West Mountain Loop Overlook

This is a drive-up scenic overlook at the summit of West Mountain, one of three stops on the Summit Loop. It looks south toward the Trap Mountains, with Lake Hamilton far in the distance. The lower stops look back over Bathhouse Row and downtown, so the summit gives you a different angle rather than a repeat. Come for the layered southern view and the large novaculite outcrop beside the road.

West Mountain Drive is a two-way road with entrances from Prospect Avenue and Whittington Avenue; it leads to the Summit Loop. There is auto parking, but the summit lot is small. Sunset Trail access is available at the summit if you want to continue on foot. No restroom or potable water is listed for the outcrop, so plan ahead and treat this as a scenic stop.

The exposed Arkansas novaculite is part of the visit. Caddo people shaped the stone into tools and weapons; European settlers later used it for whetstones. It was useful because it could be worked into a form and hold a sharp edge. Look closely at the broken texture and ridges to see why it mattered as both a landscape feature and a tool material.

Arkansas novaculite belongs to a silica-rich rock formation laid down roughly 318 to 416 million years ago. As the Ouachita Mountains formed, folding and faulting exposed tougher beds on ridges while softer rock eroded away. The outcrop connects the mountain view to a much older story underfoot.

Step back and include the road edge and surrounding trees with the outcrop; that setting gives the pale rock scale and shape better than a tight close-up.