If you’ve come to my site or at least read some of it you can easily see that I love the outdoors. One of the outdoor activities that I really enjoy is hiking. I enjoy everything from a tough 9 to 12-mile section hikes to easy loops for family hikes. Obviously being in Little Rock we are hiking Pinnacle Mountain trails a lot. Being in Arkansas we are hiking trails all over the state as well.

So, my trail reviews are styled to describe what the trail is like from both perspectives. I think there are a lot of great resources for seeing a trail overhead and getting a sense of distance, but even comment sections don’t really let you know what you are in for on an actual trail.

Even with my reviews, you are still left with needing to hike the trail yourself. The best I can hope for is that by describing the trails I’ve hiked solo and with my family, I can give you a sense of how you can structure some of your own hikes and really enjoy the outdoors. That’s really what it’s all about anyway!

In general, I try to photograph the hikes for both my own memories and to illustrate what you will see on the trail. This can be a little bit of a challenge since I want my own scenic beauty and I want, essentially, trail documentation. Again, I want to give you a sense of getting a good overview of what you can expect to see on the trail and how you can plan for a trail. I’m not really trying to show you every scenic thing that you can stop for, but I want to show things that will be useful.

A good example of this would be a photo from the Winthrop P. Rockefeller Boy Scout Trail. This stop on the trail is called Turtle Rocks, for pretty obvious reasons, and it’s a great spot to plan a stop.

The Turtle Rocks section on the Winthrop P. Rockefeller Boy Scouts Trail.

I included this photo in my review of the trail so you will have an idea of what the terrain is like and what the blazes look like in this section. This section of trail is wide open and is a great place to explore, especially for kids. That said, there is also a big change in blaze markers and no real warning about that. So if you wander all over this section, which you really should, you might be panicked if you can’t find a blaze anywhere.

Obviously, with some hiking experience, this scenario can seem simple enough to solve. However, if you are out hiking for the first time with your child, or even scarier with your children, and you aren’t that experienced with trails and hiking, in general, this could present a panic situation for sure. Besides, we all started somewhere and I still remember the first section of trail that had rock painted markers.

I also try to include trail signs in my writeups. Photos like these:

B.S.A. Trail Sign

Intersection sign on BSA Trail.

Again, these aren’t the most breathtaking photos out there, but the hopefully give you a good idea of what the trail is going to show you in terms of markers. I think it’s helpful to have an idea of what signs and blazes look like when planning a hike and hopefully others out there find this helpful as well.

In the end, I just love sharing the adventure of the outdoors with people. At best, I hope the reviews give people some inspiration to get out an explore their areas. I also hope that people get inspired to explore Arkansas! I think it’s a great state and there is a lot to see and do here. Happy trails!