Eagle Rock Loop - Guide to Hiking one of Arkansas' best hikes in the Ouachita Mountains
The Eagle Rock Loop hike in Arkansas is about 30 miles in length and the Eagle Rock Loop itself actually consists of a combination of several other trails including the Little Missouri Trail, the Athens-Big Fork Trail, and part of the Viles Branch Horse Trail. The Eagle Rock Loop traverses through the southwestern portion of the Ouachita National Forest in Arkansas. Along the way, the Eagle Rock Loop has numerous river, stream and creek crossings and travels over nine separate mountains and ridges.
We hiked the Eagle Rock Loop in July of 2022 with our friend Paul, the Oklahomo Hiker. It was definitely hot for these two northern boys with daytime temperatures in the 90s and nighttime temps not much below 80 degrees — even Paul admitted a few times it was hot, so it must have been warm! When we do this hike again, we’ll definitely plan for a spring or fall hike, versus doing it again in the summertime.
We sweated a lot and watching our nutrition and hydration was key on this hike for us. Thankfully with so many water crossings, the vast majority still running even though water levels were low, we were able to stay well hydrated, and also swim and cool off at each crossing.
We hiked the roughly 30 mile 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.
Day 1 - Winding Stair Trailhead to campsite north of Albert Pike Recreation Area - 3 miles
From the trailhead we followed a short side trail down to the intersection with the Eagle Rock Loop. From there we headed in a counterclockwise direction (northward) on the Eagle Rock Loop. The trail began to climb a ridge, where there was a view down to the river valley. Then we descended down to the Albert Pike Recreation Area and we began following the Little Missouri River upstream. A few miles above the Albert Pike Recreation Area we found a campsite and made camp for the night.
Day 2 - Campsite north of Albert Pike Recreation Area to Long Creek - 14 miles
We broke camp in the morning and continued counterclockwise on the Eagle Rock Loop. The trail is following an old road for the most part, making the walking relatively easy. The trail climbs gradually following the Little Missouri River. You pass by Little Missouri Falls and then continue following a fairly gentle route to the intersection with the Athens-Big Fork Trail. Here the Eagle Rock Loop crosses the now very small, Little Missouri River, leaves the old road it was following, and then follows the Athens-Big Fork Trail south over a series of mountain ridges. We continued on the Athens-Big Fork Trail over Hurricane Knob and over the next ridge, before making camp at a campsite alongside Long Creek. The climbs up and over those two ridges was defintely more difficult than the hike prior to then, but again, compared to eastern hiking, the treadway was well maintained and the slope of the climbs were not overly difficult.
Day 3 - Long Creek to Winding Stair Trailhead - 14 miles
After breakfast and breaking camp at Long Creek, we got on our way to continue south crossing ridges until we reach Viles Branch Trail and head eastward towards the Winding Stairs area. The worst of the climbs was the trek up and over Brush Heap Mountain, which was steeper and more direct then the other climbs, but wasn’t overly difficult - just a real slog with it being so hot. On the last ridge is the Eagle Rock vista, which is on a side trail off the main trail, but well worth the few tenths of a mile. From there it was down to the Viles Branch Trail and then we followed the Viles Branch to the trail junction with the Little Missouri/Winding Stairs Trail. Once on the Little Missouri/Winding Stairs Trail, you are again following alongside the Little Missouri River and you travel through the Little Missouri’s gorge through the Winding Stairs area. There are several awesome swimming holes in this section. From there, the trail climbs up and away from the Little Missouri before we came back to the side trail to the Winding Stairs Trailhead.
For More Information
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, but that included the side trips that we took to view points and swimming spots.
A heads up that 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
Backpacking Gear We Used
Hydration and nutrition for this hike:
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