Cave off of HWY 62

[GlassCurtain]

My friend and I were driving back from checking out The holliday island tunnel. We were heading west on HWY 62 when we noticed a hole right off the HWY on the right. We stopped and checked it out. It turned out to be a really cool cave. It was bigger than we thought.

I wish I would have thought to get the GPS coordinates but I'm an idiot. But if you are heading west on HWY 62 go past the Holliday island turn off. You'll wind through a few corners and then there will be a dirt drive way to the left going down the hill. Up a little from the drive way across the HWY on the right is the cave. It's worth checking out if you are passing by.

Anyone else been in it or seen it?

[FiReDiVeR]

What town would this cave be near? I live in Mountain Home.

[slow_walker]

I actually drove up that road today and I just now read this topic for the first time. Amazingly enough, I am pretty sure I spotted the exact place being talked about here. I saw the hole while going around the curve. I was driving and there was no pull-off convenient at all, but I told my passenger that I just saw a pretty good sized hole that looked interesting.

If it is the same place (and I am sure it is) then it is on Hwy 62 between Eureka Springs and Gateway, AR. If you are heading from Eureka, west to Gateway, then you will pass the road to Beaver Dam on the left, and a little bit farther will be a turn off for Beaver Park and Holiday Island Marina on the right. As soon as you pass that turnoff the road starts winding uphill with some pretty wicked curves. I noticed the hole right next to the highway on the right side of the road after just a few corners. If I would have noticed this post first, I would have paid attention to which exact curve it is on.

I didn't have a chance to pull over immediately, and I am not about to go into a cave at such an early stage of my "wannabe explorer" process, so I just noticed it looked cool and drove on.

[GlassCurtain]

I am pretty sure I spotted the exact place being talked about here.

Yeah that's exactly where I'm talking about. The best way to get to it is to park in the driveway on the left just before you get to the cave (when you're heading west) and walk to it from there.

[White Rabbit]

Did it have purple spraypaint sprayed on the rock just outside the entrance? Because if so, I know exactly which one you're talking about. I just never bothered to check it out because it looked like it wouldn't go back very far.

[slow_walker]

I didn't get a good enough chance to look at it closely, but glass curtain might know the answer.

[GlassCurtain]

Did it have purple spraypaint sprayed on the rock just outside the entrance? Because if so, I know exactly which one you're talking about. I just never bothered to check it out because it looked like it wouldn't go back very far.

I think it might be spray painted. We checked it out at night so I'm not exactly sure. We were suprised that it went back pretty far (Further than we expected anyway). It's by no means big enough to the constitute a specific trip to it, but if you're passing by you might as well check it out.

[Split]

Here are some pictures from when I checked it out.

[slow_walker]

Awesome pictures dude, thanks for sharing them.
How big was that area where you were standing to shoot the entrance from the inside. Are you squatted down or are you standing in a big cavern? Give me some details.

[Split]

How big was that area where you were standing to shoot the entrance from the inside. Are you squatted down or are you standing in a big cavern?

It's not very wide, maybe a couple feet. It's taller than I expected though. I would say bout 20 feet tall or more in some places, so I was standing at all times. I stopped at the area where you would have to crawl though. That's about 100 ft or so into the cave I would guess. The cave was at a cool temperature untill I got to the the crawling space. Then it got warm and muggy. Not sure what that means.

[White Rabbit]

That's awesome. That's definitely bigger than I expected.

[BROUSER]

Then it got warm and muggy. Not sure what that means.

Hmmmm....substantial bat population maybe? Another entrance?

[TooMuchCoffee]

I think that type of cave is called a "fissure cave". Created by the mountain literally pulling itself apart. The same as the caves around Devils Den. Very tall and thin near the entrance. They usually have two entrances.
WARNING: In Arkansas, A purple paint mark is legally recoginized as the same as a No Treaspassing sign. This law was created in the 80's to give land owners a cheaper alternative to mark their land as no treaspassing/no hunting, rather than having to put up signs every so many feet. I think there is supposed to be a mark every 10 to 20 feet.
Be safe.

[Sertile]

Yeah, that law applies in MO as well. Generally you'll see them on trees or fenceposts.

[Split]

WARNING: In Arkansas, A purple paint mark is legally recoginized as the same as a No Treaspassing sign. This law was created in the 80's to give land owners a cheaper alternative to mark their land as no treaspassing/no hunting, rather than having to put up signs every so many feet. I think there is supposed to be a mark every 10 to 20 feet.
Be safe.

Hmm, I did not know that....nice to know. Thanks.