Lucky Number 7- Petite Jean State Park

visited January 31, 2021

How fun that Park 7 in our #52stateparkchallenege is Petite Jean State Park where we hiked 4.5 miles on the 7 Hollows Trail. According to the Arkansas State Park, Petite Jean offers "hiking trails that lead through forests and meadows, over canyons, and along streams and the mountainside. See where nature formed sheer bluffs, the spectacular 95-foot Cedar Falls, Seven Hollows, and such distinctive features as Bear Cave, the Grotto, Natural Bridge, and other formations like carpet rocks and turtle rocks." Petit Jean State Park sits atop of Petite Jean Mountain and boasts the cred of Arkansas' first state park.

We had quite a day, not only hiking the trail, but seeing the beautiful, expansive Visitor Center and exploring Stout Point. Although it was cold and windy, we did not want to miss anything on our visit. Our hike warmed us up pretty quickly and the tall rocks protected us from the wind. Sadly, due to storms the week of our visit, the trail that leads to the waterfall was closed, but the rest of the park offered plenty of other things to see. One of my favorite parts of the Seven Hollows trails was all the extras to explore. Each hollow offered an "off-path" adventure as an addition to the natural sights.

One of the most popular parts of the trail is the Natural Bridge. The "bridge" is made out of sandstone and, to me, it really offers a glimpse into the astonishments of nature.

By this time in our blogging relationship, you have probably figured out the "highlight" of my day..... food!! We made sure to pack a little snack so we could take a break and we timed it half way in. Our pb&j and taffy offered the perfect boost to get us through the last half the hike. "Cheers!"

We finished up the last 2 miles of the trail and then visited the rest of the park from the Cedar Falls Scenic overlook to the Visitor Center, which is truly beautiful and educational. We learned Petite Jean is named after a French woman named Adrienne, who disguised herself as a man to be able to work as a deck hand on a exploring ship headed to America. This ship sailed at the helm of Adrienne's fiancé who also did not recognize her under disguise. She was given the name "Petite Jean," or Little John, by the other deck hands.

The grand finale of the trip was visiting Stout's Point and taking in the gorgeous view, and my what a beauty it is!! I believe views like this one, from on top of the mountain, are where Arkansas' beauty truly lies.

Stout's Point is also the burial site for "Petite Jean" who died from a short, serious illness.

Petite Jean State Park offers so much to the Natural State and we enjoyed it immensely on our tour of the #arstateparks. Our next stop on the tour is park #8, Parkin Archeological Park. We were the sole visitors to the site on an icy day, but it did not stop us from seeing all that we could. Visit our Instagram, @stacyandstevendoar, to see more tidbits about our visits.