Three Springs Falls

Our next and final stop on this tour around the Leatherwood Wilderness is Three Springs Falls and Cascade. As the name says, the waterfall is fed by water from three springs. The springs join together, then flow over a 14 foot-tall cascade, then swing through a mossy creek bed, and then drop over a 45 foot-tall waterfall.

It's a neat place, and very easy to visit. The falls are actually just a short half-mile drive from Bumpers and Dewey Canyon Falls. The trail to the falls is short (.3 miles to the falls) and an easy hike. There is some lingering debris from the 2009 ice storm here, and the worst of it seems to be around the top of the falls and the creek.


This is a view of the creek as it flows above the falls. There is a lot of moss up there...


And this is the Three Springs Cascade, which is actually 14 feet-tall. You can't see all of it in this shot, however. The creek here curves under this overhanging bluff...


There is another waterfall there, located along the same bluffline as the Three Springs Falls. This other waterfall is where a small creek has carved its way through the limestone on top of the bluff, eventually making a 23 foot-tall waterfall. This waterfall isn't named in the Tim Ernst guidebook, and I didn't see any names (or pictures of it, for that matter) online. The falls need a name, so it shall henceforth be referred to as Ferreira Falls.

The very top part of the falls...

Similar to Cunningham Falls near Falling Water Creek, I decided to name these falls in honor of a player from my beloved FC Dallas. So this fall is named after David Ferreira, who was chosen as the most valuable player in Major League Soccer last season. I'm looking forward to seeing him lead the team to another chance at MLS Cup this year (season opener is Saturday!).

This is another part of Ferreira Falls, where the creek has cut a deep channel through the rocks. From here, the creek curves around and drops over the bluff.


After that we tried to visit two other nearby waterfalls - Blow Cave Falls and Rory Ridge Falls. They are located nearby in the Ozark National Forest, however, it looks like the land around it is private property now.