Arkansas trails · White Rock-Shores Lake West

White Rock-Shores Lake West

A 4.2-mile out-and-back in Arkansas, with 1,177 ft of climbing. Reaches Shores Lake. Managed by the U.S. Forest Service.

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Length

4.2 mi

Elevation gain

1,177 ft

Difficulty

Hard

Max grade

50%

Steepest mile

+773 ft

Tread at ≥10% grade

1.3 mi

Shape

out-and-back

Managed by

U.S. Forest Service

Elevation profile

Most of the climbing sits in the final third — 57% of the ascent, between mile 2.8 and mile 4.2.

3-D terrain

USGS 3DEP ELEVATION × ESRI WORLD IMAGERY · VERTICAL ×1.5

Reaches

Shores Lake (lake)

Heads up

Stream ford: expect at least one unbridged crossing.

Terrain graded T2 (SAC scale).

Getting there

WHITE ROCK-SHORES LAKE WEST access — parking nearby. 35.64398, -93.96161 · directions

Daylight at the trailhead

On August 31, 2026 — the day this page was generated — first light reaches this trailhead at 6:20 a.m., the sun rises at 6:46 a.m. and sets at 7:44 p.m., and the last usable light fades about 8:10 p.m. (CDT) — 12 h 58 min of daylight. At about 2.7 mph plus 30 minutes per 1,000 feet of climbing, the 8.4-mile round trip takes roughly 4 h 18 min, so leaving the trailhead at sunrise puts you back around 11:05 a.m. — 8 h 40 min before sunset.

Loop options

OZARK HIGHLANDS TRAIL + WHITE ROCK-SHORES LAKE WEST + WHITE ROCK-SHORES LAKE EAST — 11.0 mi loop, 2,555 ft gain
WHITE ROCK-SHORES LAKE EAST + White Rock Shores Lake Loop West + WHITE ROCK-SHORES LAKE WEST — 8.8 mi loop, 1,994 ft gain

Nearby trails

White Rock Shores Lake Loop West — 0.0 mi
White Rock-Shores Lake East — 3.6 mi
Ozark Highlands Trail — 5.1 mi
Mill Creek Trail Blue Loop — 9.9 mi