Cedar Creek and DeSoto Trails

Cedar Creek Trail - March 17th, 2015
Hot Springs Village, AR
Distance: 3.1 mi (Round Trip)
Elevation Gain: Negligible
Highest Elevation: 777 ft.
Dogs: Allowed
Difficulty: Easy

DeSoto Multipurpose Trail - March 18th, 2015
Hot Springs Village, AR
Distance: 3.4 mi (Round Trip)
Elevation Gain: Negligible
Highest Elevation: 800 ft.
Dogs: Allowed
Difficulty: Easy

In the last post, Caddo Bend, I told you able Allison and I walking with my Mom every morning during our trip to Arkansas.  The Cedar Creek and DeSoto trails were two of the shorter walks/hikes we did while we were there.  Neither trail really warrants a full blog post and they are both in relatively the same area, so I decided to combine them into one post.

These two hikes are part of 31 miles of trails in Hot Springs Village, AR which it the community where both my Mom and Grandparents live.  This made it really convenient for us to get up and get on the trail quickly and without much hassle every morning.

The first hike, Cedar Creek Trail, is a beautiful gravel trail through the woods.  Cedar Creek connects Lake Pineda, Lake Coronado, and lake Balboa.  The trail itself meanders and loops around and over Cedar Creek.  The trail includes four paths for a total of 3.1 miles.  It has several areas with memorial benches overlooking the creek. This trail is a good spot for wildflowers (during certain times of the year) and bird watching.  I've walked this trail a few times in the past with, Mom and usually Cedar Creek is barely flowing.  This was, however, not the case on this day.  The area had recently been experiencing rains that were unseasonably heavy which, in turn had turned the creek into a small river.  Luckily the path is elevated enough that we were still able to complete the entire hike.

The next day we did the DeSoto Multipurpose Trail which is a paved loop that is used by bikes, golf carts, and walkers/runners.  Lake DeSoto was the first lake completed in the village, and the area that this trail runs through was originally part of an area of amenities including condos, restaurants, a lake and a golf course that the original developer would use to wine and dine potential home buyers.  It travels past part of Lake DeSoto and part of the DeSoto golf course.  There's not really much to say about this trail.  It is pretty easy, has some decent views of the lake, and is certainly better than staying inside the house.