Buffalo National River
Lost Valley Trail

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Natural bridge

Lost Valley Trail is a short hike into an ever narrowing canyon. Along the way you will find a natural bridge with a stream flowing through it in a tortuous water course, an incredibly high sheer bluff, a beautiful waterfall and a deep cave high up the canyon wall.


I wanted to explore the cave when I visited because there is a waterfall 100 feet inside, but the footing was too slippery for the shoes I was wearing and I was a little nervous to be exploring the cave alone.
This is a wonderful hike - both fun and scenic!

Approach
From the northern junction of Arkansas 7 and Arkansas 74 northeast of Jasper Arkansas, head west along 74 14.0 miles till it ends at a tee with Arkansas 43.
Turn right on 43 and head southwest 1.0 miles to Lost Valley Rd.
Turn right on Lost Valley Rd. and follow it 0.5 miles east to the trailhead parking lot.
Coordinates for the hike: 36.0101150,-93.3744760
Parking / Trailhead amenities
The gravel parking lot is large with space for a lot of cars. There is a flush toilet and a pit toilet adjacent to the parking lot, along with a water faucet and a number of informational kiosks.
Trail observations
The trail exits from the west end of the parking lot, almost immediately crossing a stream on some easy stepping stones. From there the trail slowly ascends along a broad well marked path that follows the stream.
After about a mile there is a natural bridge that the stream flows through - take time to explore this area - it's pretty amazing!
From there the trail climbs a bit to a Eden Falls, then climbs steeply to visit Eden Cave. After exploring Eden Cave (be very careful - it's slippery in there!), retrace your steps to the parking lot.
Trail statistics
The trail is 2.92 miles long. The sum of all the uphill climbs is 288 feet.
Trail waypoints
0.00 miParking Parking lot
0.13 miTrailheadTrailhead
0.17 miKeep rightBranch - keep right
0.80 miStay leftBranch - stay left
0.87 miGo rightBranch - go right towards the natural bridge
0.95 miNatural BridgeCheck out the bridge, then head left
1.42 miHead rightHead right to the falls
1.47 miGo rightHead right to the falls
1.56 miHead leftHead left and up to the cave
1.62 miTwisty trailTwisty trail to the cave
2.92 miEnd of trailEnd of trail
Trail map - Lost Valley Trail
Altitude chart - Lost Valley Trail Keep right Stay left Go right Head right Head left Twisty trail End of trail
Keywords
Difficulty: Easy
Difficulty: Moderate
Feature: Cave
Feature: Waterfall
Terrain: Canyon
Terrain: Hilly
Trail surface: Dirt
Trail surface: Rock
Type: Out-and-back
View: Overlooks
View: Wooded
County: Newton
State: Arkansas
Country: United States of America
Excellent Trail writeup - good info on the surrounding area
National Park Service Web site
Resources
Printable trail map in PDF format (30 Mb download)
Printable trail map in PNG format (4 Mb download)
Waypoints in CSV format
Waypoints in KML format
Instructions on using a trail description page
Instructions on using a trail map printout
Trails in the surrounding area
Trailheads for Arkansas Kansas, Missouri, and Oklahoma (No additional trails)
Trailheads for Arkansas Kansas, Missouri, and Oklahoma (2 additional trails)
Trailheads for Arkansas Missouri, and Oklahoma (No additional trails)
Trailheads for Arkansas Missouri, and Oklahoma (2 additional trails)