This short, relatively flat hike along the Buffalo River Trail to the twin Maumee Falls is one of the prettiest wildflower walks of springtime in the Ozarks. The falls themselves are tall and quite lovely (even though the water could have been flowing better the day I hiked), but for a naturalist the wildflowers definitely steal the show.
Getting to the Buffalo River Trail at Maumee South
From Harriett, AR, at the intersection of Highway 14 and Highway 27, head west on AR27 for 5.2 miles. Then turn right on CR52 and drive northwest for about 6.2 miles until you see a couple of rough parking locations where the Buffalo National River Trail crosses the road. You'll follow the trail roughly southeast from this parking area.
The Trail
The trail is quite flat for the first 0.2 mile and then it slopes downhill for about 0.6 mile to the bluff edge. Then you can explore the the bluff edge and admire both of the small waterfalls. Remember that the rocks can be quite slippery and the drop to the bottom is about 50 feet so be very careful. Children should be closely supervised.
If you have a Strava account, click here to see a map of the trail with a few gps-located photos of wildflowers I found along the way.
Finally, click here to open the Google Photos album I made for this hike. Here are just a couple of samples of photos from that album.
 |
| Shooting Star (Dodecatheon meadia) |
 |
| Wild Hyacinth (Camassia scilloides) |
 |
| Fire Pink (Silene virginica) |
