Cedar Falls Trail

The Cedar Falls Trail leads to the crown jewel of Petit Jean State Park and one of the most spectacular waterfalls in the entire midsouth. Cedar Falls drops 95 feet in a single plunge into a amphitheater-like grotto carved from the canyon wall of Cedar Creek Canyon. The sight and sound of the falls is breathtaking at any season, but particularly dramatic after heavy rainfall when the volume increases dramatically and mist fills the enclosed basin. Petit Jean is Arkansas's oldest state park, established in 1923.

The trail descends steeply from the mesa top through a series of switchbacks and stone steps into the canyon, crossing Cedar Creek via footbridge before arriving at the falls overlook. The canyon walls tower overhead, their sandstone faces streaked with mineral deposits and draped with ferns and mosses in the perpetual humidity near the falls. The climb back out is demanding but manageable for reasonably fit hikers. The surrounding upland trail passes through beautiful mixed hardwood-pine forest. This is widely considered one of the top ten hiking destinations in Arkansas and should not be missed by any visitor to the Arkansas River Valley.