Eye of the Needle / Indian Creek
"It is not the mountain we conquer, but ourselves" - Sir Edmund Hillary
This hike holds almost mythical status in Ozark hiking lore. It is moderately long, physically exhausting and has an element of danger lurking at almost every turn (more on that later....). Oh and it's all breathtakingly beautiful. The hyphenated title has to do with the fact that Indian Creek by itself is a wonderful hike but for the more adventurous you can climb the ropes, crawl through the tunnel, cling to the ledges, scramble the boulders and make your way to the infamous Eye of the Needle (pictured above). This is a 5 mile out and back hike and my group spent about 5-6 hours on the trip. The trail head can be found at Kyle's Landing on the Buffalo River. The first half mile or so is on the larger Buffalo River Trail but you veer off into Indian Creek at that point.
Inside Info - This hike has so much to offer and so many things to see; beautiful waterfalls, imposing cliffs and overhangs, dense foliage, and even a beautiful fern field. There is a footpath beside Indian Creek for part of the trip but we walked the creek itself because of the chance to see all that the creek has to offer. Keep in mind that you will have to cross the creek multiple times and depending on the time of year it can be knee high in places and the rocks can be super slick. There are no tricks to staying on course as you simply follow the creek. Along the way, depending on how much water is in the creek at the time, you'll encounter a large, U-shaped depression in the creek bed known as the Devil's Bathtub. A picture of this can be found below. Near the end of the creek you'll see the opening to a large cave on your left. The opening is at least 20-30 feet off the ground and there is a sign telling people to stay out as the bats that populate the cave are in danger of contracting White-Nose Syndrome which can be fatal to them. Quite frankly given how steep that climb would be, getting to the cave is not something that I would risk doing anyway. Once you reach the end of the creek you'll be greeted with the sight of an amazing serpentine waterfall that was flowing well when we were there. You'll also notice on your right that there are some ropes dangling off the side of a very steep incline about 150 feet to the top of a collapsed cave formation known as the Cathedral. You must climb these ropes if you wish to go to the Eye of the Needle. Once at the Cathedral you'll have to cling to the edge of the cliff to get to the tunnel crawl which takes you to the other side of the mountain. On the other side you'll hike some more on the edges of the cliff until you are able to once again climb down to the creek bed. There you will have some large boulder formations to scramble over until you reach the Eye of the Needle. Words cannot adequately describe the magnitude and beauty of the this remote spot. It looks almost prehistoric like the land that time forgot. I posted another picture of it below with my son in it to give you the scale of this awe-inspiring rock formation. After a hard rain, there will be water flowing through the Eye but there was none on the day we went. I plan to go back in the spring to witness this first hand. I was physically exhausted when we finally reached Kyle's landing after the hike. If we only did the Indian Creek trail and back, this would only be a moderately physical hike. But the rope climb and the technical pieces from that point forward pushed me to my own personal limits. You need sufficient body strength to pull your own weight up that hill and it uses muscles that many of us forgot we had. But having done it I can easily say it is the most rewarding and beautiful hike I have ever done. None better and that includes some hikes in the Alps of Austria and Switzerland.
Danger, Danger - This is the only hike where I have felt compelled to add this extra feature. Be advised that you should be aware that this hike does involve risk to life and limb and the potential of a fatal fall. This trail holds the record for most paramedic rescues in the Ozarks and if an incident occurs on the back end of the trail, it will be a long time before help can reach you. As I mentioned previously the rocks in Indian Creek can be extremely slippery and many people have suffered concussions, broken bones and sprained ankles as a result. I posted a picture below with my son at the beginning of the rope climb. The picture looks pretty benign but I can assure you that is an illusion. There are three separate stages to the rope climb and quite frankly, one of the ropes gave me an ill feeling the whole time I was using it. It felt like it would break and if it had, it would have been a long, painful tumble to the bottom. If you've ever seen the movie Lone Survivor, think of the Seals sliding down to the bottom of the gorge and bouncing off boulders the entire way. Once we finished the climb we rested in the Cathedral for about 15 minutes before clinging to the ledge and making our way to the tunnel crawl to the other side of the mountain. On either side of the tunnel crawl you have to be very deliberate with each step because one misstep could result in a 150 ft fatal fall.
Final Word -
If you have a fear of heights, this is not for you.
If you don't have sufficient upper body strength to pull yourself up the mountain, this is not for you.
If you don't have a reasonable level of fitness, this is not for you.
This hike exhausted me like no other but I'm so glad I did it and I plan to do it again in spring when the Eye is flowing. Know your limits, make good choices and you'll have the time of your life.
