Hiking: Eagle Rock Loop, Ouachita Mountains of Arkansas

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The Eagle Rock Loop is located in the southwestern portion of the Ouachita National Forest. Along the way, the Eagle Rock Loop has numerous river, stream and creek crossings and travels over nine mountains. Some of the water crossings on the Eagle Rock Loop can be difficult, if not impossible at higher water levels, so it’s important to check those before beginning your hike. The most difficult crossings involve the Little Missouri River near the junction of the Viles Branch and Little Missouri Trails.

We hiked the Eagle Rock Loop in July and it was definitely hot for our northern blood, with daytime temperatures in the 90s and nighttime temps not much below 80 degrees, but so long as we watched our nutrition and hydration, we did fine. Even in a hot dry summer, it seems that many of the streams run year round, even though water levels were low. For us, only the Saline Creek crossing was dry when we did it. Those multiple creek crossings also allowed us to swim and cool off.

We hiked the 30 mile Eagle Rock Loop in 2 1/2 days. We began late (5pm) on a Sunday evening at the Winding Stairs Trailhead, hiked in a few miles to a campsite just past the Albert Pike Recreation Area (heading in a counter clockwise direction on the Eagle Rock Loop). The next day was roughly 14 miles to a campsite alongside Long Creek. The last day was another 14 or so miles back to our truck at the Winding Stairs Trailhead.

For more information on the Eagle Rock Loop Trail, the National Forest Service maintains a really good web page that includes trail descriptions and maps. We also utilized the FarOut app, which does include the Eagle Rock Loop as a paid trail download. AllTrails also included info on the Eagle Rock Loop.

You’ll also notice no one seems to agree on the total distance. We had a touch over 30 miles, which included the side trips that we took to view points and swimming spots.

Revelation APEX | Lightweight Synthetic Quilt
REI Co-op Magma Trail Quilt 30
Big Agnes Copper Spur HV UL MtnGLO Tent
ENO Hammock
Featherstone El Cordion Sleeping Pad
NEMO Tensor Ultralight Insulated Sleeping Pad

MSR PocketRocket 2 Stove
Snow Peak 450ml Titanium Mug
Sawyer Squeeze Water Filter

Bearvault BV500 Bear Resistant Food Canister

Altra Lone Peak 5 Shoes
Deliberate Life Designs Sandals
Darn Tough Midweight Hiking Socks

Patagonia Nine Trails Shorts
EMS Techwick Essentials Sleeveless Tee
prAna Slope Shorts

Energizer LED Headlamp
Garmin Instinct Watch
Garmin InReach Explorer+ GPS

Hydration and nutrition for this hike:

The Complete Cookie
Gatorade Endurance Carb Energy Chews
GU Energy Roctane Ultra Endurance Energy Drink
Jelly Belly Sport Beans – Energizing Jelly Beans
GU Energy Roctane Ultra Endurance Energy Drink Mix
NUUN Sport + Hydration Tablets
Knorr Rice Sides (various flavors)
StarKist Premium White Chicken
StarKist Tuna
Spam Singles
Instant Oatmeal
Starbucks Via Instant Coffee

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