David's Trail -- Panther Bay to Robinson Point in late October

Getting to David's Trail at Robinson Point

From downtown Mountain Home take US-62/US-412 east for 10 miles. Turn right on Robinson Point Cutoff and then turn left onto Robinson Point Road. Follow the road for about 2 miles until you see the trailhead on your right.

From the East follow US-62/US-412 until you cross the bridge over Norfork Lake. Continue 1 mile and then turn left onto Robinson Point Cutoff and then turn left onto Robinson Point Road. Follow the road for about 2 miles until you see the trailhead on your right.

A small amount of parking is available at the Panther Bay turnoff  on US-62/US-412 about 1/2 mile from the bridge crossing the lake to Henderson.

The Trail

David's Trail will eventually extend from Robinson Point to the Missouri border. The section to Panther Bay is 4.6 miles one-way. It closely follows the lake shore, providing lovely lake views throughout the winter months. The trail is wide and well-maintained but there are multiple steep hills that make it a moderately challenging hike. Total climbing is approximately 800 feet.

If your timing is right you may be able to see splendid fall colors when hiking this section of trail in late October. The variety of trees is surprising which adds greatly to the fall colors. You will see the cranberry hues of dogwoods, bright yellow and pale orange maples, golden hickories, scarlet sumacs, purple beautyberries, orange persimmons, pale yellow hackberries, and many more.

Click on this link to see an interactive map of the trail showing the elevation changes. If you have a free Strava account, you should be able to click on that link to use that route as you hike the trail. Alternatively, you can download the GPX or TCX file to use on a hiking application of your preference.

The Photos

Clicking on this link will open a Google Photos album of snapshots I took during the hike.