Lost Valley

We began hiking the trail into Lost Valley as the sky ominously darkened. While the day had been sunny, a few storms were predicted to pass through the area that afternoon. But it was worth the risk of getting rained on, the hike into Lost Valley is one of the prettiest in the state.

The trail is short, but it is compact. It passes by several waterfalls and caves (and even a waterfall inside a cave). For the most part, the trail runs alongside Clark Creek as it passes through the collapsed remains of an old cave system. Lost Valley was once a cave, but the roof collapsed many eons ago. What remains is this small valley and one of the most popular trails in the Buffalo National River.



A small waterfall drops out of the Natural Bridge, which was actually once the mouth of the collapsed cave. The falls drop into a small pool that is filled with turquoise water and surrounded by limestone boulders and bluffs.



Thunder was echoing across the valley as we hiked uphill towards Eden Falls. When we reached the waterfall, it started pouring down rain. But we just started to take pictures while standing under the protected overhang of Cob Cave.



The rain and thunder didn't last too long, and quickly moved past. A few minutes later, the sun even came out again.



And one last shot from the trip, of a small waterfall along the trail. The water drops over a small bluff, before actually running back down under the bluff and then disappearing in to the rocks and going underground.