By definition the ‘Illinois Bayou’ is not a bayou, every dictionary I
checked, even Wikipedia use words like sluggish, slow moving and stagnant,
when describing a ‘bayou’. The Illinois
Bayou is none of the above, in fact
at times during the spring it’s a renowned white-water playground. A huge drainage in north central Arkansas the
Illinois Bayou consists of the East Middle and North Forks, combined the
Illinois Bayou flows into the Arkansas River (Lake Dardanelle).
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Boyd Road at first crossing (Cedar Creek)
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In its headwaters, the North Fork Illinois Bayou begins at the confluence
of Left Hand Prong and Right Hand Prong, this is where I want to go today. Along the North Fork to the confluence of the Left and Right Hand Prongs. The route I’m taking is just north of the
‘North Fork’ and puts me along the south side of Pedestal Rocks Kings Bluff SIA,
see: (29 The Seven Shelters), (35 Wonders Downunder) and (74 A Bluffs Bushwhack). |
parking near bottom of Boyd Rd.
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On the way to the trailhead driving down Boyd Road is a fun little 4 WD
adventure in its own right, with multiple creek crossings, many rough sections
and gorgeous Cedar Creek next to the road.
Most of these creek crossings are the Cedar Branches I recently explored up in the blufflines just below Morris
Ridge see (160 Cedar Branch Bluffs)
for more. |
multiple channels of North Fork
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I park near the bottom of Boyd Road less than half a mile from the ford
across North Fork (impassable most of the time). Starting out west on the trail which once was
a road (FR93082G), I notice orange plastic blazes nailed on trees, this is part
of the extensive Cowboy Up Trail system and is referred to simply as ‘the
Orange Trail’. |
homesite ruins
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Before getting off Boyd Road I notice a rock wall along Boyd then
curving and heading west along the old road (orange trail), this will be the
first of many rock walls seen on this hike.
The old road the trail follows is well used by all forms of conveyance;
4 WD, ATV, horses, bikers and
hikers, I see nothing that would
prevent driving my truck down this road.
 |
root cellar?
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I soon come to a small creek crossing followed by a big tree fallen
across the road, here on the left is a good parking spot and to the right a
road detour around the dead tree. Back
on the road there’s more parking back in front of the downed tree. Then another small easy creek crossing and up
above a tall bluffline, and another rock wall at its base. |
big meadow...
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Soon is another good parking area, all along the road so far, I’ve heard
rapidly moving water tumbling off little ledges and cascades usually just out of
view but never far. Then as the road turns
to the north away from the North Fork, I see a faint trail continuing north on
what appears to have once been a driveway, slightly uphill I go to check it
out. |
with many possible campsites
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Less than a hundred yards off the road are the stone ruins of a house,
with some more stonework out front consisting of steps and a low wall and at
the back of the house is what may have been the root cellar built into the
hillside. I head back out to the west through a small clearing to the
road. At another parking place then an
old campsite and across the road, of course a rock wall. |
'Orange Trail' blazes
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Before arriving at the next little creek are a couple big mud holes
across the road and a detour to the north.
Near the creek crossing is an un-marked trail heading off to the north
uphill into this creek drainage, I cross the creek and head back to the south
and the ‘main’ road. Here I enter a
large meadow or ‘wildlife opening’ as the Forest Service calls them. To me it looks like a campground waiting to
happen. |
spring daffodils help locate hidden homesites
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On the west end of the big meadow is another slightly smaller meadow, at
the top of this open area the Orange Trail leaves the road at an intersection
signed ‘Pedestal Rock’ but I stay on the road.
Soon crossing a small dry creek with rock walls down both sides of the
drainage, and then a homesite with some daffodils just starting to bloom. Above the flower beds maybe a hundred feet
are a few stone remains of the house. |
remains of an old house
|
Down the road under 200 yards further I find a nice clean off-trail side trip to the river, at a very pretty spot on
the bank of North Fork Illinois Bayou.
