby towns, but the loop is in the national forest and there is no reliable mobile phone service while you are on trail.
It is also helpful to know that the loop is actually made up of three connected trails; The Little Missouri Trail, Big-Athens Fork Trail, and the Viles Branch Horse Trail. Little Missouri is the longest section stretching from the northwest corner along the eastern side of the loop, down to the southeastern corner where it connects to the Viles Branch trail. Viles branch runs along the south end of the loop until it hits the Big-Athens Fork trail. Big-Athens Fork runs north and south along the west side of the loop.
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| The three trails that make up ERL |
I will link to resources later in this article, but here is a link to the map I have used to generate some of these labeled images. It's a US Forestry Service map.
From what I can tell, there are 7 official trailheads from which you can access the ERL. From the northwest corner and going clockwise around the loop:
From what I can tell, there are 7 official trailheads from which you can access the ERL. From the northwest corner and going clockwise around the loop:
- Upper Athens Big Fork
- Upper Little Missouri Trailhead
- Little Missouri Falls Trailhead
- Albert Pike Trailhead **(no overnight parking or camping is permitted)**
- Winding Stair Trailhead
- Lower Athens Big Fork Trailhead
- West Blaylock Creek Trailhead (aka Middle Athens Big Fork)
Navigation to and from the trailheads
First, I believe the only trailhead you can access without driving on dirt forest roads is Albert Pike. I am not 100% sure about the two Athens Big Fork trail heads. The Upper ABF trailhead especially looks like it may have a paved road leading to the trailhead, but I can't tell for sure. All the rest require some distance traveled on gravel/dirt forest roads. It is also worth mentioning again you cannot count on mobile service when you are at the trailheads, so it is wise to have some maps of the local areas available so you can navigate to and from your desired location. Google Maps or similar navigation apps can usually get you to the area because you load your route before you leave service and your phone can tell roughly where you are by way of tower triangulation, but unless you load your route out of the area on your phone before you leave service, you won't have that luxury on your way out.
Restrooms, trash cans, picnic tables
Most of the trailheads do not have restrooms. I don't know for sure about either of the two Athens Big Fork trailheads because those get to the ERL by way of trail spurs. There are flush toilets at Albert Pike, but they close for the season from October to sometime in the spring so the plumbing can be winterized.
There are pit toilets year round at Winding Stair and Little Missouri Falls. They aren't much better than a port-a-potty, but in my estimation they are better than squatting in the woods.
All of the trailheads with restrooms of any kind also have trash receptacles as well. Little Missouri Falls and Albert Pike also have picnic tables.
Here is a table summarizing this information.
The Upper Athens Big Fork, Lower Athens Big Fork, and Winding Stair trailhead all have spur trails that are required to connect to ERL, but the spurs are not of equal length. Winding Stair trailhead spur is the shortest. It's probably only around a 10th of a mile from the trailhead to the trail. I camped at the junction just off the trail and walked to the trailhead to use the pit toilet at Winding Stair trailhead. It took less than 5 minutes to walk from the trail to the trailhead. It can be a little confusing at that trail junction because there are a few different trails that converge at that point. Take your time to orient yourself and ask people in the area if you need to.
The other two spur trails from Upper ABF and Lower ABF are a mile or more to get from the trailhead to the ERL. Just something to keep in mind when choosing a location to start from.
The Trail Sections
Another consideration when choosing a starting point, if you plan to hike the whole loop is the difference between the trial conditions of the sections.
Athens Big Fork is infamous for having 6 mountain ridges. Here is the elevation profile according to AllTrails for the ABF section of ERL.
I will say, this is a physically tough section. For that reason, many people opt to start at the West Blaylock Creek (ABF Middle) trailhead. If you start there, it puts you smack in the middle, so you split the hard work, doing half the mountains on the first day and the other half the last day.
Little Missouri is mostly a gentle slope with a few ups and downs and one semi difficult ascent above the Albert Pike area. The thing that makes the Little MO trail section difficult is river and creek crossings. During periods of higher rainfall, this section can actually be dangerous. You can Google it, but there was a massive flash flood in 2010 that swept through the Albert Pike area and resulted in the deaths of 20 people. After that incident, the area was closed for overnight camping and use. For this reason, it is always wise to check the water levels of the river as well as the forecasts for the day(s) you will be in the area. Having physical maps is also a good idea. I saw one group of ERL backpackers who got stuck between crossing sections on the Little MO trail because high water that came overnight stranded them and made crossing too risky. They kept their heads about them and navigated up a side creek, then back down to another section of the trail along Viles Branch where creek crossings were less precarious. This allowed them to get safely back to their trailhead.
You can see the current river conditions using this USGS resource.
Viles Branch is the shortest section and probably the easiest section. It's mostly flat. There are a few creek crossings, but you can mostly rock hop across them without getting your feet wet without much problem unless water levels are high.
How much Time?
How long will it take you to hike ERL? Many people break it up into 3 days. People who are very ambitious and/or trail runners can knock it out in a day, but you don't get much time to actually enjoy the trail that way.
I took a day and a half on my recent trip. I will detail more about that trip in a future post [read about it here]. I was trying to balance pushing myself hard physically, but also spending more than a single night on the trail.
I would say the general consensus is to take your time and enjoy yourself, but it's ultimately your hike and your time. Do it fast or slow or whatever pace suits you. Realistically, a single day is going very fast and hard, and may not be achievable for everyone. Know your limits and plan for contingencies.
I would say the general consensus is to take your time and enjoy yourself, but it's ultimately your hike and your time. Do it fast or slow or whatever pace suits you. Realistically, a single day is going very fast and hard, and may not be achievable for everyone. Know your limits and plan for contingencies.
If you take 3 days or more, you are definitely taking your time and that is perfectly fine. I don't care to linger around camp, especially when I'm on my own. I like to be on the move.
Resources
I've already shared some of these, but I will reshare here to have them all in one location.
Ouachita Maps.com for general trail information and also source to purchase quality topo maps
http://ouachitamaps.com/Eagle%20Rock.html
http://ouachitamaps.com/Eagle%20Rock.html
Forest Service website, includes information about trail closings and prescribed burns
It also has some other maps and resources.
USGS Little Missouri River Water levels
FarOut App
The FarOut App is extremely useful on the ERL. To get access to the trail package, you have to purchase it, but you can get it with the Arkansas hiking package, which gives you maps and information about ERL, the Ouachita Trail, Buffalo River Trail, and Ozark Highlands Trail for like $20. It is free to download the app. If you watch any videos on YouTube where people vlog their hikes on the ERL, they almost all rave about "GutHooks". That's the same as FarOut. They just changed the name.
https://faroutguides.com/
https://faroutguides.com/
In addition to showing your position on the map, FarOut can tell you about locations where you can find water, whether the water source is seasonal or year round, it has road crossings, campsites, and a host of other features marked out on the trail. In addition to that information, other users can leave comments about trail conditions so you get more recent information.
My only criticism of FarOut is that I wish they had more trails in their catalogue. Little Blakey Loops and Lake Ouachita Vista Trails would be great additions.
Well, that wraps up this post. If you found this helpful, if you see something that I got wrong, or if you have additional questions, drop them in the comments below.
Thanks for stopping by.
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