Great Southern Waterfalls #1 - Cedar Falls at Petit Jean State Park in Arkansas

Cedar Falls in Arkansas

This is Part #1 of a special fall series on great waterfalls you can see across the South! I will update this page with links as I add others.

#1 on our list of Great Southern Waterfalls is Cedar Falls at Petit Jean State Park near Morrilton, Arkansas.

Ninety feet in height, Cedar Falls is formed by the sudden drop of Cedar Creek from the top of Petit Jean Mountain into Cedar Canyon. One of the best waterfalls to see in Arkansas because it flows year-round, Cedar Falls is one of the reasons that Petit Jean was made the first Arkansas state park when the land was acquired by the state in 1921.

The falls can be viewed from overlooks on both sides of the canyon, or the more energetic can follow a hiking trail down into Cedar Canyon and to the bottom of the magnificent waterfall.The hike provides a stunning view accompanied by the thundering sound of the waterfall hitting the rocks at the bottom of the canyon.

Another view of Cedar Falls

The waterfall is the centerpiece of the state park, which is one of the most beautiful in the South. Covering 2,568 acres, Petit Jean State Park offers a remarkable collection of natural and historic points of interest.

In addition to Cedar Falls, there are rock formations, caves with prehistoric Indian art, magnificent views, a pre-Civil War pioneer cabin and even Petit Jean's Grave, the place where legend holds a young French girl was buried when she died of sickness after stowing away aboard a ship during Colonial times to come to America in search of her true love.  Her ghost is said to haunt the mountain.

To learn more, please visit www.exploresouthernhistory.com/petitjean1.