KatherineBook
Falling Water Falls can be seen from the road, so no hiking is involved. This is probably a popular swimming hole with unique ladders built on trees for climbing and jumping off the ledges, but on a weekday in early fall it was a quiet spot with almost no one else around. The water is a pretty shade of blue and while the water level was low this time of year, this spot was still gorgeous and well worth the stop. Like everywhere else we visited in Ozark National Forest, there is no fee to enjoy the falls.
Location: Starting from Scenic Highway 7, travel east on Highway 16 to Ben Hur. After leaving Ben Hur, take the first road to the left (1-2 miles past Ben Hur). It is a gravel road and there is a sign to a horse camp and to the falls. Otherwise, it is not well marked. You should be driving with a creek on your right. Travel for a few miles down this gravel road and the falls will be located on the right. There is a small parking area and just past this take the steps to get down to the water. After enjoying the falls, the road continues on and is rough at times but scenic. Taking the advice of others, we turned around at the Richland Creek campground (approx 9 miles from the start of the gravel road).
Note: we discovered that for the most part, you will be exploring all around here without cell service. We found it necessary to plan our route and stops in advance. We had to use our vehicle GPS system at times. We were unable to look up nearby points of interest once we left for a day, so what we had already planned was all we could do unless we paid attention and stopped places we just happened to drive by. Exploring this area is amazing but prepare well, it definitely takes some advanced planning!
