Chasing Waterfalls. How to Plan the Perfect Chase.

My 2 favorite months of the year? Fall Foliage Month and Waterfall Month.

Luckily they are nice and spaced out in Arkansas. Fall foliage month: October-November. Waterfall Month: April-May (maybe into June).

This puts us in CHASING WATERFALLS season right now!

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Chasing Waterfalls: How to Find the Waterfalls

A few waterfalls are always flowing. But during the rainy months, they are ALL flowing and give a spectacular show. Many of the waterfalls in Arkansas are in the Ozarks and along the Buffalo River.

With hundreds to see, each year I have to be picky about which falls I want to see for the first time and which falls were so amazing I want to see for them again.

(Because if I hike a few miles in the Ozark Mountains to see them, those waterfalls better show off!)

So when the opportunity presents itself (a free weekend after rains all week), I gotta be ready to roll! Here’s how I plan a day of chasing waterfalls.

First, I have to know where the waterfalls are in proximity to each other. For that, I always go to my Arkansas Waterfalls book.

If you love waterfalls, you will want this book! It was a little tricky at first to figure out how to best work the book to get the info I needed. But once I figured out the layout, it became invaluable!

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If you don’t have a book, FB groups dedicated to local waterfalls are a great starting point. I follow a group that is dedicated to Arkansas Waterfalls.

Find a waterfall you like, and then google it for directions. If you zoom in on Google, sometimes you can see other nearby waterfalls that are marked.

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At some point, I also came across a small “Arkansas Waterfalls Guide” pamphlet that I picked up for free that has information on 18 waterfalls. It’s possible I grabbed that at an Arkansas State Park at some point.

Chasing Waterfalls: Deciding Which Falls to Chase

My guidelines for this trip- I can spare one day, can comfortably manage a 2-hour drive one way, I want to see as many waterfalls as possible, and the hiking needs to be easy/minimal since I will be alone on this trip (my co-waterfall chaser is out of town for the weekend, but I can’t pass up this opportunity since it has rained all week).

Looking at my waterfall book at a location I know is about 2 hours away, I see a cluster of many waterfalls.

At a glance, I can see where the falls are, what they are named, how tall they are, if the hike is easy/medium/difficult, and the page number to see pictures and hike details.

See this waterfall in action HERE!

One great waterfall that I would like to revisit is High Bank Twin Falls (#93 in the book). I am familiar with this half-mile easy hike. Once I find that waterfall, I look at the 5 other nearby falls (#87-92).

#87 and #88 are 29′ and 37′ falls that are side by side on the same hike that is listed as a medium, 1-mile hike. YES! I add this hike to the list.

#89, 90, and 91 are on a 3-mile difficult hiking trail. Nope. My first time on a difficult trail is reserved for when I have a co-hiker.

#92 is a 1-mile hike to a 19′ fall. From the pictures of the fall, I add this to the maybe list. Depending on how the day goes and how much time I have, I may visit. it.

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#104 and #105 are also nearby. The book says they are both on the same medium, 1.2-mile trail. BUT it states that it is a steep hike. So I’ll save this one to do with my co-hiker.

I check out a few other falls on the route but decide I will probably stop with the 2 hikes to leave myself plenty of time to explore and take pictures of each area, without feeling rushed.

See this waterfall in action HERE!

I use Google Maps and AllTrail (directions) to find out the drive times from my house to stop 1, stop 2, and back home.

Plan for Chasing Waterfalls

So the final plan is to see waterfalls #87 and #88 (Murray Falls, Senyard Falls) on a 1-mile easy hike (1:25 drive), and then drive to #93 (High Bank Twin Falls) for a half-mile easy hike (23 min drive), and then home (1:51 drive).

Totals: roughly 4 hours of driving for the day, 2 hikes, 1.5 miles hiked, 3 waterfalls.

Easy peasy.

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For the prep, I use my Chasing Waterfalls Checklist. Once I have everything written down and checked off, I’m good to go with no worry of forgetting anything!

The night before my trip I had everything together and prepped, with the exception of my Cannon Camera battery still charging up.

Der Mensch Tracht, Un Gott Lacht.

Yiddish expression “Man plans, and god laughs”

Despite the best-laid plans, things can (and usually will) go astray. So how did this day of chasing waterfalls go?

Waterfall Chasing Results

PERFECTLY!

I had pretty much everything ready to go the morning of, and was so excited to go that I got out the door by 7:30. The drive to the first stop took a little longer than expected due to EIGHT areas of one-lane traffic for road repairs.

I flew past the first stop but easily turned around. There was only 1 parking spot (of 3) left, so I quickly swooped that up.

The first hike (listed as a 1-mile easy hike) was NOT easy! And it was NOT a mile (because I took the scenic off-trail route and decided to find my way to the bottom of the waterfalls). The hike back up the mountainside was a beast. But I made it.

This stop took at least 2 hours (but mind you, I was taking my time and TONS of pictures).

The drive to and hike to the second waterfall was easily found since it was my second trip there. Although, this fall was a little disappointing compared to my memory of it from last year.

The Chasing Waterfalls checklist worked perfectly! I was so happy to have packed extra clothes, snacks, and water! After the second hike, I changed and freshened up for the scenic drive home, pulling into the driveway at 3:45.

Now it’s YOUR turn for Chasing Waterfalls…

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