Jess Hikes AR

Jess Hikes AR šŸ”¹HikeršŸ„¾šŸ”¹MomšŸ‘©ā€šŸ‘¦šŸ”¹TeacheršŸ‘©ā€šŸ«
ā€¢We AR Hikers šŸ„¾Founderā€¢AllTrails Trailhead Ambassadorā€¢ Arkansas Ambassador ā€¢Nativ Ambassador

Itā€™s not a summer without a sunset hike somewhere in Arkansas. Great company with the We AR Hikers crew
07/27/2026

Itā€™s not a summer without a sunset hike somewhere in Arkansas. Great company with the We AR Hikers crew

Part 4 of my Southern Arkansas Delta visit. We set out to see the Champion Cypress tree of Arkansas located in the Dale ...
07/08/2026

Part 4 of my Southern Arkansas Delta visit. We set out to see the Champion Cypress tree of Arkansas located in the Dale Bumpers White River National Wildlife Refuge. This is a 2 mile out and back trail. I will say, the hike itself was not the most enjoyable. A lot of it is overgrown, but you can still see the trail to find your way. Iā€™d recommend downloading the AllTrails route though as there is no cell service here. The mosquitoes were the WORST. I literally sprayed myself with Repel from my head to my toes. Poor Jennifer Horton Tucker took a spill and had her hat off, and the mosquitoes were attacking her scalp, they were that bad. The tree itself is really big and impressive. I wanted to find a way over there to stand at the base for scale perspective, but there was no way to get across the green algae water. You can see the size comparison in the second photo though.

Part 3 of the Arkansas Southern Delta. We made a stop at the Louisiana Purchase State Park which also happens to be a Na...
07/02/2026

Part 3 of the Arkansas Southern Delta. We made a stop at the Louisiana Purchase State Park which also happens to be a National Historic Landmark. This is a short walk on a boardwalk, but the swamp setting all around made it enjoyable and like there was more to see. For those who donā€™t know, Arkansas serves as the starting point of the survey of the land as part of the Louisiana Purchase. This monument marks the spot where it was started. It was place in 1926 by the Daughters of the American Revolution. The water was very low so we were able to see the whole marker for the survey points.

Part 2 of the Arkansas Southern Delta with the Delta Heritage State Park. First impression is the building in which the ...
06/30/2026

Part 2 of the Arkansas Southern Delta with the Delta Heritage State Park. First impression is the building in which the visitor center is located. It was unlike anything we had ever seen before and thatā€™s because itā€™s an old cotton gin! The building to the left of it was the seed house and has now been turned into housing for state park employees. The interpreter we spoke to was very informative about the Delta Heritage Trail and how much was left. They hope the trail will be completed by the end of the year. You can hike this trail, but itā€™s mainly a biking trail. Once completed, it will be 84.5 miles long all the way to the southern part of our state with several different trailheads. They also will have electric bikes to rent very soon.

Part 1 Arkansas Southern Delta. Iā€™ve set out to see the state parks and other sights to see in the delta regions of Arka...
06/29/2026

Part 1 Arkansas Southern Delta. Iā€™ve set out to see the state parks and other sights to see in the delta regions of Arkansas. This is a mostly uncharted territory for me. First up, Jennifer Horton Tucker and I went to Mississippi River State Park. The visitor center here is really beautiful. The exhibits are wonderful and their visitor center is also shared with the St. Francis National Forest visitor center.

We walked a nice little trail behind the visitor center called Trotting Fox Trail which follows along a ranger pond. You can fish here, and we got to see a momma Goose with her babies. You can camp at this park and they have cabins as well. Fishing is also a popular activity as they have three lakes which means you can also paddle with kayaks.

This past weekend we celebrated 3 years of We AR Hikers at Petit Jean Mountain State Park. We hiked the Cedar Creek Trai...
06/23/2026

This past weekend we celebrated 3 years of We AR Hikers at Petit Jean Mountain State Park. We hiked the Cedar Creek Trail (wish it had more water flow). Afterwards, we grilled hot dogs and had a potluck style lunch while Jude Brawner played for us. This pavilion spot at Petit Jean was so nice and I highly recommend it if you have large groups. We got together a bit early this year for the anniversary because last year in July it was stifling hot. Next year Iā€™ll probably look at doing it in the fall.

Part 2 wedding post sharing more of our experience and details. I cannot recommend adventure elopements more for people ...
06/23/2026

Part 2 wedding post sharing more of our experience and details. I cannot recommend adventure elopements more for people wanting to get married. We chose to stay close to home for various reasons, but ultimately I couldnā€™t imagine getting married anywhere else than the state I love so much. Arkansas is such a beautiful state to get married in, so if you want to elope, consider Arkansas.

Our friend S A M U E L - F I L E S happened to be working the shift that night so we got a quick pic with him which made the whole state park wedding that much better. It is free to get married in Arkansas state parks by the way. Nothing had to be reserved and no permits required. There was a bathroom at this location so we both changed into our attire there and made sure neither of us saw each other.

I did my own makeup, and my lovely stylist Amanda got me in on short notice after I decided doing my own hair was a bad idea. I ordered my dress online from JJā€™s House and paid just $300, and I felt so beautiful in it.

Hiking in a wedding dress is not easy, and yes I had my pink hiking boots on the entire time under my dress. I did rip my dress unfortunately, but thatā€™s okay. If you do this in the spring-fall, you have to wear bug spray. Chiggers and ticks are awful. No issues during the wedding but scoping out the location beforehand without bug spray resulted in so many chiggers bites. We also saw a fox which was pretty cool since itā€™s so rare to see. Going to take that as a sign of good luck.

If anyone has any questions regarding our experience, feel free to comment down below

šŸ“ø: HannahšŸŗMills

Wedding photos dump. 6/16/26. Glen and I eloped at Pinnacle Mountain State Park with just our kids. Our close friends Ha...
06/21/2026

Wedding photos dump. 6/16/26. Glen and I eloped at Pinnacle Mountain State Park with just our kids. Our close friends Hannah and her husband Todd offered to take our photos and video so our family and close friends could watch through a livestream. Special thanks to Kristie for officiating our wedding.

We chose the quarry pond at the old visitor center which is the start of the Rocky Valley Trail which held special meaning. It was the first hike I ever did with We AR Hikers that Glen was present at. It was also where we took our kids for their first hike shortly after we introduced them to us and each other.

Our kids were in our wedding, and Brody walked me down the aisle. We wrote our own vows, and I nearly cried the entire time reading my vows to Glen, while Glen says his vows like he is giving a presentation on fish completely improvising and not reading what he wrote šŸ˜‚We were racing against the light for photos and didnā€™t get near as many as we would have liked, but I love the ones we got. Of course, we hiked the trail and up above the quarry pond to a spot overlooking Pinnacle Mountain drenched in sweat, high humidity and bugs everywhere. We were so tired afterwards that we skipped our post-wedding meal we had planned at Waffle House, and took the kids through Taco Bell and McDonalds instead. It was the perfect wedding.

Address

Hot Springs, AR
71913

Website

Alerts

Be the first to know and let us send you an email when Jess Hikes AR posts news and promotions. Your email address will not be used for any other purpose, and you can unsubscribe at any time.

Shortcuts

Share

Category