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The Kite Trail at the Wichita Mountains National Wildlife Refuge is a 2.4 mile heavily trafficked out and back trail. The trail features a lake, river (Cache Creek), and great views of the surrounding area. It is also the shortest trail to get you to the 40ft Hole.
Hiking the Kite Trail at the Wichita Mountains National Wildlife Refuge
After finishing up at the Narrows we decided to check out the 40ft Hole via the Kite Trail before eating lunch. The trail starts off easy and follows the river but quickly gets rocky. You then have to go up a short but steep incline. On top, the trail continues along the ridge line. One side is the river with steep drop offs while the other side goes off on side trails off into the wilderness. The whole trail is in direct sunlight and even 60 degree weather it gets warm fast.
I wouldn’t call the trail easy but I wouldn’t mark the trail as moderate difficulty. The small rock hoping, avoiding loose rocks and narrow trails are what makes it hard. If you are out of shape, take it easy and bring plenty of water. The trail is safe for both children and dogs. Keep in mind, the cliff side of the trail is unprotected and dogs are required to be on leash on the trail. It might be useful to use Hiking Poles. I used a set and it made it easier. My wife didn’t need to use hers.
You have access to the trail from 2 access points. We accessed the trail from the south entrance, the Boulder Picnic Area. The North Entrance, the Lost Lake Entrance is the second trail entrance. This trail head isn’t marked. But once you get started it does point you in the right direction. If you are trying to get to the Bison Trail you can access the trail from the Northern trail head at Lost Lake and cross the dam. From the research I found, its not recommended for safety reasons to cross over but people do it all the time when the water is low.
Final Thoughts
For us, the 40ft Hole was a disappointment. It was empty and the waterfall was a trickle. But we did visit in the dry season. After getting to that point, I started feeling a little light headed from being hungry. We were probably about half a mile (maybe more) from finishing up the trail. We turned around and headed back for lunch.
Our Next visit to the area we plan on doing the trail again if its the rainy season so we can check out the dam and try and get down to the bottom since it is possible to get down to the water.
Would we recommend this trail, yes. Its a good starter trail for those wanting to get familiar with trail the rocky trails found on this side of the refuge. But there aren’t markers and no cell reception. You will need download the trail first and use GPS to stay on trail.
About the Images
The images were shot around mid afternoon and it was windy. I had some issues getting some of the images to stay in focus. I was able to fix some of the issues in post. I used my Sony a6000 using my Sony SELP18105G E PZ 18-105mm F4 G OSS. I then edited the images with Adobe Lightroom CC and Topaz Labs Denoise AI and Topaz Labs Sharpen AI and DXO NIK Collection.
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