Here I have a little break while taking a few pictures and notice yet
another rock wall, this one across the river above the south bank. Heading back to the road I pass another rock
wall, now on the road again I’m under the point of a tall bluffline with
another rock wall, up in the bluffs I make out what appears to be a couple nice
shelter caves. |
swift running 'Bayou'
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I soon enter another big food plot/wildlife opening (meadow) with plenty
of locations for parking and camping.
Farther along, the road comes alongside a big boulder with a flat side
facing the road. Past here I notice the
road has narrowed slightly, still drivable but now with all the low branches
and tight brush you can expect some scratches on your nice paint job. |
North Fork Illinois Bayou
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The next quarter mile of road stays close to the river with some nice
views of still aqua pools and frothy rocky rapids. Then an intersection, I leave the road and
head north now following Right Hand Prong upstream. Less of a road now, this looks like some ATV
use probably occurred long ago but nothing recently, and the trail deteriorates
rapidly into a pretty rough bushwhack.
Lots of rocks mixed in with greenbrier everywhere. |
Roadside Boulder
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I’m looking for a waterfall called Hogdripper Falls but find no trace of
anything more than about a foot tall.
There are multiple channels of Right Hand Prong all through this area,
and I search them all but find no waterfall.
Turning around I make my way back onto the trail then the road, I turn
right and come to what I’ll call the last parking spot. |
tranquil spot on Right Hand Prong
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The ‘road’ continues down the short bank and crosses Right Hand Prong,
before which I change into my creek waders since there’s nowhere to be seen where I can
cross and keep my feet dry. At the banks
of Right Hand, the old road is washed out, now just a faint trail with a very big downed tree that can be crossed underneath
without even bending down. |
looking for the elusive Hogdripper
|
Not far after the tree tunnel
I cross Left Hand Prong sort of diagonally on some good-sized mossy rocks. The trail now that I’m out of the rocky creek
bed becomes more obvious and I soon come to a rock cairn at the left side of
the trail. Up above, somewhere in the
bluffs is a cave known as Sunken Bottom Cave and I assume this cairn marks the
place to leave the trail for a steep ascent to the cave. |
Right Hand Prong
|
I don’t see anything resembling a trail, and with the thick undergrowth
including greenbrier, I think I’ll pass.
I continue just a little further to a spot next to the cut-bank above
Left Hand. Across the creek and up the hillside is an
impressive bluffline with a couple apparent caves or shelters and two dripping
waterfalls. These are wet weather falls for sure, the lower
looks to be maybe eight feet wide and 10-12 feet tall. The upper fall is probably 20 feet above the
lower and a little narrower but taller. |
near Left and Right confluence
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I head back the way I came, crossing both Left then Right Hand Prongs
then on the road it’s a quick trip back to the truck. Along the way I think about camping in one of
the big meadows and hiking up into the many blufflines with shelters and
waterfalls including the two established trails leading north into Pedestal
Rocks SIA, an adventure for another day. |
Right Hand crossing
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Today I had a great time exploring an area I knew next to nothing about,
I’ve only whetted my appetite for
more, so I know future visits are in order.
Overall, this was a very easy hike with little elevation change on the nice
wide trail (road actually), my total mileage was 5.8 with just over 400 feet
altitude gain. |
dripping falls hidden in the rocks
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North Fork: Statistics Chart 163 Where to park depends
on the off-road ability of your
vehicle and how far you want to hike, today I parked at the side of Boyd Road
about 3.1 miles down from the intersection with Highway 16. The Boyd Road intersection with Highway 16 is
about 3.6 miles east then south from the entrance to Pedestal Rocks Kings
Bluff. Boyd Road is not for all cars; I would recommend high ground clearance and 4-wheel drive.
 |
| base map before fair use alterations is property of USFS--licensed under Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 3.0 U.S. License |
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