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Trailhead Pic
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Difficulty - ✹✹✹✹✹ (out of 5)
Scenic Beauty - ✰✰✰✰✰ (out of 5)
Directions - click here
This hike holds almost mythical status in Ozark hiking lore. It is moderately long, physically exhausting and has an element of danger lurking at almost every turn (more on that later....). Oh and it's all breathtakingly beautiful. The hyphenated title has to do with the fact that Indian Creek by itself is a wonderful hike but for the more adventurous you can climb the ropes, crawl through the tunnel, cling to the ledges, scramble the boulders and make your way to the infamous Eye of the Needle (pictured above). This is a 5 mile out and back hike and my group spent about 5-6 hours on the trip. The trail head can be found at Kyle's Landing on the Buffalo River. The first half mile or so is on the larger Buffalo River Trail but you veer off into Indian Creek at that point.
Inside Info - This hike has so much to offer and so many things to see; beautiful waterfalls, imposing cliffs and overhangs, dense foliage, and even a beautiful fern field. There is a footpath beside Indian Creek for part of the trip but we walked the creek itself because of the chance to see all that the creek has to offer. Keep in mind that you will have to cross the creek multiple times and depending on the time of year it can be knee high in places and the rocks can be super slick. There are no tricks to staying on course as you simply follow the creek. Along the way, depending on how much water is in the creek at the time, you'll encounter a large, U-shaped depression in the creek bed known as the Devil's Bathtub. A picture of this can be found below. Near the end of the creek you'll see the opening to a large cave on your left. The opening is at least 20-30 feet off the ground and there is a sign telling people to stay out as the bats that populate the cave are in danger of contracting White-Nose Syndrome which can be fatal to them. Quite frankly given how steep that climb would be, getting to the cave is not something that I would risk doing anyway. Once you reach the end of the creek you'll be greeted with the sight of an amazing serpentine waterfall that was flowing well when we were there. You'll also notice on your right that there are some ropes dangling off the side of a very steep incline about 150 feet to the top of a collapsed cave formation known as the Cathedral. You must climb these ropes if you wish to go to the Eye of the Needle. Once at the Cathedral you'll have to cling to the edge of the cliff to get to the tunnel crawl which takes you to the other side of the mountain. On the other side you'll hike some more on the edges of the cliff until you are able to once again climb down to the creek bed. There you will have some large boulder formations to scramble over until you reach the Eye of the Needle. Words cannot adequately describe the magnitude and beauty of the this remote spot. It looks almost prehistoric like the land that time forgot. I posted another picture of it below with my son in it to give you the scale of this awe-inspiring rock formation. After a hard rain, there will be water flowing through the Eye but there was none on the day we went. I plan to go back in the spring to witness this first hand. I was physically exhausted when we finally reached Kyle's landing after the hike. If we only did the Indian Creek trail and back, this would only be a moderately physical hike. But the rope climb and the technical pieces from that point forward pushed me to my own personal limits. You need sufficient body strength to pull your own weight up that hill and it uses muscles that many of us forgot we had. But having done it I can easily say it is the most rewarding and beautiful hike I have ever done. None better and that includes some hikes in the Alps of Austria and Switzerland.
Danger, Danger - This is the only hike where I have felt compelled to add this extra feature. Be advised that you should be aware that this hike does involve risk to life and limb and the potential of a fatal fall. This trail holds the record for most paramedic rescues in the Ozarks and if an incident occurs on the back end of the trail, it will be a long time before help can reach you. As I mentioned previously the rocks in Indian Creek can be extremely slippery and many people have suffered concussions, broken bones and sprained ankles as a result. I posted a picture below with my son at the beginning of the rope climb. The picture looks pretty benign but I can assure you that is an illusion. There are three separate stages to the rope climb and quite frankly, one of the ropes gave me an ill feeling the whole time I was using it. It felt like it would break and if it had, it would have been a long, painful tumble to the bottom. If you've ever seen the movie Lone Survivor, think of the Seals sliding down to the bottom of the gorge and bouncing off boulders the entire way. Once we finished the climb we rested in the Cathedral for about 15 minutes before clinging to the ledge and making our way to the tunnel crawl to the other side of the mountain. On either side of the tunnel crawl you have to be very deliberate with each step because one misstep could result in a 150 ft fatal fall.
Final Word -
If you have a fear of heights, this is not for you.
If you don't have sufficient upper body strength to pull yourself up the mountain, this is not for you.
If you don't have a reasonable level of fitness, this is not for you.
This hike exhausted me like no other but I'm so glad I did it and I plan to do it again in spring when the Eye is flowing. Know your limits, make good choices and you'll have the time of your life.
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Trailhead Pic
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