191 On the OHT/BRT to Kimball Bluff

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     Today we’re supposed to reach the mid sixties then winter returns early next week, I had better go hiking to take advantage of the fine weather.  I head back to the Buffalo, but farther downriver I’ll begin at Dillard’s Ferry Trailhead on the combo Ozark Highlands-Buffalo River Trail.  Just south of the Highway 14 Buffalo River bridge I pull in to Dillard’s at the large canoe launch area parking lot.


Hwy. 14 bridge over the Buffalo

    Before hiking I head over to the other side under the bridge, here on the east side are a picnic area and restrooms (with plumbing) along with more parking.  After taking a couple pictures of the Buffalo beneath the bridge I drive back over to the top of the parking lot on the west side close to the OHT/BRT.  I wanted to get a perspective of the distance between river and bridge since this is where the water rose 65 feet during the big flood of 1982, all the way up to the roadway.

large parking area between canoe landing and trailhead

OHT/BRT begins on an old road

    Dillard’s Ferry Trailhead is the ‘official’ east end of the Buffalo River Trail, unofficially the trail continues further east but much of this is bushwhacking.  Today I’ll head west on good trail the whole way, until I go off-trail.  To start the trail follows an old road for the first third of a mile, the same old road we drove a few years ago to get to Tie Chute Hole for a day of swimming and kicking back on the beach (see: 121 Tie Chute Hole).


trail leaves road then follows rocky creek

    Along the road right away is a low rock wall with some daffodils poking up out of the ground, and across the road a big cedar with a twin-split trunk.  At the bottom of a little hill the trail leaves the road heading up a small drainage with lots of moss-covered rocks.  After some stone steps and a second creek crossing the trail climbs up to the top of Kimball Bluff, nothing too steep just a steady climb of over 300 feet.

at base of bluff

wet weather falls in crevice

    But before reaching the top I leave the trail at the base of the bluff where some interesting rocks catch my eye.  I think I’m looking at a shelter or at the very least a pedestal leaning against the bluff, I’m wrong on both counts not a pedestal or a shelter.  But I do find a nice 20-foot wet weather fall in a crevice with a lot of moss and many large sharp rocks making forward progress slow.

bluffline break

    I bail out at the first bluffline break I come to, now on top the bluff soon is another wet weather fall, this one splits in two a few feet below the top forming separate cascades.  Both these waterfalls need way more water than is flowing today to look good.  Not much further is a ‘stacked’ pedestal rock at the edge of the bluff with a big flat vista rock below, and another one below that.  I suppose if you count the pedestal this is a three-level vista with great views of the Buffalo River far below.


pedestal at 3-level vista

    Leaving the edge of the bluffs it’s about 200 yards and 80 feet uphill to the OHT/BRT through clean open woods.  Back on the trail soon after passing mile marker 205 (OHT milage not BRT) the trail ‘tops out’ and many open views between trees present themselves one after another.  At some of these ‘trailside views’ I take a picture, upstream here, downstream there, and just about straight down, Water Creek flows into the Buffalo.

along top of Kimball Bluff

    At the next sharp turn away from the Buffalo and into the Kimball Creek drainage is the best of all these trailside vistas.  On a large flat slab of rock right at the edge of Kimball Bluff with the Buffalo River 400 feet below is Kimball Creek Vista.  Although I can’t even see Kimball Creek, there are excellent views up and down stream of the Buffalo and the mouth of Water Creek.  I hang out here a while just soaking in the scenery.

mile 205 on OHT

    Here at Kimball Creek Vista is a little fire ring and next to that a very faint trail heads up the hill north, I can’t resist.  Not too steep overall about 80 feet up, I lose the trail a couple times but where the hill levels out there’s a nice campsite at the end of a road.  Following this good road, I come to an intersection and turn left still heading north, after about 300 yards I leave the road out toward the top of the bluffline only about 50 feet back to the trail.


Buffalo River views from the trail

    Now heading back to Dillard’s Ferry, I stay on the trail the entire way.  At a sharp turn that I missed earlier due to my bushwhack along the base of the bluffs is a rock point outcrop with a nice view through the woods.  On the way, now almost completely downhill, I notice lots of stone steps built into the trail that I didn’t pay any attention to on the way up.  And of course, going downhill I make good time, I’m back at the truck before I know it.


arriving at Kimball Creek Vista

    Also, on the way back the wind picked up and the temperature dropped ten degrees, good thing I didn’t wait till tomorrow to go hiking.  Today I hiked a total of 4 miles with 609 feet of elevation gain.  With lots of beautiful views of the Buffalo River along an interesting bluffline, it was truly a great outdoor adventure in the Ozarks.

Water Creek ends at the Buffalo River

view rock at sharp corner of trail

Dillard’s to Kimball Bluff: Statistics Chart 191     Getting to Dillard’s Ferry OHT/BRT Trailhead is very easy, just south of the SR 14 bridge over the Buffalo turn east into the Dillard’s Ferry picnic area, head north then go under the bridge circle back south to the large canoe landing parking area and park at the south end near the old road which is the trail, head west and enjoy.

base map before fair use alterations is property of USGS-
-licensed under Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 3.0 U.S. License
Location: Dillard's Ferry Trailhead/Parking: 36.0652, -92.5786

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