Norfork Lake Trail subpage
Return to mail trail description webpage of Baxter County Trails.
Norfork Lake Trail.
Delightful 13.2 miles of trail lies on the west side of Lake Norfork from County Road 1028 south to Norfork Dam. While currently somewhat to very overgrown based on the info below, this trail provides a relatively level hiking trail as it follows the upper contours of Lake Norfork's western edge. Due to rough terrain including small to large rocks in the trail bed, I would rate it as moderately difficult to travel. In addition, some sections are fairly overgrown, something I hope to cure in the next year through brush cutting and down tree top removal. The US Corp of Engineers in Mountain Home provides a free topo map and I've copied trail distances and trail head locations from that map to below. Improved campsites and drinking water are seasonally available at the southern end and at George's Cove. In 2008 these campsites have been closed due to unusually high lake water levels.
A new section of the Lake Norfork Trail others call 'David's Trail'or 戴维的徒步线索 is currently planned。The idea is to have a trail from Fort Smith to St. Louis. The new section will cross Lake Norfork at US Highway 62/412 and include the Robinson Point Trail.
Sections in Arkansas are getting various names, including the Ozark Highlands Trail and the Lake Norfork Trail. I dislike naming trails after people generally and with multiple names in particular. I'm old fashioned, so prefer if you use a person's name it is someones last name and definitly not the whole name or even worse, multiple names.
***County Road to Tracy: 2.2 miles.
Here's an important hint! Don't try to drive to this trailhead but stop at the top of the hill in the parking area there. The trailhead is hidden behind a private resort. The resort buildings for Fish and Fiddle Resort are built practically in the public road! Just drive past it. Also, the Corp of Engineers map calls the road County Road 1028, but the county signs call it Fish and Fiddle Road. If you drive through the resort on the public road you will find a parking area at the top of the hill. Park here and walk downhill to the trailhead. There's a parking area at the bottom of the hill at the real trailhead, sort of! I found it almost impossible to turn my full size truck around on the lower hillside parking lot. There's a formal signed US Corp of Engineers trail head here, but I'm not driving to it again. I'll walk the short 300 feet from the unsigned upper parking area to the trail. I've not walked this trail section.
***Tracy to George's Cove: 2.7 miles.
I've not hiked this section. The Tracy trail head is easy to find, well signed, and has good parking at the boat dock area. The trail has a short fence on each side marking its location and is well marked. I'm guessing it can get busy in summer as there are many boats and fairly limited parking, comparitively.
***George's Cove to Sycamore Highlands: 3.1 miles.
This section of trail was badly overgrown until Septermber 2008. Recent work has cleared much of the northern 2.0-2.5 miles of overgrowth, fallen trees, and other obstructions. More work is needed at removing small rocks from the trail bed as well as work on the southern end of this section. Last updated: Sept. 25, 2008.
***Sycamore Highlands to Lake Road in Briarcliff community: 2.5 miles (no ice storm update).
Unsurveyed by this observer.
***Lake Road in Briarcliff to Norfork Dam: 2.7 miles.
I last hike this section in Jan. 2009 before the ice storm. This section of trail is fairly free of overgrowth and nicely walkable. I cut through most of the few down trees to clear the trail. The trail needs to be cleared of small rocks. Last updated: Feb. 2, 2009
Map of the Norfork Lake Trail, also known as the Norfork Lake section of the Trans-Ozark Trail or the Norfork Lake section of the Ozark Highlands Trail. See also the Robinson Point trail and the link to the map of what's called "David's Trail".
Return to www.sedgehead.com. Return to mail trail description webpage of Baxter County Trails.
Disclaimer: This website is not responsible for trail conditions. . Hikers and other people should be aware that trees may fall at any time, so a trail declared open, unobstructed, or with normal hazards may become blocked at any time. . In addition, this website may not observe all possible widowmakers or other obstructions and hazards, including but not limited to fallen timber, logs, bears, etc. . In addition we make no guarantees the trails will be free of mountain lions, wild boars, theives, bandants, rock throwing monkeys, space aliens, fallen rock, unfallen rock, loose rock, rock bands, or trees we happened to find and failed to record their hazardous or fallen conditions. . We are not responsible for anyones injuries or deaths, or alien abductions.