Arkansas trails · Bench Trail
Bench Trail
A 3.4-mile loop in Arkansas, with 189 ft of climbing. Reaches Darling Spring and other spring/summit/viewpoint destinations. Managed by the state.
Elevation profile
The climbing is spread fairly evenly along the route. It gives back about 360 ft along the way, so it rolls rather than climbing steadily.
3-D terrain
USGS 3DEP ELEVATION × ESRI WORLD IMAGERY · VERTICAL ×1.5
Reaches
- Darling Spring (spring)
- Sunset Point (summit)
- Sunrise Point (summit)
- Sunset Point (viewpoint)
- Sunrise Point (viewpoint)
- Bench Overlook (viewpoint)
Getting there
Access Trail access — parking nearby. 35.23012, -93.25985 · directions
Daylight at the trailhead
On August 31, 2026 — the day this page was generated — first light reaches this trailhead at 6:18 a.m., the sun rises at 6:44 a.m. and sets at 7:41 p.m., and the last usable light fades about 8:07 p.m. (CDT) — 12 h 57 min of daylight. At about 2.7 mph plus 30 minutes per 1,000 feet of climbing, the 3.4-mile route takes roughly 1 h 22 min, so leaving the trailhead at sunrise puts you back around 8:06 a.m. — 11 h 35 min before sunset.
Loop options
- Rim Trail + Bench Trail + Gum Springs Trail — 1.9 mi loop, 517 ft gain
- Rim Trail + Varnall Springs Trail + Bench Trail — 3.3 mi loop, 823 ft gain
- Bench Trail + Nebo Springs Trail + Rim Trail — 1.5 mi loop, 458 ft gain
Nearby trails
- Rim Trail — 0.3 mi
- Huckleberry Mtn-Orange — 14.5 mi
- Winthrop P. Rockefeller Boy Scout Trail — 20.2 mi
- Mt. Magazine Trail — 21.9 mi