Racing the Park Gates for Sunset at Pinnacle Mountain

It is 5:15 PM and the gates at Pinnacle Mountain State Park lock in exactly 45 minutes. Most hikers are heading down to their cars, but I am just starting the ascent. Join me for a race against the sun and the park rangers on the West Summit Trail. The goal is to scramble to the top for sunset, make it back down safely, and still squeeze in a detour to the cypress trees on the Kingfisher Trail before the gates close. Pinnacle Mountain State Park is one of the most iconic hiking locations in Central Arkansas. For this adventure, I combined two very different trails to get a full experience in under an hour. The West Summit Trail is the more rugged side of the mountain. It is roughly 1.5 miles round trip but features a steep, rocky scramble near the top. It is classified as strenuous because you will need three points of contact to navigate the boulder fields. The reward is a 360-degree view of the Arkansas River and Lake Maumelle. The Kingfisher Trail is a complete change of pace. It is a 0.5-mile paved loop at the base of the mountain that winds through a floodplain. This trail is famous for its massive bald cypress trees and their knees rising out of the Little Maumelle River. It is a perfect cool-down after the intensity of the summit scramble. Thanks for watching, and make sure to join us on our next adventure! Chapters: 0:00 Intro: The 45-Minute Deadline 0:22 West Summit Trail Ascent 2:36 The Boulder Field Scramble 2:49 False Summit Warning 3:53 Ridgeline Views 4:48 Summit at Sunset 5:56 Racing the Light Down 6:43 Kingfisher Trail Swamp Loop 7:25 Outro: Did We Beat the Gate? SOCIAL: TWITTER: https://twitter.com/adventurewithbg INSTAGRAM: https://instagram.com/adventureswithbg FACEBOOK: https://facebook.com/adventureswithbg BLOG: https://adventureswithbg.com #pinnaclemountain #arkansashiking #westsummittrail #kingfishertrail #littlerockhiking #arkansasstateparks #scramble #hikingvlog