BOU AVENUE
Driskill Mountain
With the weather for central Texas looking increasingly cloudy for the upcoming total solar eclipse, Zosia Zgolak and I made the decision to drive to clearer skies in Arkansas on 6 April 2024.  Along the way, we made a detour into Louisiana for a quick hike up the state high point, Driskill Mountain.  The third lowest state high point in the US (only the high points in Florida and Delaware are lower), Driskill Mountain is little more than a forested hill and is apparently surpassed in height by a couple of buildings in the city of New Orleans!  The mountain is located on private land, but the landowners have been kind enough to allow public access and have even put up signs to help guide visitors.

Starting from a parking lot (32.41516, -92.89463) beside Mount Zion Presbyterian Church and Driskill Memorial Cemetery, Zosia and I followed a road northward past a gate to a fork.  Keeping left, we soon reached a junction with a trail branching off to the right.  This trail goes over a subsidiary ridge, but both routes ultimately lead without much fuss to the state high point replete with a sign board and register.  Although the high point is completely forested, a short spur trail can be followed to a bench where there are some limited views to the west.  With little here to keep our interest, we merely snapped our requisite summit photo and signed the register before descending the road not taken back to the trail junction and out to the parking lot.  At the end, we briefly checked out the cemetery before departing for Arkansas.
Not even worth carrying a backpack for this one! Zosia starts hiking along a road beside a cemetery.
Nice bug! A sign helps visitors choose an appropriate route to the top of Driskill Mountain.
Only "for experienced hikers"...LOL! This is the trail which goes over "False Mountain", a subsidiary ridge.
Looks like a big pile of horse manure!

This pile of rocks marks the summit of Driskill Mountain (166 metres).

Photo courtesy of Zosia Zgolak
This one was almost as hard as Mount Whitney...LOL! Sonny and Zosia stand beside the summit sign board and register.
Great views! Zosia relaxes on a bench just west of the summit.
And that has made all the difference! Leaving the summit, Sonny chooses the road not taken.

Photo courtesy of Zosia Zgolak
The 141-year old cemetery is in great shape! Sonny stops by the cemetery at the trailhead before leaving the area.

Photo courtesy of Zosia Zgolak
They should at least log the top of the mountain to make it more scenic! Total Distance:  3.4 kilometres
Round-Trip Time:  59 minutes
Net Elevation Gain:  35 metres

GPX Data