119 Back to Crow Hole

    Last year we didn’t find much time for relaxation at swimming holes, in fact we only went swimming three times all summer.  I won’t make excuses but will try to do better this year, with a goal of making the time to go swimming at least once a week.  After all, a day on the river is a great way to beat the heat and besides that swimming is excellent exercise.

    I’ll continue rating the swimming holes we visit, for an explanation of the ratings criteria see: (Swimming Holes of Summer).  Keep in mind the rating is for the day of our visit only as conditions change all the time (especially popularity) and can be completely different on your visit, hopefully you’ll experience an even higher rating.  It got up to 98° yesterday, today is forecast to be more of the same and although it isn’t ‘officially’ summer yet we’re ready to kick-off swimming season.

    I have a few swimming holes in mind, all near Pruitt and easily accessible.  Since today is Monday, we’re hoping that even though these are popular places and easy to get to, they won’t be over-crowded.   With three possibilities we’ll spend the day at the first one we find where we can set-up in the shade and not be overrun by people.

at Ozark Landing

    First to Briar Bluff Hole at Ozark Campground, I remember seeing an episode on ‘Exploring Arkansas’ where Chuck Dovish did an entire show on some of the state’s best swimming holes and this was one of them, although on the show I seem to remember it being called ‘Ozark Campground Swimming Hole’.

    I use names for Buffalo River swimming holes from Ken Smith’s great book ‘Buffalo River Handbook’ and will continue to, but I’m sure there are other names for many of the rivers swimming holes.  Anyway, at the north end of the campground loop is parking for maybe 10 vehicles and the access trail down to the river and canoe launch area under towering Briar Bluff.

    We head upstream a short way to the swimming area at river mile 50, which isn’t very big.  There are already maybe a dozen people spread around playing in the water, which isn’t crowded but there’s no shade anywhere, we look further upstream and find even more people above the hole chilling in the shallows but still no shade and nothing resembling a beach.

a portion of Briar Bluff

    We head back to the truck deciding to move on to ‘option #2’.  As for a rating for Briar Bluff Hole: 6 total.  Breaking that down: Briar Bluff Hole is super easy to get to so a 4 to accessibility, it would be a 5 if you could park right at the swimming hole.  As for amenities it only gets a 1 because there isn’t a beach area and no shade anywhere near the water, and popularity gets a 1 as well.  Even though everyone was spread out pretty well it was still too crowded.

    We drive back a short distance on Highway 7 to the Pruitt Picnic Area which is also the Pruitt Trailhead for the BRT.  From the nice, paved parking lot we head down the well-trod trail to the river, off this trail are numerous little spurs down to the water.  At the end of the volunteer trail is Upper Hole at the west end of a beautiful bluff and about a third of a mile above river mile 52.

Upper Hole

    Here is a small area in the woods that is clear of undergrowth and right at the edge of Upper Hole but is occupied.  It’s a very nice ‘shady’ spot but as I said, small and occupied so we backtrack to check out the short spurs we passed coming in.  All these little trails go to the river but well below the hole and none have anything resembling a beach.

    I guess we’ll move on, though we’re running out of options, getting in the truck after hitting the restrooms we see a couple more carloads pulling in, looking to cool off in the river no doubt.  Again accessibility is great here, a well-deserved 4.  It’s a small swimming hole with a real small area to set up a day camp and yet quite nice so I’ll say 2 for amenities.  Because it’s such a small place anything over about 6 people is going to feel crowded so only 1 for popularity, total for Pruitt Upper Hole: 7.

    Across the bridge we pull off Hwy. 7 and head downhill on the gravel road to Pruitt Landing.  I remember years ago this was once a small campground, but not anymore, it has turned into a major canoe put-in and take-out.  Also here, you’ll find the trailhead for the short Mill Creek Trail.  At the bottom of the hill the road swings back around the edge of the river at the boat launch area, here we see a rather large grassy parking lot packed with 30 or more cars.

    Just beyond the parking lot the road swings back to the south along the river with trailer after trailer of canoes and kayaks waiting for paying customers.  Three different concessionaires are ‘hawking’ their wares to prospective floaters, it’s a scene of mayhem.  I drive on, past the ‘business zone’ to a parking spot along the road just before it climbs up through some deep sand and away from the river.

Big Rock Hole

    We’re only about 100 feet downstream from the launch site but find a nice shady spot on the gravel bar.  This is Big Rock Hole just downstream from river mile 52 named for the numerous large slabs of rock that have fallen off the bluff into the river.  It is an impressive bluff indeed, very tall right here at the bend in the river and for a limited time only a small waterfall trickling and plunging from somewhere far above.

    We quickly decide this is it, and set up camp, we know there’s going to be a lot of boaters floating by but that’s ok, here at the start of their ‘trip’ they should be anxious to move on down river.  There are a few people downstream swimming but no one near this shady spot at the little waterfall and a rope swing tied to a massive sycamore tree.

the crowd starts rollin in

    Once our chairs are set up, I head straight for the water, the hole isn’t very deep I can’t find anywhere much more than 6 feet deep, even at the rope swing the bottom is shallow with big boulders nearby.  Next to the sycamore is a much smaller catalpa tree in full bloom, with the sweet smell of catalpa flowers and the noisy little waterfall this is an awesome spot to chill.  No sooner than I get out of the water a seemingly endless stream of ‘beach goers’ arrive, and our brief serenity evaporates.

