160 Cedar Branch Bluffs Loop

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    Not very far east of Pedestal Rocks Kings Bluff SIA is Morris Ridge with Cedar Creek down below.  A few years ago, Dan Frew explored the area and later Danny Hale documented it in his book ‘TAKAHIK Bluffs of the Arkansas Ozarks’ and I’ve been curious about the area ever since.  This morning is shaping up to be a beautiful day, I get out of the house around 8:45 and arrive at my parking spot at 10:15.

overhang vista

    Morris Ridge Road (FR 1852) is what you would call a 4-WD road or maybe an ATV trail, it can be lots of fun, I drove this road top to bottom from Hwy. 16 down to Boyd Road (PC 1008 or FR 1850) once over a year ago, today I park near the top only about three tenths of a mile off Highway 16.  Parked off the ‘road’ at an intersection where a short side road ends in a food-plot/hayfield.

old road trace

Cedar Branch Falls

    I head down the short road south into and across the field then down the steep hillside in the woods.  No trails today this will be a bushwhack all the way and I’m glad to have my GPS to keep me going in the right direction, occasionally I do find pieces of trail and even a couple faint old roads.  On this hillside are lots of boulders spread around, I soon pass someone’s tree-stand.

Pedestal Tunnel

rugged bluffs

    Reaching the bottom, I cross the first of many little creeks, and just on the other side is an old road which is always a welcome sight when bushwhacking.  On the road following the creek downstream a short way is a nice little waterfall about four feet tall and five wide.  Then it’s back on the road for another 150 feet where I abandon the road, cross the creek and start up the hill to the north.

tight passage

multi-door shelter

    Up the hill involves about 120 feet of elevation gain to the bluffline, which isn’t really tall and not very long either.  But quite impressive, first are two small shelters only 15-20 feet apart then a good-sized pedestal that is only separated from the bluffline by a few inches.  Next a real nice tunnel or cave with both a front and back door.  Continuing around a corner to the north are a couple more small shelters.

branch of Cedar Creek

    Circling around to the top of the low bluff I head back south then back down the hill, across the creek and back on the old road.  After another 100 yards I leave the road heading up the hill to the south then west into the next small drainage or Cedar Creek Branch.  I name this post ‘Cedar Branch Bluffs’ after the little streams, all of which are ‘branches’ of Cedar Creek and apparently they all contain small pieces of interesting bluffs.

little bear cave

easy hiking along bluffs

    Coming west into the next ‘Cedar Branch’ to the south the bluffline here while still short is quite a bit longer and more broken up.  First are two small caves I’ll call ‘bear caves’ with the second being tight and a little deeper.  Then a bigger one that’s sort of an Open Room Shelter, followed by a jumble of big rocks.

small cave

rugged beauty

    Continuing are more interesting rocks, overhangs and a balanced ‘bridge’ squared stone perched over a crevice, and somewhere along here I cross a small stream possibly from a spring in the rocks.  Then one more small shelter style cave before crossing this ‘Cedar Branch’ and turning to the southeast where I soon land on another old road trace.  Following this road takes me along a couple huge boulders that could be considered low wide pedestals, then a muddy spring at the side of the road.

trees can be flexible, rocks not so much

on another old road

    A hundred yards past the spring I leave the road, up and over a small ridge then about a quarter mile around and down into the next branch, my third today.  Here are a few small shelter caves, one with a double opening then a nice 10-15 foot tall and ten feet wide ledge waterfall.  South from here is an amazing boulder field with passageways, a giant tilted rock and a little Lone Pedestal.

Pedestal Point

slab bridge over crevice

    On around the head of the drainage and to the south in a little ‘side branch’ is lush wet Green Grotto which is possibly the biggest shelter I’ve seen today.  Just past Green Grotto is a small (dry) overhang shelter with perfect rocks for a short lunch break.  Then over another little ridge before heading around into my last Cedar branch with bluff today.

double door shelter

Ledge Falls dribble

    Here are lots of big rocks (car size) before reaching the bluff, the first shelter with a double door is the most impressive then a small shelter followed by some real tiny caves up on the rock face.  Then it’s under 200 yards up to Morris Ridge Road just below a nice parking area for a couple vehicles and the end of todays ‘bushwhack’.

Lone Rock

short-cut passage

    From here to my truck is a little over a mile and pretty much all uphill although it only gets a little steep towards the end.  Along the way I’ll document at least six good parking spots, a nice huge camping area and one little pond.  Also, there are a couple places that could use some ‘chainsaw’ clean-up to clear some downed timber.

Green Grotto

another 2-door shelter

    Although none of the scenery here is as spectacular as nearby Pedestal Rocks Kings Bluff, Morris Ridge and Cedar Branch Bluffs are still a great hiking option in the Ozark National Forest with caves shelters pedestals bluffs and even a couple waterfalls on the many branches of Cedar Creek.  And yes, I had a great time hiking today for 4.6 miles with 971 feet of elevation gain.

Cedar Branch Bluffs: Statistics Chart 160    It's pretty easy to get here as long as you know where Pedestal Rocks Kings Bluff SIA is, (if not see: 35 The Wonders Downunder).  Then from the entrance to PRKB continue 0.45 miles further east on Highway 16 to Morris Ridge Road on the right (south) with a small sign ‘1852’ it’s easy to miss so drive slow. 

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-licensed under Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 3.0 U.S. License

Location: Morris Ridge Rd. parking M1: 35.72071, -93.00813

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