2025 Journey Through Time: Kessler Mountain Rock City Geology Hike

🥾2025 Journey Through Time: Rock City Hike🥾

📅Saturday, December 6, 2025  | ⏰12:30PM–5:00PM

📍Kessler Mountain Nature Center & Outdoor Classroom | 1725 Smoke House Trail, Fayetteville, AR

🎟️ Tickets: $10-25

🌍 Take a Trip Back in Time—Deep Time!

🕰️Journey with us to the Fayetteville area, long before humans ever set foot here. Join Ozark Natural Science Center staff, Chris Moyer (retired geologist) and Mac McGilvery (Adjunct Professor in the Geosciences Dept. at the U of A) for an exploration of the geologic and natural history of Kessler Mountain! 🏞️

📚 First, we’ll dive into the foundational concepts of geology, unraveling the mysteries of Earth’s past. Then, we’ll dig deeper into the fascinating geologic history of the Fayetteville area and discover how geology shapes the land around us.

🚶‍♂️After our classroom discussions and presentations, we’ll lace up our hiking boots and hit the trails! Explore the Rock City and Fayetteville Traverse trails at Kessler Mountain, where stunning outcrops and breathtaking vistas will bring the earlier discussions to life. Witness firsthand how geology sculpts the landscape while learning about the local plants and animals that call this area home.

✨ This gem of a location is not open to the general public, so don’t miss this unique opportunity to hike through the Rock City geologic formations on a guided adventure!

What to expect

• Check in at the former Ozark Smokehouse building, now the Kessler Mountain Outdoor Classroom and Nature Center (1725 S. Smokehouse Trail Fayetteville, AR 72701), for the brief slideshow presentation.

• From there, we will hike up the steep, approximately half-mile road to the trailhead, and begin the actual hike. 

• This fairly easy, roughly 3-mile hike will take approximately 3-3 and a half hours. There are no steep climbs, once you get up the road to the trailhead!

• Please wear comfortable/worn in tennis shoes or boots with a hard sole and bring your own water bottle.

• ***In the case of inclement winter weather on Saturday, December 6, the back-up date for this event will be the following Saturday, December 13, at the same time (1-5:00PM).***

  
  

Schedule

• 🪧12:30pm - 1:00pm: Check in at Kessler Mountain Nature Center & Outdoor Classroom (old Ozark Smokehouse building) 

• 🪨1:00pm - 1:45pm: Geology Slideshow Presentation (in Nature Center/Meeting Room)

• 🥾1:45pm - 5:00pm: Hike to Rock City & Back 

  
  

Ticket Information

• Adult tickets (18 & up) - $25

• Teen tickets (12-17) = $10

• Senior tickets (65+) = $15

• This hike is not recommended for children under 12, however exceptions may be made on a case by case basis. Please email breana.patterson@onsc.us for more information.

  
  

✨Optional donation to ONSC

Despite rising costs in nearly every area, ONSC remains committed to providing affordable, high-quality programs that connect people with nature. We are not raising our prices at this time. If you find value in our work and would like to support our mission, we gratefully welcome tax-deductible donations to help sustain our efforts.

All proceeds go to support research, community science, and education at Ozark Natural Science Center.

About Ozark Natural Science Center 

Our Mission: To strengthen the understanding, appreciation, and stewardship of land, water, and wildlife in the Ozarks.

Our Vision: Everyone should have the opportunity to connect with the outdoors. We inspire and educate our community to protect the Ozarks.

Our Core Values:

• Create clear and engaging educational programs

• Provide hands-on experiences in the outdoors

• Encourage responsibility for the natural world

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What We Do: At ONSC, we help people connect with nature through fun, hands-on science activities. Since 1992, we’ve been the only overnight science center in Arkansas. We’ve hosted more than 100,000 students through field trips, camps, and workshops.

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We also rent out our space—including lodges, tiny houses, an event center, classrooms, and campgrounds—so visitors can enjoy the outdoors.

We believe everyone has the right to receive outdoor education. No matter your background, we are here to help you to explore science and nature!

About the Instructors

Chris Moyer, a native of southern New Jersey, earned a B.S. in geology from Arkansas Tech University and an M.S. in geology from the University of Arkansas. With over 25 years of experience in the petroleum industry, he served as a production and exploration geologist for ExxonMobil and Southwestern Energy Company, as well as a geological consultant, working both domestically and internationally. Chris also dedicated more than a decade to teaching geology at Northwest Arkansas Community College. Now retired, he spends his time appreciating the rich culture and natural beauty of Northwest Arkansas and beyond.

T. A. (Mac) McGilvery received his B.S. Geology (1978) and M.S. Geology (1980) from the University of Arkansas. He then worked for 30 years in the petroleum industry with numerous companies (including Tenneco Oil co., which became Royal Dutch Shell, Phillips Petroleum Co., and the merged company ConocoPhillips) in a variety of locations (including Oklahoma, Columbia, South America, Anchorage, AK, and Houston, TX), holding titles including Global Stratigraphic Advisor, Chief Geologist, and Global Geoscience Advisor.  In between petroleum jobs, Mac also completed his Ph.D., Geology at The University of Texas at Austin in 1996, with a dissertation on the geology of the Barrow Sub-Basin, North West Shelf Australia.

Mac retired from the Petroleum Industry in the spring of 2015 and currently holds the position of Adjunct Professor in the Department of Geosciences, University of Arkansas.  Since joining the department of geosciences Mac coauthored two volumes: 1) The tectonostratigraphy of the Carbonifersous basin fill of the Arkoma Basin Arkansas and field guide and 2) The Art & Science of Seismic interpretation.

Ticket Refund Policy

• Refunds up to 1 week before the event: Tickets are refundable minus any applicable fees (processing, administrative, etc.) until 7 days before the event.

• Refunds within 1 week of the event: For refund requests made less than 7 days prior to the event, a 50% refund will be given.

• No refunds within 24 hours of the event: Refund requests made within 24 hours of the event are not permitted, except in exceptional circumstances and only with approval from ONSC administration.

*Please note that all refund requests must be submitted in writing to jill.bowman@onsc.us. Refunds will be processed within 7-10 business days.

Questions? Please email Program Manager Breana Patterson at breana.patterson@onsc.us