    A procession of mini vans pull in behind us, each full of young kids in the 5-10 age range, one of the adults is on her phone explaining ‘how to get here’.  In a matter of minutes, the swimming hole turns into a ‘zoo’ with kids yelling and splashing about with novice canoers crashing into big rocks while trying to avoid the kids.  We sit here watching in for about 15 minutes, I tell Kat ‘Ok I’m going for one more swim then we’re out of here’.  By the time I come out of the water some guy is tying his hammock in a couple trees not five feet behind our beach chairs.

chillaxin in Big Rock Hole

    We throw our stuff in the back of the truck and head back out to Hwy. 7, Big Rock Hole at Pruitt Landing is a beautiful spot but today there is little chance to enjoy nature.  Accessibility is terrific a solid 5 as we parked right behind our camp, amenities are pretty good, although the swimming hole is on the shallow side and the beach is all gravel (no sand) so I think a 3 to amenities.  Popularity is the downfall, maybe I should consider ‘negative numbers’ as a zero is too kind.  For Big Rock Hole: 8 the place has all the natural beauty to score a much higher rating, it just needs about 150 fewer people.

    Well, we have exhausted our options, heading back across the bridge we decide to give Crow Hole a shot.  We went to Crow Hole two years ago late in July and had a great time, having the place to ourselves right up until we were packing up to leave.  (see: 58 Crow Hole) Then on Labor Day we came back looking to go swimming, forget it, the place was packed way over capacity, kids and dogs running around even a school bus had made the trip down the narrow road.

float fishing under Welsh Bluff

    Today the road seems to be in better shape than I remember it and we arrive at the bottom parking/camping area to find one lone truck.  This looks promising we pull over to the east end of the grassy ‘campground’ and park next to a fire-ring.  Grabbing our stuff out of the truck we can hear a lot of ‘noise’ drifting up from the river, Kat comments ‘wow, if all this racket is from that one truck, they sure are a noisy bunch’.

    Down the bank we see a large group of twelve or more bright orange rental kayaks beached on the gravel bar and the occupants splashing about and ‘whooping it up' in the shallows below Crow Hole.  I remember this large group from back at Pruitt Landing where they put-in, we’ll go ahead and set-up our stuff and wait them out.  Sure enough soon they continue downstream and slowly out of sight.  Now this is more like it, oh sure canoes continue to float past but finally some peace and quiet.

gorgeous Crow Hole

    Crow Hole just below river mile 53 is prettier today than I remember it or maybe I just have a higher appreciation for it after the three disappointments earlier.  Directly in front of our little day-camp is the almost famous Welch Bluff and high up on the bluff we spot some ancient, twisted evergreens with wisps of ‘old man’s beard’.

    The current is moving along strong today and upstream around the outside of the bend I find it impossible to make any headway going against the current.  But on the inside of the bend is a calm eddy where it’s easy swimming upstream.  Back on shore we’re starting to ‘unwind’ some, but I guess it just wasn’t meant to be, we soon hear kids coming down the path.

    ‘We’re having a birthday party here’ we are told by a young lad who’s maybe seven leading the way with his brothers, sisters and cousins close behind.  Mom and Dad along with aunts uncles, grandma and grandpa are carrying down all the fixings for the big shindig including tables chairs a bar-b-que coolers and all sorts of swim toys for the five young-uns.

    Dad apologizes for destroying our solitude and invites us to hang around for hamburgers and hot-dogs to be served up later, and also gives us ‘a heads up’ that many more family and friends will be arriving soon.

enjoying Crow Hole

    We hang around about an hour longer, long enough to go swimming once more and witness a passing canoe capsize in the rapid current I talked about above.  They were too far on the outside of the bend when the current ‘crashed’ them against the bluff, over they go, everyone dumped in the water including their dog who was the only occupant wearing a life vest.  Everyone’s fine, after bringing the canoe across to the gravel bar and dumping out the water they’re on their way down river.

    We learned today to never assume things will be the same when returning to somewhere we have been before.  Back at Crow Hole I kind of wish we had skipped the other three swimming holes and had come here first, that way we could have had a few hours of relatively ‘peaceful’ relaxation.  But then we wouldn’t have checked out any new places, and that’s the whole point: to search out and find the perfect swimming hole.

mass exodus

    So, we’ll keep looking for new spots and go back to the ones that didn’t ‘pan out’ the first time, but for today’s score at Crow Hole: 9.  While the road is narrow in places it wasn’t too bad today so a 3 for accessibility, (on our way out we were able to squeeze past two more vehicles coming down to the party).

    Crow Hole’s amenities are pretty impressive the beach is a nice mix of sand and small gravel, the hole while not real big has great access into the water and the setting against Welch Bluff is beautiful so a solid 4.  Popularity I guess is always going to be the ‘big variable’ we did get a little alone time before the party started so a 2 is about all I can justify.