Hiking to the Top of Pinnacle Peak in Arkansas…

Our last few days in Little Rock became quite an adventure. After yesterday's 16.3 mile loop into a punishing head wind I had planned to take a day off to recover.  However after seeing that stormy weather was heading our way I decided that although we were a bit leg weary we should go over to Pinnacle Mountain State Park  to do some hiking while the weather was still nice.

I didn’t really read a lot in advance so had no planned hikes since it was a spur of the moment decision to go..After the 40 minute drive over to the park we came in the back entrance and were pleased to find no fees associated with entering this park. Our first stop was at the visitors center where we picked up a trail map and talked with the ranger about hikes within the park.

After firming our plans with her we decided to hike the east side trail to the top of Pinnacle Peak. On our way to the trailhead we saw a sign for a short interpretive loop trail. We thought this would be a great trail to loosen our legs before tackling the longer trail.up the mountain. I have to admit this may have been one of the best interpretive trails we have hiked. There were lots of plaques identifying plants and several stations where visitors could listen to specific topics about the landscape.

The loop trail was nice but now it was off to the main course, Pinnacle Mountain. We found the parking lot for the trailhead and put our boots on for the hike. The trail appeared to be rocky and steep so I also put on my boots rather than hike in my tennis shoes. By the end of the hike I was sure glad I chose to wear my boots.

The trail is only about 3/4 of a mile to the top of the mountain making it a rather short 1.5 mile hike. After all the biking we did yesterday we had no complaints. We started up the trail which was pretty rocky and had lots of rock steps to climb. It was a steady and relentless climb until we got about 1/2 way up. Then it became very steep and the trail all but disappeared. It then became a trail going up a talus slope of large loose rocks. A yellow dotted line was painted on the rocks to help point a path of least resistance to the top.

The last stretch was quite a grueling climb to the top and both of our legs were singing to us! We finally summited and the view was fantastic overlooking the Arkansas River floodplain below and we could also see Little Rock way off in the distance. After resting and hydrating we grudgingly started the steep trek down the mountain knowing full well our legs were going to be beat again…

There were lots of wildflowers on the trail and we were certainly glad we took the hike especially after we were finished. After arriving back at the RV park we traded our boots for our tennis shoes and walked  downtown for a frosty beverage at the Blue Paddle Brewery. We both agreed it was a great way to end the day…

Note: We spent one more night in Little Rock Arkansas but are now in Red Bay Alabama…