Along the Mossy Bluff
The Mossy Bluff National Nature Trail in north central Arkansas is part of system of trails authorized by the National Trail System Act of 1968 in recognition of “exemplary trails of local and regional significance.” The relevance of this trail to that philosophy is unknown, but it is a beautiful walk through the woods of part of the Little Red River Canyon, and perhaps that alone is enough.
Beginning at the William Carl Garner Visitor Center for Greers Ferry Dam, the trail wanders along compacted soil and smooth rock surfaces, through forests of oak and other hardwoods bordering the Little Red River below the dam. It is not a particularly difficult hike, at approximately 2.5 km in length round trip, with a negligible rise in elevation of about 45 meters.
The first half of the trail parallels a service road for the dam, gradually descending to a peaceful and tranquil hollow hosting an unnamed creek bed. A light amount of water cascades down to a minor waterfall approximately a hundred yards downstream, buried deep in the brush.
Very likely inaccessible from the trail during the growing season, late fall and early spring provide easy access to the waterfall. One might be able to view or access it from the service road below. Either route will require bushwhacking through a lot of undergrowth during the summer, likely containing more than an ample supply of poison ivy.
The trail splits just beyond the creek bed, and following the path to the left leads to a small bluff just above the waterfall, with a clear view of the cascade below. Again, during the growing season, it is probably does not offer a very clear view.
The bluff is stepped through the remainder of the trail, which follows along the edge of one below and one above, either just a short distance from the trail. It eventually converges with the path it split from, and moves much closer to the layered and extremely mossy and lichen covered bluff above. It is easy to see how the trail was named.
The formations along the way are quite interesting, a result of mechanical weathering, and continuing collapse of the surrounding layers of limestone and dolomite. Balanced rocks and tiny caves pepper the craggy bluff line, and at one point, they appear to form a little fortress of sorts.
Approaching the end of the trail, hugging the bluff above and below, water appears to seep between the cracks everywhere. This may just be a damp season occurrence though, and appears to be of insufficient quantity to make the trail slippery and unmanageable.
The trail ends at the Mossy Bluff Overlook, reached by climbing nearly 100 stairs, which provides an excellent view of Greers Ferry Dam and the opposing bank at any time of the year. Fall is probably the best though, when the forest below the dam is ablaze with color.
There are a couple of options for returning at this juncture. A blacktop road leads from the visitor center to the overlook, is about as long as the trail itself, and is all downhill from there. If you return along the trail, take the split to the left on the return trip for a slightly different view of things. It merely wanders through the forest for a few hundred yards before converging again.
