CALLING ALL ACTIVE UO MEMBERS & GUEST READERS

Urban exploration in Arkansas
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gnomad1
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CALLING ALL ACTIVE UO MEMBERS & GUEST READERS

Post by gnomad1 »

This is gnomad1. I'm a relatively new member to this forum. I discovered this site about 7 months ago and I've been wading through all the topics looking for places to explore. I waited to create an account until I had found some locations and built up some "street cred." I've checked out a handful of places now and decided to start sharing. I hope to be part of a second generation of Underground Ozarks members. It seems that activity has somewhat died off and hopefully we can get some of that back. So without further ado...


First up the abandoned rail line over by Eureka:


I first found the bridge just by simply following rivers on google maps
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I then followed the old tracks on google maps to see if there were any other cool features and found this trestle
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and the tunnel. I had also read about the tunnel on here. It was definitely the coolest part on the tracks in my opinion. If you are new to the site and trying to find some easier underground locations to begin with I would suggest starting with this one. It's fairly easy to locate and it is worth the trouble. (If you PM I will give hints.) The hike in alone was cool enough. The tunnel was pretty straight forward, no cave systems branching off or anything. Just a very muddy abandoned train tunnel:

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the old rail bed leading up to the tunnel

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coming up on the tunnel

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looking in

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heading into the tunnel

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as far as you can go without getting wet

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heading back out

Nothing crazy here just a cool abandoned bridge in Greenwood:
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On to my next find; 0-mtn. This one was very cool to locate. I read about it on the forums here and I finally tracked it down. (to the veterans, I realize this is not the main system of 0-mtn with the lake, I will be checking that out soon, this was just the safer option to get a feel for the place.) It was a moderately difficult find since I didn't find any coordinates or solid clues on here:
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looking in

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looking out

Next up is Texas International 655. I read multiple threads on here about it and set my sights on it. Tips on finding this would be to do some searching on the internet and odds are you can find some coordinates. I think there might actually be a thread with the coords on here but I'm not positive. Be ready for a hike on this one. I came up from the south side and it was tough. I can't say for fact that coming in from the north side is better but I really can't see how it would be worse. Anyways, here's some pics


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And my latest find; Pine Creek Cave. I actually found this on accident in search of the infamous Whippoorwill. On google maps, I found a place where a stream appeared out of no where and knew that obviously meant a spring and decided to give it a shot. I was very pessimistic about my chances but I went and it turned out to be a cool cave system with two different sections. The bottom section had a nice little river running through it. I explored around and realized that to go further I had to either bring a kayak or get wet. So instead of wading, I brought a kayak and a couple of buddies. We took turns paddling through the underground "lazy river" and went about 600 feet back until we couldn't make it any further by water. It was pretty awesome kayaking in a cave. The upper portion featured a decent amount of winding passageways and a very cool waterfall room. Now for some pics:

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bottom section of cave system where we first put the kayak in

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kayak is off

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going where no kayak has gone before (I assume)

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pretty sizable body of water

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upper portion of cave system: exploring on our own limbs instead of a kayak (not as comfortable)

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upper portion of cave system: waterfall room




These are my finds so far. Feel free to comment with any tips for photography, advice on how to make future posts better or just general comments. I am a greenhorn on this site, and urbex in general, so advice is appreciated.

Also if you want to know how to get to any of these places feel free to PM and I will be glad to give hints. I like the idea of having to do a little searching on your own to find places. It makes the discovery so much more enjoyable. So because of that I can't guarantee I will just give out coords to anyone but I will give hints. HOWEVER, I also like the idea of trading coordinates so if you have some coords that I want and I have some that you want then I'm sure we can make a trade.

-gnomad1 over and out-

*if there are any guests viewing this and you have tried making an account on this site but you're not getting a confirmation email, try using a different email. I tried using gmail for the longest time and it would never work. I switched to a yahoo and then boom. So if anyone has tried to make an account but faced that problem, just try switching emails.
Last edited by gnomad1 on Mon Apr 10, 2017 11:31 am, edited 2 times in total.
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RE: CALLING ALL ACTIVE UO MEMBERS & GUEST READERS

Post by djfoxsr »

Some pretty cool stuff. I wish I could find some stuff in north east Arkansas to visit. Will be taking my first vacation in 6 years in late July. Working 6 days a week, I never get to explore out of my own county. Wife and I are loading up the bikes and going to eureka Springs and then Branson. If you have any suggestions, I'd love to get at least one quickie exploration in while out of town. Would just need to be something not too impossible to find, or would take all day hiking.
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Post by djfoxsr »

Some pretty cool stuff. I wish I could find some stuff in north east Arkansas to visit. Will be taking my first vacation in 6 years in late July. Working 6 days a week, I never get to explore out of my own county. Wife and I are loading up the bikes and going to eureka Springs and then Branson. If you have any suggestions, I'd love to get at least one quickie exploration in while out of town. Would just need to be something not too impossible to find, or would take all day hiking.
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Post by gnomad1 »

I agree, Northeast AR is a bit harder to find some good stuff. If you are going to Eureka, you have some good options on things to explore:
-There is an abandoned dinosaur park nearby,
-the old rail line that I posted about ^^^ is not too far away (highly recommend),
-there is a small quarry by the dam,
-there is a castle and cool suspension bridge in Beaver, AR
-a couple cool show caves near Eureka

and not to mention the ride over to Eureka will be beautiful on bikes. Be sure and share any cool finds!
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Post by SubLunar »

Nice work.
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RE: CALLING ALL ACTIVE UO MEMBERS & GUEST READERS

Post by Dionne Ashley »

I've had Texas International 655 on my radar for a while now. I'd love to see more pics of this one!

That waterfall room is awesome, what a cool "accidental" find. Caves are an area that I have very little experience in. This is something I wouldn't mind changing in the near future.

Great job! :)
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Post by crazydrummerdude »

Man, good stuff!
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Post by Wedge »

About 0-mtn, the 'lake' side has a lot of construction above it now. The entrance used to be much more hidden, but now many trees and cover are gone. I haven't been in years and it may even be closed now, but it used to be wide open, just obscured from the road.

By the lake, there was a stack of tires with boat paddles in them. There's also a pickup truck in there (old/broken), an old guard shack of some sort and empty dynamite boxes.

I don't know the full extent of the place, but it's big enough to get turned around in and kind of lost.
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Post by Nicotti »

Good stuff.

Whippoorwill has a natural wet entrance, so technically you could find it that way, but most everyone uses the dug out, man made, dry entrance. I wish I could remember where it is. :(
More online investigation than onsite exploration these days.

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gnomad1
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Post by gnomad1 »

The entrance to the main part of 0-mtn is still "open." Couldn't find the lake but did get very close to getting lost. Ended up taking a couple guesses and making it back out.

Nicotti, I am still looking for Whippoorwill. If you have any tips for finding it I would love to hear them.
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Post by WannabeExplorer »

Hi, I was wondering if anyone could give me some pointers on how to reach any of the entrances to Zero Mountain?
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Post by Headframe Hunters »

That trestle is awesome, great find!

I hear you on trying to be part of the second generation. I'm trying to do similar, with a focus on mining. I've found quite a few previously-unexplored sites.

WannabeExplorer, I'd suggest looking at Google Earth and USGS topographic mines. Bing Maps also has some excellent oblique aerial photos of the area.
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gnomad1
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Post by gnomad1 »

WannaBeExplorer I PM'd you details about 0

HeadframeHunters
You have definitely been my go to source of knowledge on here regarding mines/underground adventures etc. I have watched some youtube videos from you and been constantly checking the forums for new posts by you. Keep up the good work.
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