Moonshiners Falls In Winslow Arkansas - A Hike to Remember
Moonshiners Falls In Winslow, Arkansas - A Hike to Remember
By: a.d. elliott | Take the Back Roads - Art and Other Odd Adventures
Dear Henry,
This small waterfall is known as Moonshiners Falls.
Unless there has been recent rain, it is usually little more than a thin spring slipping over rock. After storms, though, it comes alive, water spilling from the bluff into a quiet pool below, briefly justifying the name Falls.
The hike to reach it is short and begins just outside Devil’s Den State Park. Parking is available near the roadside sign, and the trail itself isn’t difficult. With trekking poles, it was an easy walk, though it’s worth remembering that the return trip is uphill, no matter how effortless the descent feels.
What caught my imagination wasn’t the hike, though.
It was the name.
“Moonshiner’s Falls” suggests a story, a hidden still, a whispered trade, Ozark ingenuity tucked neatly into a bluff beside running water. Moonshining certainly did exist in this part of Arkansas, especially in the early twentieth century, when remote hollows, caves, and springs offered privacy from both law enforcement and the modern world.
So naturally, I went looking for the backstory.
There isn’t one.
No documented still. No recorded raid. No confirmed history ties the site to illicit distilling. The small stone structure tucked into the bluff appears to have been nothing more than a shelter, perhaps for hunters, perhaps for travelers passing through the area long before it became a park.
From what I can gather, the site itself only came to wider attention in recent years after being rediscovered and shared by ATV riders and hikers. Because it was a tiny shelter near water, the imagination did the rest. Moonshiner’s cave sounded better than the old hunting hideaway, and so the name stuck.
Even practically speaking, the case for serious moonshining here is thin. The water source is seasonal and unreliable, running strongest only after rain, which is hardly ideal for a system that depends on large quantities of water.
And yet.
Standing there, beneath the overhang, listening to the trickle of water, it’s easy to understand why people wanted the story to be bigger. The Ozarks are full of places like this, quiet, overlooked, and suggestive enough to invite legend even when history refuses to cooperate.
I think this was simply a place to get away. A place to sit. A place to disappear for a while.
And maybe that’s enough.
____________________________________________________________________
About the Author
a.d. elliott is a wanderer, photographer, and storyteller traveling through life
She shares her journeys at Take the Back Roads, explores new reads at Rite of Fancy, and highlights U.S. military biographies at Everyday Patriot.
You can also browse her online photography gallery at shop.takethebackroads.com.
✨ #TakeTheBackRoads
Enjoyed this post? Support the adventure by visiting my sponsors, shopping the gallery, or buying me a cup of coffee!
