Unique Hike Near Springdale Arkansas || Tea Kettle Falls

Have you heard of Tea Kettle Falls? Me either, until last spring! It’s a super unique waterfall found near Huntsville, Arkansas, that you can get to one of two ways: you can hike an poorly marked trail and cross a creek, or you can just wade down the creek! (Hint: On a hot summer day, the creek will feel fantastic! On a chilly April weekend…not as much!)

First tip for this hike: use these coordinates to find the parking area: 36.270317, -93.730672. We tried to follow directions, we tried to type in Tea Kettle Falls in maps, but nothing got us there until we put in the simple coordinates. Second tip: Bring a vehicle that can make it back up a steep, crumbly hill-mountain. Our lil SUV took about 5 tries to roll on up.

Regardless of season, you’re either going to need to wear hiking boots and bring water shoes, or wear your water shoes the whole time and pay extra special attention. Literally within 10 yards of our vehicle, heading through the grass into the trailhead, we nearly stepped on a copperhead slithering across the path.

To find the trail to Tea Kettle:

When we went in spring, it was fairly hard to find the trailhead. Here’s the best explanation I can give you: Where you park, you will see a big grassy field. From where the cars are, all the way across the grass, where the trees start, is a small opening roughly in the middle of the trees. You may even be able to see a trodden-down path in the grass leading to it.

Once you find that entrance, you should (for the most part) be able to follow a subtle trail. You’ll come across a waterfall or two en route depending on how much rain has fallen recently.

How to find Tea Kettle Falls from the trail:

I’m going to try to give you decent directions, but I’m going to be honest, Caleb and I tried to follow directions from a few different blogs and ended up getting a bit lost walking well over 3 miles before we found the right path. (For reference; to get to the falls from the trailhead it should be around 1.25 miles.) On the bright side, we got to see quite a few different neat little areas that we wouldn’t have otherwise seen. But that does mean that my memory and the actual path are all muddled up.

So you’re walking, walking, walking down the trail. You’ll do some low creek crossing potentially, but you’ll be able to see the trail continue. Eventually you’ll come to a creek in front of you, with a path that goes to the left and to the right. Here’s what you do: don’t go down either path. Unless you’re trying to add to your daily step count. I mean, you could go to the left and get in the main Warm Fork Creek and follow it down. But we had no clue what we were doing. What you’re supposed to do: cross the creek directly in front of you. Find the trail on the other side and then keep following it. Eventually it will wind to Warm Fork Creek very near the falls.

Do you hear that?

If there’s been a lot of rain, you’ll be able to hear Tea Kettle Falls before you see it. Cross Warm Fork Creek (it’ll be higher than previous crossings most likely) and head across to a little tributary nook that you’ll see that leads back to Tea Kettle!

We hiked this on a late April weekend after some rain hit up north. Some friends went a week later and it was nothing but a trickle. It’s a fickle fall, but if you time it right, it’s awe-inspiring.

Be aware!

I’ve seen a few comments scattered around the internet about how there may be concrete blocks blocking the entrance to the parking area I described above. Some people have parked there and just hiked the half-mile down to the original parking area. Who knows what’s up right now-it’s been almost a year since I went! Always check things out online on trail websites before going out!

Keep an eye out for other hiking blogs! I can’t wait to share this piece of my life that I am so passionate about! Til then, check out my portfolio for some of my favorite work, and follow me on Pinterest to keep up to date on my work!