Whiteley Hole

Whiteley Hole Home City: Ponca ARK GPS: Park: 35.94694,-93.40138           Spot: 35.94864, -93.40194 Shade: Excellent Proximity to Food/Gas: 30 Minutes (Jasper) How We Found It: Tim Ernst Book p64 Fee: No Years Visited: 2015, 2017, 2018, 2020 Smoothness Of Road: Excellent Photo Gallery: Here Pros: Scenic, easy access/parking, well shaded, smooth easy road, water almost always secluded. Cons: Small, much of it's shallow (some deep areas but they're small), pretty far from eating places Grade: B+      This is a spot somewhat down the road from Ponca. There are other spots nearby as well such as Pearly and Lost Valley (for hiking), I didn't find Pearly to be particularly impressive. Lost Valley can be for hiking.      Much of this area is shallow by my standards, but there is this one stretch (hard for me to explain/document in here) where it gets deep enough for my liking. The area makes for good scenic shots too. You park near this one barn, which I find pretty, and in fact I did get one particularly outstanding barn shot in 2015 just as we were leaving (link) My wife liked it more than I did, I think of it more as as a spot to visit if I'm already in Ponca or Lost Valley to start with.      The minuses of this spot--the water is shallow in much of it (there is one small "stretch" where it can get deepish, but not much else) and once you're here you're a pretty good distance from any eating places. You could head to the Buffalo Outdoor Center and get some sandwiches, otherwise you're going to be going all the way back to Jasper if you want a more full meal.      To get there, go the GPS "park" spot where you will be near a barn, then you follow a trail across a wide-open field to a small wooded area. You should see a view similar to the photo above. I have the GPS coordinates of this spot listed above.      If you're in a hiking mood, besides Lost Valley, you'd be somewhat in the direction of the famous Hawk Craig/Whitaker Point, if you can deal with 7+ miles of driving on a rutty road. ----------- Nearby Gas/Food Jasper (~35 Min)    Sharon K's Cafe (36.0059,-93.186), Ozark Cafe (36.0084,-93.187), Cliff House Inn (35.9454,-93.1624)

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