Magnolia Falls

Last weekend I wanted to try to squeeze in one last waterfall visit in before the heat of the summer sets in for good, and decided to do the hike to Magnolia Falls. The weather prediction wasn't really that great for waterfall photos, showing that it would probably be mostly cloudy all day (which meant that it would either be bright and sunny or pouring rain, probably). So I made the uncomfortable decision to do the hike right at sunrise, in the hope that even if it was sunny I could still see some waterfalls before the sun was too high to ruin pictures. But this meant I had to leave the house around 3:45 AM, and then drive up to the Ozarks (at least there wasn't any traffic!).

One other reason why sunrise seemed like an ideal time was because this was over Memorial Day weekend, which meant that all the trails would probably be crowded. I hoped the early morning start would mean there would be less people out and about (which was true, there wasn't anyone else out there). But I finally arrived shortly after sunrise, and started the hike to the falls. Maybe it was because my last hike was the long six mile trek to Smith Falls, but the hike to Magnolia was delightfully easy.



After about a mile or so of hiking, the trail drops down to the waterfall. Magnolia Falls is small (only 26 feet), but it is amazingly beautiful. The pool around the falls was covered with vibrant moss and ferns.





The pool below the falls isn't very large, but it is scenic enough that you can find lots of different angles to shoot from.









Since it was still cloudy I wanted to hurry off to visit another waterfall, so I hurried back up the trail towards the car.



Along the way, the trail runs alongside an old stone wall that was constructed by a pioneer family (probably in the late 1800s?).



The wall stretches for about a quarter of a mile. The old homestead here is long gone, the only evidence that remains is this old wall. I can't imagine how difficult it must have been to dig up these rocks and place them here in such a way that it is still standing after all this time.



Magnolia Falls sits within the Upper Buffalo Wilderness of the Ozark National Forest, and it appeared to be well taken care of. I didn't see any vandalism or litter along the trail. Hopefully we can all be good stewards of the forest and keep it that way.



And one last shot from the trail, before making it back to the car...