High Banks Twin Falls

Ozark National Forest / Cass / Clarksville / Fayetteville, Arkansas, USA

About High Banks Twin Falls

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Waterfall Safety and Common Sense

High Banks Twin Falls (also called just High Banks Twins) provided us with one of our more tranquil waterfalling experiences in the Ozarks of Northern Arkansas.

While almost all the other waterfalls sat in established reserves with lots of people, this was the only one during our March 2016 South Central USA road trip (encompassing Texas, Louisiana, Arkansas, and Oklahoma) where we had it all to ourselves.

High_Banks_Twin_Falls_047_03162016 - High Banks Twin Falls
High Banks Twin Falls

As you can see from the photo above, this was quite a nice waterfall to be alone with as it featured a pair of side by side plunging waterfalls probably dropping around 70ft.

As its name suggested, the waterfalls plunged off the high banks of the neighboring cliffs into a secluded grotto that was well-hidden from the nearest road (which probably explained its obscurity).

Indeed, the High Banks Twin Falls gave us a taste of the Ozarks, which we were well aware was kind of the main Nature getaway for folks who are from or reside in this part of the country, and we could totally see why.

Chasing the High Banks Twin Falls

We began our excursion by parking at the High Banks Canoe Launch (see directions below).

High_Banks_Twin_Falls_007_03162016 - Our hike to the High Banks Twin Falls began from the High Banks Canoe Launch which was a put-in point for paddling on Mulberry River
Our hike to the High Banks Twin Falls began from the High Banks Canoe Launch which was a put-in point for paddling on Mulberry River

Then, we walked back towards the main road.

Once we were on the main road, we followed it to the east for a couple of minutes to a small bridge.

On the far (east) side of the bridge, we saw an unsigned trail-of-use, which we took upstream alongside the creek we had just crossed over.

The trail was pretty obvious at first as we meandered amongst a grove of tall thin trees still yet to have fully regrown their leaves this early in the Spring.

High_Banks_Twin_Falls_017_03162016 - Julie and Tahia hiking back along the road in search of the correct spot to scramble towards the High Banks Twin Falls
Julie and Tahia hiking back along the road in search of the correct spot to scramble towards the High Banks Twin Falls

Along the way, we encountered another stream to our right that yielded a tiny cascade.

The trail eventually became a little rougher as it was directly besides (or in some cases within) the stream.

And after maybe 15-20 minutes, we arrived at the High Banks Twin Falls.

We returned to the car after about an hour away from it.

High_Banks_Twin_Falls_027_03162016 - Julie and Tahia following along the creek bed in search of the High Banks Twin Falls
Julie and Tahia following along the creek bed in search of the High Banks Twin Falls

A good chunk of that time was spent letting our daughter chuck rocks into the plunge pool when we weren’t trying to take family photos with our tripod.

Overall, I believe that length wise, the hike was probably on the order of a quarter-mile in each direction.

Perhaps most of the time spent on this excursion had to do with driving to (and from) this part of the Ozarks from Clarksville, where we were staying for the night.

The Waterflow of the High Banks Twin Falls

Our visit happened to follow about a week’s worth of rains in the South Central States, but the flow of High Banks Twin Falls seemed to be quite constrained despite the influx of precipitation.

High_Banks_Twin_Falls_040_03162016 - Context of Tahia chucking rocks into the plunge pool beneath the High Banks Twin Falls
Context of Tahia chucking rocks into the plunge pool beneath the High Banks Twin Falls

So that led us to believe that this waterfall probably wouldn’t last very long (maybe give it a few weeks without rain before it would start trickling or going dry).

Perhaps this short time flow further added to the falls’ obscurity.

I’d imagine that in order to see this waterfall in its highest flow, we would’ve had to have been here immediately after or during heavy rain.

The flip side to making a visit under such conditions would be that the rougher parts of the trail could be a bit on the hazardous side due to the possibility of high water along with the presence of mud and slippery rocks.

Authorities

High Banks Twin Falls resides in the Ozark National Forest near Clarksville in Johnson County, Arkansas. It is administered by the US Forest Service. For information or inquiries about the area as well as current conditions, visit their website.

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Tagged with: ozark national forest, ozarks, cass, clarksville, fayetteville, arkansas, waterfall, johnson county, canoe launch, high banks



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Johnny Cheng

About Johnny Cheng

Johnny Cheng is the founder of the World of Waterfalls and author of the award-winning A Guide to New Zealand Waterfalls. Over the last 2 decades, he has visited thousands of waterfalls in over 40 countries around the world and nearly 40 states in the USA.
Read More About Johnny | A Guide to New Zealand Waterfalls.