Kings River Falls

this is Kings River Falls. next

I recently hiked to Kings River Falls; an area I have wanted to see for a while; the area turned out to be prettier than I expected! This is near Boston, Arkansas, which is a rural community in northwest Arkansas. I will try to post  directions in the future. There is a small parking place right by a small creek that is the trailhead. The trail follows this creek and joins Kings River downstream a bit. The trail is level with just a few rough spots and takes no more than 30-40 minutes to get to the falls area. I arrived in late afternoon and stayed until sunset. This area looks like a perfect summer swimming hole; it was a bit too cool for me to take a dip at this time of year though. All in all, an easy, enjoyable hike.

Thomas Ridge in Great Smoky Mountains National Park

   Newfound Gap Road (US 441) bisects  Great Smoky Mountains National Park from Gatlinburg, TN to Cherokee North Carolina; the road climbs to its high point at over 5000' elevation at Newfound Gap before dropping down into North Carolina. Newfound Gap Road  follows a prominent ridge known as Thomas Ridge for a few miles passing several overlooks and trailheads. Some of the most spectacular views in the park are along this stretch of road, particularly to the southwest looking over the Deep Creek drainage.  Here are several images from the area:

Smoky mountain sunset from Thomas Ridge  along US 441 in Great Smoky Mountains National Park in North Carolina.   (next)

sunset from Newfound Gap Road overlook on Thomas Ridge in Great Smoky Mountains National Park.    (next)

evening light from Thomas Ridge  (next)