Can’t go wrong Hikers share favorite locales for fall color

You can’t go wrong in Northwest Arkansas,” said Jan Casebere of Bella Vista. A member of the Hill ‘N Dale Hiking Club, Casebere joined the group’s “trail boss,” Bev Munstermann, last week on her front porch outside of Jane, Mo. They were sharing places where they’ve experienced the Ozarks’ beautiful fall foliage on their hikes.

“Anywhere you can see the sun shine through the trees,” Munstermann said.

The club doesn’t take specific hikes to view the fall leaves, Munstermann explained. Rather, they hike different locations weekly, September through December and March through June.

“The Buffalo (National River)

is by far the most scenic,” Munstermann said. “There are so many hikes over there, we’ve yet to explore them all.”

The Goat Trail along the Buffalo River near Ponca spurs off the Big Bluff Trail and takes hikers along a bluff edge over the river, the highest bluff between the Appalachian and Rocky mountains, Munstermann said. “But to get out, it’s 3 ½ miles uphill. I got winded. It was hard to breathe.

“Beginners should make sure

you don’t do hikes that are ‘moderate’ or ‘hard,” she cautioned. “The ‘hard’ ones have a lot of uphill.”

“All trails start downhill,” quipped Munstermann’s husband, Glenn, who was overhearing the conversation while enjoying the morning scene across the valley, with the fog hanging in the mountain tops. He said he prefers the flat trails around Lake Atalanta in Rogers or Lake Bella Vista.

Casebere also mentioned the Lost Valley and Steel Creek trails with overlooks of the Buffalo near Ponca, and Bev Munstermann offered the Whitaker Point Trail to Hawksbill Craig. “You’ve seen the pictures of that rock jutting out over the valley,” she asked. “It’s an immense valley — and a pretty drive to get there.

“Devil’s Den is my favorite park,” Munstermann continued. “The vastness of the overlook on Yellow Rock Trail.”

Devil’s Den’s Yellow Rock Trail overlooks the Lee Creek valley from 300 feet above, rated at moderate difficulty. The park offers 10 other trails of varying difficulty.

“And there’s Lake Leatherwood in Eureka Springs,” Casebere added. “And the drive to get there is beautiful.”

Munstermann added Roaring River State Park nearby in Cassville, Mo. “We’ve just started exploring that,” she said. “And they

have the trout ponds. They have some good hikes.”

Roaring River offers seven trails, with the rugged Deep Leaf Trail leading visitors to the fish hatchery. Lake Leatherwood, a Eureka Springs city park, includes seven trails.

“We’ll go (hiking) at the drop of hat if it’s below 80 (degrees),” Munstermann said.

Munstermann enjoys the solo hikes she takes nearly daily in the Huckleberry Ridge State Forest adjacent to her family’s land.

“I hike to walk off the ‘crazies,’” she said. “I walk to relax. Sometimes, I walk for an hour before I slow down. My solo hike is my time. I like being in nature. I like to breathe the air. My drug of choice is endorphins.”

“I get to see something new every day,” Casebere said of her hikes.

The Hill ‘N Dale club takes several overnight trips to hike in other regions, Casebere explained. She enjoys hikes around Blanchard Springs Caverns in Mountain View and Petit Jean State Park.

The women also take advantage of the trails near their homes: the Blowing Springs trails, the Tanyard Creek Nature Trail and the Back 40 in Bella Vista.

“They’re so scenic, with waterfalls and caves and bluffs over the creeks,” Munstermann said.

“I live in Bella Vista and do (Tanyard Creek) over and over again, and I never get tired of it,” Casebere said. “And we haven’t gone wrong on the Back 40. And you can never go wrong on the Crystal Bridges (Museum of American Art) trails.”

The Back 40 offers “nearly 40 miles of natural surface, multi-use trails,” according to the Bella Vista city government’s website. And Crystal Bridges maintains eight trails.

The Hill ‘N Dale group also walks the Bentonville square to see the Christmas lights as the last hike of the season, Munstermann said.

But for those who prefer to see the fall color without the effort … “The Pig Trail (Arkansas 23) is awesome to drive a car down, also U.S. 62 to Eureka Springs,” Casebere said.

And she offered the Maplewood Cemetery in Harrison. More than 700 sugar maple trees grow in the park, and graves date back to the Civil War.

“Even the Bella Vista golf courses show some great fall color,” Casebere finished.

File photo A squirrel jumps through the fallen leaves on the University of Arkansas campus in Fayetteville after morning rainstorms moved through the area in 2013. Peak color in 2017 is expected from late October to early November in Northwest Arkansas, according...

File photo Chlorophyll carries out photosynthesis during the growing season and gives leaves their green color. But as the season ends, chlorophyll is broken down, with some of its long chain carbohydrates sent to the base of the tree for winter storage. As the...

File photo Kenny Greer, cemetery manager, raises an American flag, with a backdrop of red fall leaves, last year near the entrance at the Benton County Memorial Park in Rogers. Northwest Arkansas boasts many locations for beautiful fall leaf color.

File photo A University of Arkansas student tries to stay dry during a morning rain shower in 2014 as she walks past the changing leaves in front of Old Main at the University of Arkansas. Warm, sunny days and cool nights, coupled with a bit of moisture, provide...