My brother and I drove 3 hours to the middle of the Ozark National Forest to try and find two waterfalls:
Twin Falls
and
Pam's Grotto
An hour after arriving near our destination for the first waterfall (Twin Falls) we finally found the road to the campground (these people need better signs!) and on our way to the campground we saw all these cars and four wheelers parked on the side of the road so we stopped too and saw a really cool swimming hole that we wished we had more time for!
After driving the incredibly long and winding and verry muddy road we learned from another creek goer that the road to Richland Camp Grounds (where the trailhead started to get to Twin Falls) was closed due to a massive mountain landslide that blocked the road...SO, our trip to Twin Falls was scratched off. We knew there were other falls in the area so we headed to our next falls.
Haw Creek Falls
(during low water)
These falls are super easy to get to. If you turn into the Haw Creek Falls Campground you can't miss em! You can see and hear them from the campground itself. They aren't a spectacular sight, but its a really neat little place and a perfect swimming hole for sure!
We then started the hike to Packrat Falls
This hike is rated a moderate hike but is very slippery, as you follow the creek.
And we made it to Packrat Falls!
We decided to hike further upstream, which is a bit more difficult because to get above the waterfall you have to go up a very steep and very slippery side of the mountain.
SOOOO glad we did though, because we found THIS unamed waterfall! Small, but absoltuely beautiful!
After hiking back from these falls we began searching for Pam's Grotto on foot. We literally searched for hours and could not find the trail we were supposed to find to lead us there. We finally gave up and started the long walk back to our car. By this time we were absolutely exhausted and so dirty we looked like homeless people walking the side of the road!
Other pics along our journey
Big Piney Creek
Today was simply awesome. We saw some amazing sites, hiked some of the most beautiful, dense, and lush woods i've ever seen, saw some beautiful waterfalls, laughed and had tons of fun! HOWEVER, because we didn't make it to our two main waterfall destination, it doesn't quite feel like it was quite worth the 3 hour drive. We could have stayed in our area and checked out the wateralls around closer to where we live. Next time I will definately be more prepared and really pinpoint the exact locations of our destination waterfalls. Maybe phone the forest service, talk to locals, check the internet for other peoples hikes to these places and how they found it, etc. OR just buy a GPS!
BUT, all in all we had a wonderful day, but boyyy will I be sore tomorrow!
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