I hike the Nature Trail at Hill Wheatley Park five to six times a week, and on the weekends, Andrew and the dogs accompany me on the 1-mile-long trail. It was a bit overcast today, but I decided to take the camera along to snap some pictures. The trail provides some very nice views, but because it's currently late winter, you can also see several houses, roads and buildings through the mostly bare trees. It's still a nice, scenic hike and there are picnic tables, a swimming area, restrooms and a boat ramp available in the park.
We only live a few blocks from the park and it takes less than five minutes to walk there from our front door. This stone wall stands along side the entrance road. Driving in, it's easy to overlook.
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Stone Wall at Hill Wheatley Park Entrance - Hot Springs, AR
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| Sign on Stone Wall at Hill Wheatley Park - Hot Springs, AR |
A few feet down the road lies the parking lot (including parking for boat trailers), picnic tables, beach, restrooms (which are closed for the season until late spring/early summer), boat ramp and the nature trail. The temperature was very nice today, so the parking lot was filled with vehicles and empty boat trailers.
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| Entrance Road to Hill Wheatley Park - Hot Springs, AR |
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| Hill Wheatley Park Sign - Hot Springs, AR |
A narrow paved path leads to the beach, picnic tables and boat ramp area. It also affords some beautiful views of the Mountains in the background.
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| Path to Beach and Picnic Area at Hill Wheatley Park - Hot Springs, AR |
Moving closer to the water, we saw a pair of swimming ducks. They were quite far from shore, but I managed to capture them - barely.
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| Ducks Swimming in the Water at Hill Wheatley Park - Hot Springs, AR |
Just off the beach, the road continues straight ahead to the boat ramp and dock area. The nature trail entrance is across the road to the right.
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| Boat Ramp Area of Hill Wheatley Park - Hot Springs, AR |
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| Trail Sign at Hill Wheatley Park - Hot Springs, AR |
The trail is steep in the beginning, but it levels off quickly. Twisting through the trees, the path takes you over numerous small hills with more level areas in between.
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| Nature Trail Entrance in Hill Wheatley Park - Hot Springs, AR |
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| Nature Trail Sign at Hill Wheatley Park - Hot Springs, AR |
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| Nature Trail at Hill Wheatley Park - Hot Springs, AR |
Maps are provided at each crossroads, but the trail isn't difficult to navigate. It makes two big loops with a shortcut trail in the middle. The shortcut trail is quite steep coming up from the back of the trail. We usually hike all the way around both loops, but hikers can bypass one of them if they choose. Both loops together equal about 1 mile in length.
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| Map of Nature Trail at Hill Wheatley Park - Hot Springs, AR |
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| Shortcut Trail Intersection on Nature Trail at Hill Wheatley Park - Hot Springs, AR |
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| Map at Shortcut Trail on Nature Trail at Hill Wheatley Park - Hot Springs, AR |
We ran across this little guy (which Andrew accurately identified as a Luna Moth) hanging on to the trunk of a pine tree just next to the trail. We probably would have missed him if the dogs weren't there.
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| Luna Moth on Nature Trail at Hill Wheatley Park - Hot Springs, AR |
Several benches are available in small, mossy alcoves along the trail. We often have to rest when we take the dogs because poor Edie has a hard time with some of the hills.
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| Andrew with Edie and Siouxsie on the Nature Trail at Hill Wheatley Park - Hot Springs, AR |
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| Andrew and Edie Resting on the Nature Trail at Hill Wheatley Park - Hot Springs, AR |
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| Cindy on Nature Trail at Hill Wheatley Park - Hot Springs, AR |
A few side trails near the back of the Nature Trail lead to a street populated with houses. You can see the houses quite clearly in winter and early spring, but the foliage in mid-spring and summer block some of the view.
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| Side Trail and Houses on Nature Trail at Hill Wheatley Park - Hot Springs, AR |
The trail continues to wind around the forest until you come to a paved area that connects to a private road. It looks like a crosswalk was once used here, and I suspect it may have been a parking lot or perhaps even a trail head once. The trail continues on the other side of the pavement.
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| Nature Trail Winding Through Forest at Hill Wheatley Park - Hot Springs, AR |
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| Bench on Winding Nature Trail at Hill Wheatley Park - Hot Springs, AR |
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| Paved Area of Nature Trail at Hill Wheatley Park - Hot Springs, AR |
The trail soon loops back to the entrance, where you'll climb the steep hill back down to the road. We usually take the dogs to the water right away for a drink. The water was murkier than usual today, likely because the lake was only recently re-filled after the winter.
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| View of Water From Nature Trail Exit at Hill Wheatley Park - Hot Springs, AR |
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| Siouxsie in the Water at Hill Wheatley Park - Hot Springs, AR |
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| Edie in the Water at Hill Wheatley Park - Hot Springs, AR |
The sun finally began to shine, just as we were walking out of the park. It was a beautiful compliment to the daffodils growing alongside our road.
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| Leaving Hill Wheatley Park - Hot Springs, AR |
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| Daffodils on Majestic Lodge Road - Hot Springs, AR |
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