187 Centerpoint Trailhead to Goat Trail

     The Centerpoint Trailhead always seems to be full to capacity to the extent that an entrepreneur across the road now offers ‘secure parking $5.00’.  Many times we’ve driven past saying ‘someday...’ well today is the day, I pull in at 10:00 with only one vehicle in the medium size parking lot, sure it’s the middle of the week but this trailhead is always popular.

views for miles from Goat Trail

    And why not, Centerpoint Trail provides access to literally every inch of the Ponca Wilderness.  Ponca is unique having lots of trails crisscrossing the wilderness, making exploration easy.  And Centerpoint may be the easiest entry point into the wilderness, since the trailhead parking is located right on State Highway 43, paved all the way.  All of this contributes to the trailheads popularity, but the biggest reasons for a full parking lot are Eva Henderson’s Home and The Goat Trail.

trailhead warnings

Chimney Rock Trail

    The downside to Centerpoint Trailhead is that it sits on top the mountain at an elevation over 2100 feet, the Buffalo River is way down there at around the 960 foot elevation.  The hike back up to your waiting car will obviously provide an excellent cardio workout, the Park Service points this out at the trailhead with an analogy comparing the hike to climbing to the top of the Golden Gate Bridge.  Only slightly intimidated, I head ‘down’ the Centerpoint Trail.

Centerpoint Trail near wilderness boundary

looking back up from middle of long descent

    Three hundred yards down the trail is the first intersection, the barely noticeable Chimney Rock Trail which looks pretty rugged compared to the super highway Centerpoint Trail.  Chimney Rock cuts back steeply down to the south without a trail marker or even blazes on trees.  Centerpoint by comparison continues east downhill on old Centerpoint Road, and so far the grade has been ‘gentle’.

Parker homesite ruins

washed out road

    A little further on down the road are two big flat rocks  just the right size for benches, maybe a quarter mile more I pass into (unmarked) the Ponca Wilderness.  Along this stretch of trail on the south side is a drop off or low bluffline with many wet weather falls and lots of big rock blocks.  On the north side of the road was once a ridgetop farm with little remains (I didn’t find anything).  Then a quarter mile from the wilderness boundary begins the longest descent of this hike.

big tree at Goat Trail junction

Goat Trail markers

    It’s a straight shot down the hill losing 180 feet of elevation along the way, then left north to another old homesite.  Here the road is severely damaged from frequent wash-outs, that have exposed a concrete culvert that was once the driveway.  Up on the hill maybe 50 feet is a little spring with a concrete and stone ‘boxed water reservoir’.  A hundred feet farther down is what’s left of the William Parker house: a stone/concrete foundation a rusty car hood bed-springs and the front yard fence and gate.

bluffline break on Goat Trail

arrive on the face of Big Bluff

    Now with the washed out road in terrible shape, the trail follows above just to the south on a short detour before rejoining the road before the next faint trail intersection.  This seldom used connector trail is a steep route down to Sneeds Creek Trail.  About another third of a mile the trail leaves the road again, this time staying north of the road on what was probably once the driveway to the old Frank Little place where I find no remains whatsoever.

distant vistas

ancient Ashe's juniper

    Right where the trail meets back up with the road is another severely washed out area, the trail crosses the road and follows it downhill on another little detour.  At the beginning and end of this detour are campsites, the second a little larger with a downed tree for plentiful firewood, then back on the road.  Now on the north side of the road is a steep drop off with a wet weather fall.

mostly easy hiking on Goat Trail

along Big Bluff

    A third of a mile more is another faint trail intersecting from the south, I have no idea where this trail goes, then on the left a little sinkhole.  As I continue downhill, soon up ahead in a nice cleared area that is almost flat with a big tree next to the trail are two campsites, one on either side of the road.  And more importantly a trail intersection which you can’t hardly miss as wide as a road, south, this is the Goat Trail.


beauty in every direction

    Right away on the Goat Trail is a post marker stating (in not so many words): no horses, no camping, no maintenance.  And a white blaze nailed to a tree, these are the first trail markers seen since 100 yards past Centerpoint trailhead.  Downhill from there I soon come to a bluffline break down through sharp wet rocks, then the well-worn trail levels out along the face of Big Bluff.


interesting formations

    Big Bluff the tallest on the upper Buffalo measures about 590 feet to the top, here on the Goat Trail it’s about 350 feet down to the river.  Soon the fantastic views begin to open up through the cedars and juniper.  Today water is dripping off the bluffs above and with the bright sunshine the tree cover smells wonderful.  In a few places the trail is wet with some loose rock, needless to say be careful.

in places the trail gets narrow...

and sometimes close to the edge

    Spectacular vistas come one after another, most of the trail now is on solid rock and in some places it gets pretty narrow between bluff wall and a sheer drop over 300 feet to the river below.  Not a place for horseplay, small children or anybody with vertigo.  For the most part this is an easy stroll, but there are a couple places where you have to climb over a downed cedar or up a short stone ledge.

easy climb down to continue

more fabulous views

    Many great views up and down: straight down below the edge is the Buffalo, snaking along with lots of recent flood damage, across up on a hill the roof of a barn where the Centerpoint School once stood.  Up above the river bends beautiful bluffs provide a break in the seemingly endless forest right up to the horizon.  Way up high in the distance possibly on Hanner Point I spot a house with the proverbial million dollar view pointed directly at Big Bluff.

see the barn roof?

flood scoured river bank

    The great vistas go on for over a quarter mile, and the Goat Trail keeps going beyond that down the mountain ending at the Old River Trail (see: 148 Steele and Beech Creeks), but at a short wet ledge requiring a little climb down, I decide to turn around, better safe than sorry.  On the way out I stop for a short break where allegedly some parents broke through a thin rock wall to create a safer route for their kids walking along the goat trail on their way to and from school.


Yes: Close to the Edge

    Next is the inevitable long walk all uphill to Centerpoint Trailhead, none of it is really steep just a continuous ascent for about 3 miles.  On my way out I cross paths with a couple hikers coming in, but not the non-stop procession of day trippers I was expecting.  I realize that I had the Goat Trail all to myself and therefor definitely picked the right day for this hike.  Today’s great outdoor adventure above the Buffalo River was 6.4 miles roundtrip with 851 feet of altitude gain.


out on the face of Big Bluff

Centerpoint Trailhead: Statistics Chart 187     Although this trailhead is well known, you might like some direction.  The trailhead parking is on the east side of Highway 43 just 0.77 miles south of the Highway 43/103 junction, or 3.84 miles north of the Highway 43/74 junction, that’s about as easy as it gets.

base map before fair use alterations is property of USGS--licensed under Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 3.0 U.S. License


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