Plunge into summer relief at Grinder Hole

GRINDERS FERRY - Here’s a swimming hole that comes complete with a quick lesson in geology.

OK, so learning a bit about the remarkable rock formations at this popular Buffalo River location is hardly a priority for the folks merrily splashing in the water or relaxing beside pulled-out canoes on the bank.

They’re at Grinder Hole to cool off during a hot summer day on the scenic Ozarks waterway that Congress designated 41 years ago as America’s first national river.

These tourists - in all ages, sizes and shapes - are among the million-plus annual visitors to the federal preserve that stretches along the 153-mile river from its headwaters in Ozark National Forest east to its mouth at the White River.

A canoe float is the trademark leisure activity on the Buffalo National River, arguably the state’s prime natural treasure. But there’s abundant good swimming as well, either while taking a break during a canoeing venture or as a laid-back pursuit in itself.

At Grinder Hole, visible from the U.S. 65 bridge that put the old ferry service out of business in 1929, a bluff rises 50 feet above the north bank. Swimmers as well as boaters can enter the shallow cave at the base of the bluff.

Inside the cave, as mapped out in Kenneth L. Smith’s handy Buffalo River Handbook, can be found the geology lesson: “At the back is greenish thin-layered Cason Shale (Ordovician); this is the only place to see the Cason on the river.”

Translated for the layman, this green-hued shale is estimated to be 450 million years old. That’s about as ancient as any rocks in the state. There are also layers of limestone dating to the Silurian era, which followed the Ordovician - so long ago that dinosaurs were still something like 200 million years in the future.

Grinders Ferry, some 110 miles north of Little Rock, is among the busiest swimming spots on the Buffalo River. The waterway boasts an array of such pleasant pools (or holes, as they are more commonly called around here).

Buffalo River Handbook lists about 270 of them, with names bestowed by locals over the years. Some are picturesque: Bat House, Buzzard Roost, Coffin Box, Fishtrap, Goat Bluff, Hangover, Jackpot, Mussel, Pickle, Sheep Jump Eddy, Stovepipe, Suck, Wash Pot. Ten are named blue because of the water’s color, which is actually blue-green rather than true blue.

Less than a mile downstream from Grinder Hole is Shine Eye Hole, another favored swimming spot approached over a gravel bar. Origin of the odd name is uncertain, according to Smith’s book. This is one of the local theories: “That crossing at Shine Eye seemed to be a treacherous place. A man rode a horse across the river there when the horse went down in quicksand. Either the man’s head was out or his glasses were there, shining.”

Another two miles downstream lies the village of Gilbert, population 28, which began as a railroad camp in 1902. A concessionaire here rents canoes, while the Gilbert General Store is listed on the National Register of Historic Places under the name Mays Store. Its hodgepodge of merchandise on dusty shelves makes for a nostalgia trip. Down the block, the Gilbert Cafe has devotees of its home-style lunches.

A mile north of the U.S. 65 bridge, Ferguson country store and restaurant measures up to its slogan of “home cooked meals with a flavor of the past.” Nearby Coursey’s sells highly touted smoked meats and sandwiches.

The realities of the current federal budget stalemate in Congress intrudes at the national river’s Tyler Bend Visitor Center, two miles upstream from Grinders Ferry. The sign alerts visitors that “due to staffing limitations, there are no ranger-guided activities in this area.”

In a free publication available at the center’s desk, Superintendent Kevin Cheri laments: “From today’s perspective, that is, one of diminishing budgets, the future could be characterized as ‘mighty grim.’ Statistics you may have heard before have staffing cuts in all operational areas. And our ability to do ‘simple things’ like clean restrooms and haul trash becomes more complicated.”

The handiest antidote to such a gloomy forecast is a return to Grinder Hole and a splash in the cooling waters of the Buffalo River.

For information on the Buffalo National River, a unit of the National Park Service, call (870) 365-2700 or (870) 439-2502. Or visit the website nps.gov/buff.