Whether you’ve decided to hike the highest point of every state or just want to be able to say you did one of them, hiking Mount Magazine should be on your list. Arkansas’ highest peak is an easy hike. At under 2 miles, only around 250ish ft in elevation gain, and being a loop trail… Signal Hill is a fun one to add to knock off your list, complete with scenic views.
The Details
Trail Name: Signal Hill Trail
Trailhead Address: Mt Magazine State Park. Lodge Dr, Havana, AR 72842
Directions: Mount Magazine Road is off of 309. You can’t miss all the signs.
Trail Length: 1.8mi
Admission fee: free
Difficulty: Easy. Considered “moderate” on Alltrails.
Elevation Gain: 252ft
Dogs: Welcome, on a leash
Restrooms: The lodge near the trailhead has gorgeous bathrooms.
Parking: In the Lodge parking lot
Visited: Oct 2022
Highest Point in Arkansas – Signal Hill
Am I ever going to hit the highest peak in every state? Probably not. My first attempt at a peak was in South Dakota. Black Elk was going to be my first. It just happened to come up on a list of hikes that looked like it would come with a great view. Unfortunately there was a fire that broke out as our group was driving to the trail head. We kept getting pushed further and further south until we did one of the furthest hikes in Custer instead.
That is what made me think about doing a handful of state high points. When I planned this road trip through Northwest Arkansas, it was just convenient that one of those peaks happened to be along the way. If you haven’t done one yet and want to start, this is a GREAT first high point. It’s easy to drive to, easy to get to, and round trip the entire hike should take you less than an hour.
After this one I also bagged the highest point in Texas, hiking to the top of Guadalupe Peak. That means so far I’m at 2, so why not keep going and do some more?
Hiking Mount Magazine
All Trails rates this hike at “moderate”, but I really can’t figure out why. It’s under 2 miles. There’s barely any elevation gain (around 250ft and it’s not straight up). The steepest the trail gets at its worse is an 11% grade, but that’s a tiny tiny tiny portion. Hiking Mount Magazine is a cake walk!
You will need to part at the lodge itself in their parking lot, so it adds a tiny bit of distance to your hike, depending where in the lot you are. This is pretty convenient though since the lodge has a bathroom right inside the main entrance. It’s worth stopping in, if anything to see the 3D model of the hike itself that’s inside.
The trail itself is pretty smooth. Heavily trafficked. Very well maintained.
The only downside to this hike? The lack of views!!! If you’re doing this hike and hoping to see a sweeping view at the very very tippy top of Arkansas, you’re in for a surprise. There is no view! You’re just in the woods. 100% of this hike, with the exception of a small part where you’re following the road, is in the woods.
The view itself that you’re going to want will be from the lodge. You can see it from inside, as well as outside to the right of the building.
Yes, you read that correctly. The parking lot has better views than the trail itself.
Other Hikes in Mount Magazine State Park
There are more opportunities for Mount Magazine hiking trails besides just Signal Hill!
The Old Lodge trail starts from the same place if you want to tack on an extra half mile and wander around.
You can do another big loop of a 4 mile North Rim.
Dripping Springs trail is a 4 mile out and back also rated very easy.
Mount Magazine Cascades is a 1 mile out and back rated easy.
Outside this area back a bit on 309 is Benefield Loop which is a 2 mile easy one.
Bear Hollow is a bit longer at 5.5 miles, an out and back, and rated moderate.
If you want to get REALLY crazy you can do the Cove Lake Trail.
Cove Lake is a few miles down the road. I camped here after hiking. I HIGHLY recommend it. Maybe it’s because it was after camping season, but the place was dead at the end of October. It was quiet, and gorgeous.
Anyway, about this hike. You can do a 10.5 mile point-to-point trail called the Cove Lake trail that leads you from Cove lake itself over into Mount Magazine.
That means you can even turn this into a backpacking route if you don’t want to do the 9 hoursish it would take to hike the 20+ mile round trip.
Nearby the State Park
I used this hike as a halfway point on my road trip between Hot Springs and Eureka Springs. That means I needed a place to sleep for the night.
Cove Lake had an amazing campground I mentioned above that I picked, and I’m glad I did.
The next morning, I drove a bit north to the town of Paris. They have an itty bitty little square of a ‘downtown’ with a coffee shop… and well, an Eiffel Tower, because PARIS. (yes, this means I’ve officially visited Paris, Texas as well as Paris, Arkansas.)
If you want to keep the hiking going, you can take the (less than 2 hour) drive north west and hit up Devil’s Den State Park. That place was a GEM of a find for hiking trails!
