This morning, we went to
see Lichen Falls and Lynn Hollow which wasn't a very long hike, we still had
some energy to burn. On our way back we drove past Glory Hole and didn't encounter hundreds
of cars at the parking area, we decided to take a look.
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first little falls
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Glory Hole (I believe)
is possibly the third most popular day hike destination in the Arkansas Ozarks.
Behind only Lost Valley and Hawksbill Crag in popularity. Every time I have
driven past here, there has always been parked cars lined up along both sides of
the highway. So today with only four other vehicles at the trailhead, we knew 'this
is it'. |
Dismal Creek near trail crossing
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From the parking area,
for the first third of a mile the trail follows an old road and stays fairly
level. It then leaves the old road and turns back to the southwest then north on another old road, as it begins to drop down into the Dismal Creek drainage. The trail continues
downhill, dropping 250 feet of elevation in under a quarter mile to Dismal Creek. |
cascade upstream from Glory Hole
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Across the creek we leave the old road at a
trail which heads downstream along the creek. This place is so popular in fact,
there are volunteer trails everywhere. It's impossible to get lost though, just keep
going downstream. Enjoying the three small falls and a few cascades on our way,
we soon come to the top of the Glory Hole. Glory Hole is literally a hole in a solid slab of rock that the
creek plunges through. We are careful not to get too close to the edge; it
wouldn't end well to slip into the Glory Hole. |
top of the Glory Hole
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We continue down to the west in a little side drainage and another small waterfall. Then a
little bit of boulder hopping into a big shelter with a hole in the roof. The Glory Hole! It is
a spectacular place. After hiking down this beautiful little creek with
waterfalls and cascades the whole way, and then the amazing Glory Hole at the
end of the hike. Well, it's just the icing on the cake. Now we know why this is
such a popular place. |
Glory Hole Shelter
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It's a shame though, popularity that is. In my
opinion, it's just childish vandalism when people erect dozens of cairns in one
place or put hundreds of muddy handprints all over the beautiful rock walls.
Popularity has its price, in the form of litter and vandalism, both are evident at the Glory Hole. All in all, Glory Hole is a beautiful place and a must-see destination. |
@ the Glory Hole
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Glory Hole: Statistics Chart 11 Parking area on south side of Highway 16 is approximately 2.4 miles southwest of Edwards Junction or 6.3 miles northeast
from Fallsville.
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base map before fair use alterations is property of ArcGIS-
-licensed under Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 3.0 U.S. License
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