The TrailBlazers Hiking Club is a group based in Fort Smith, Arkansas, dedicated to enjoying the outdoors in the Ozarks and Ouachita Mountains of western Arkansas and eastern Oklahoma. THCFS schedules several hikes a month, some long and some short, some difficult and some more laid-back. Some of us have hiked for years and some have just started, but we all enjoy the outdoors. If this describes you and you're in the area, you're welcome in our group!
Lake Leatherwood
Fourteen TrailBlazers led by Captain Katie made the beautiful drive to Eureka Springs on a picture-perfect day to hike the 3.7-mile trail around Lake Leatherwood, a new hike for us. Initially there was a little confusion finding the trailhead in this 1,600 acre municipal park, but we lucked out because a female leader has no problem with asking for directions!
It was a little breezy as we started, but it soon warmed up. There were lots of geese both in the meadow and on the lake, but we never did catch sight of any feral hogs in spite of dire warnings on the signs. We are pretty good at scaring most wild life away, but we did manage to see several pretty butterflies.
Lake Leatherwood is formed by one of the largest hand-cut native limestone dams in the country. We were quite impressed with this long structure as we crossed the lake and saw the water pouring over the spillway, forming a pretty waterfall. This was a great lunch spot. As we continued on the the trail we saw verbena and daisies. All too soon, this hike was over.
Some people went home after the hike, and the rest of us decided to visit the beautiful glass Thorncrown Chapel nestled in the woods just a short distance away. We continued on into historic Eureka Springs where we ate at Sparky’s and then walked around the old downtown area and browsed through the shops. This turned out to be a really enjoyable day!
