On our recent weekend getaway to NW Arkansas, we decided to take our kids to explore Devil’s Den State Park, south of West Forks. What a fantastic park with so much natural beauty! We had the best time exploring the trails and creek. If you are spending time in Northwest Arkansas and looking for something to get your kids outside, definitely give this park a stop!
We are early risers (those of you with little kids totally get this), so we arrived at the park shortly before 9am on a Sunday morning in early November. The traffic was very minimal at this time of day, which allowed us to drive nice and slow around the twisty roads and soak in all the beautiful views. The weather was crisp in the morning, but was beautiful by afternoon. Being from the Midwest, I am sure it gets scorching here in the middle of the summer, so I would plan your trip for early morning or evening if you are traveling when it’s hot out.
We started our morning at Devil’s Den trailhead, which begins right behind the visitor’s center. I had done a little research beforehand, and decided that we wanted to give this trail a try despite it being a little more difficult than the hikes we normally attempt. My 4 and 7 year old are pretty good hikers and enjoy exploring trails, so I knew they would be fine. My 2-year-old was not feeling great, and he didn’t last long before dad and I were taking turns carrying him. In hindsight, if you are bringing a kiddo under 3 on this hike, I would recommend a carrier so you have your hands free and they are more secured to you. There are several spots on this hike that involve climbing, and having both hands is definitely helpful. We forgot to grab our Tula toddler carrier for this trip, but it would have been perfect for this adventure.
The Devil’s Den trail is 1.5 miles long, and is rated moderate difficulty level. It was the most difficult trail my kids had ever hiked, but we are also relatively new to hiking. There are lots of stairs, many of which are quite steep, and several places that you climb down a pile of rocks. There are two waterfalls along the trail, one of which was dry when we visited, but I can only imagine how beautiful they are in early spring when they are overflowing.
You gain over 100 feet of elevation on this trail, and literally climb up and back down the side of a small mountain. There are several caves along the path, but all were closed on our visit to help protect the bats that inhabit them.
Once you get down into the valley at the bottom of the mountain and look up at what you just hiked, you will be amazed! The view is absolutely stunning. There are some picnic tables here, and we stopped for a rest and quick snack. The last ⅓ of the trail was much more leisurely, and we enjoyed walking along the crystal clear stream. My 4 year old loved playing “the floor is lava” on all the stepping stones and watching the birds, chipmunks and squirrels. We even saw some trees that had been gnawed by a beaver, and could see their dam in the creek.
When we got to the end of the trail, it led us back to the visitor’s center, where we found a picnic table to sit at and have an early lunch.
After lunch, we drove to a different parking lot to explore the Lake Trail. This hike is 1 mile round trip, is rated easy, and takes you right past a huge waterfall along Lee Creek.
My kiddos enjoyed this easy hike, although I think they were more engaged on the first one because it was more exciting and was a bit of a challenge. There were several pretty bridges on this trail, and you walk alongside the creek the whole way. Pretty quickly you arrive at the large waterfall, which has a nice place to sit and watch if you want. We stopped for {another} snack and admired the scenery for a bit before we kept going.
At this point in the day, my kids were getting tired and were over hiking, so we didn’t make it the whole mile. There’s a large bridge about ¼ of a mile into the trail that crosses the creek, and we took it and headed back the way we came from. My kids were dying to see if there were any fish in the creek, and the water level was really low, so we climbed down the rocks into the creek bed and walked along the edge. This allowed us to get right up next to the waterfall, which was really neat. My kids enjoyed playing in the creek bed, tossing rocks into the stream and searching for fish.
Once we finished our hike, we walked over to the lake to enjoy the scenery a bit and let the kids get the last of their wiggles out. Right behind the lake is a building with bathrooms, a gift shop, and a small restaurant where you could stop and grab lunch if you wanted. As we were sitting on the dock, we saw several otters splashing around and playing in the lake, just feet from us! We sat there for quite awhile watching them play and swim in the lake before they disappeared.
We spent about 5 hours at Devil’s Den, and only hiked 2 of the 17 trails. We could have spent a whole extra day here and still not have seen even half of what this amazing park has to offer! If you are looking for a great stop to get your family outside and moving, this is it. It is so naturally beautiful and peaceful, you will not be disappointed! I highly recommend Devil’s Den with kids of all ages!
Have you been to Devil’s Den State Park before? If so, let me know your favorite thing to do here!