I see there is a waterfall somewhat near and the pictures appear to have a lake...

[jBiGz:.]

How is the lake/pond? Can you go in at anytime?
Is the waterfall complicated to get to?
Might be something nice to do at sunrise if not.
Black bears.... is there alot of them?

[Jerry'sPhriend]

The ponds are off limits for swimming, but they are stocked with fish! - and on site. You can take a shuttle to the river.
The waterfall- the pics look nice, ha but I have never made it down there. I have been to every festival at MM but have never taken the time to do the hike... or play the disc golf course- and I live to throw and hike :)

[jBiGz:.]

yea the heat prolly puts a damper on it... id love to frolf there.. is there a map of this stuff there? or should i try to divuldge the information before i go?

i keep hearing the waterfall is cool but not worth the hike and theres always whack jobs haning out there.

the river is ok to dip in tho? correct?

[rchasei]

Yes. The river is good for swimming. Good is an understatement. It's down right glorious. If the heat is as bad this year (which it shouldn't be. First week of June at that altitude normally isn't THAT bad) I'm sure more peoe will make there way down there. The hardest part is scheduling your trip. There's so much music to see, it's sometimes hard to make the sacrifice and leave the festival grounds. Let me re-state, the river is glorious. Make sure you just take water bottles with you. I wouldn't recommend drinking down there, or acting foolish in general.

[fresh suggs]

The waterfall is cool and a fun spot to chill, but I must say the hike there is really no joke and it's often pretty packed down there. It all comes down to if you wanna go with that hike or not :P The river however is easy to get to and beautiful.

[jBiGz:.]

the river sounds wonderful thanks for the review

[msticdad]

Are there any other places around the festival to hike, or is the waterfall the only place? I have never been up in that area, so I do not know what the terrain or wildlife is like.

[KB]

The terrain is moderate/advanced, and there are a number of different hiking options. Many trails through the mountains, although many of them are all-terrain trails.

Can a local offer more detail?

[Pauly's Cheese]

Black bears.... is there alot of them?
The reason that the ponds are off limits to swimming is that they have gigantic snapping turtles in them. Trust me, I caught on once while fishing for catfish.

There aren't a whole bunch of bears, but they are pretty fearless. Here's a video of one on the festival grounds last year.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l_rIpZCCCWk

[brappple]

the waterfall is not on the same private property on which the rest of the festival is located. Be aware.

[G$]

and the pictures appear to have a lake...

The big lake in some of the pictures is from Waka's original home @ Clinton Lake State Park outside of Lawrence KS.....just older pics. The lake was nice, but overall Mulberry Mtn is a far superior venue/location, depsite the fact that it nearly doubled the travel time needed from CO.

[bogmonkey]

I notice on the map, right to the left of the main stage "Ozark Highlands Trail" -- ?? Is that an actual trail you can go check out? never noticed that before...

http://www.wakarusa.com/2011/images/maps/2011-Wakarusa-Map_large.jpg

[SPelizzaro]

Bog, that is the trail to the Waterfall.

[Jerry'sPhriend]

The OHT is a very long trail running 165 miles through the Ozark National Forest and the Buffalo river area. I believe that trailhead is the waterfall trail/OHT

[bogmonkey]

Bog, that is the trail to the Waterfall.

Sweet! Perhaps I will make the trek this year. It is hard for me to leave the actual venue area once the music starts every day - unless it is on a Pauly-sponsored river trip. Somehow I feel like I am wasting valuable fest-energy resources making the waterfall hike and it is hard to find the motivation when there. It takes like..several dilithium crystals to accomplish and I only come to the fest with a finite amount!

[Pauly's Cheese]

unless it is on a Pauly-sponsored river trip.
You can bet your ass there will be a couple of those this year :)

[vhbhkc]

You can bet your ass there will be a couple of those this year :)

I WILL go on a river trip this year.

[Jerry'sPhriend]

I WILL go on a river trip this year.

Yyyyeeaaaaaahhh!

[CaliBilly]

the waterfall hiking trail has an entrance on the property but it is a 45 min hike down and 2 hours back up. I live in Ozark and can tell u that there r many other easy to access places along the road near the event that r much easier to get to. The best thing to do is ask some locals.

[zgz7430]

As brappple says, waterfall is on private property, so be smart if you are going down there. I had an awesome time jumping off the waterfall last year, getting away from the heat. But the hike back out is no joke, its all up hill and probably takes about an hour at a steady walk. If you are down for the hike out, by all means check it out otherwise be ready to hike it out!

[Natty]

That trail is about a 2 mile switchback all the way. The waterfall is worth the trip during a brutaly hot day ontop the mountain. However, it is off festival grounds, (like mentioned above), and LEO are in the woods, so keep that in mind. Once you leave festival grounds you are fair game to them.
The hike back up the trail can be dreadful to some (to say the least), so unless you're physically fit, I recommend staying far away.(I'm not playing one bit either.)LMAO