Gulley Trail

The Gulley Trail meanders through a forested stream gulch on Hot Springs Mountain's lower slopes, following a seasonal watercourse that drains the mountain's novaculite ridgelines through a narrow, wooded hollow. This gentle loop is the park's most accessible trail for wildflower viewing — the moist, sheltered gulch microclimate supports an extraordinary array of spring ephemerals including bloodroot, hepatica, trout lily, and several species of trillium that bloom in February and March, weeks ahead of wildflower seasons further north. The stream corridor hosts dense stands of spicebush, whose yellow blossoms perfume the air in early spring before the leaves emerge. By May, the canopy closes overhead in a cathedral arch of white oak, sycamore, and sweetgum. Tulip poplars — Arkansas's tallest native trees — tower above the trail in the gulch bottom; some individuals exceed 120 feet in height and 24 inches in diameter. The trail crosses the stream on wooden footbridges twice, passing through thickets of native cane (Arundinaria gigantea) that recall the bottomland habitats that once covered much of the lower Mississippi Valley. Pileated woodpeckers excavate rectangular cavities in dead snags with characteristic loud drumming. The loop connects to the Hot Springs Mountain Tower trail and the broader network of the park's 26 miles of maintained trails. Poison ivy is abundant — long pants are recommended spring through fall.