By Craig Ogilvie, Travel Writer
Arkansas Department of Parks and Tourism
Request
Free Lodging/Recreation Brochures & Vacation Information
This tour assumes Little Rock as a starting point. Travelers should consider their entry point and travel desires, then plan highway routes and destinations accordingly.
Interstate 40, west out of North Little Rock, will direct our Ozarks tour up the Arkansas River Valley with accommodating towns like Conway, Morrilton, and Russellville along the route. Near Ozark, Ark. 23 becomes our entryway into the rugged Ozarks. Nicknamed the "Pig Trail" decades ago because University of Arkansas students (Razorbacks) favored the route, Ark. 23 is now a national scenic byway. Its winding course and steep grades provide grand views of the Ozark National Forest. After 24 miles, the tour takes Ark. 16 into Fayetteville.
The booming northwest corner of Arkansas offers a wide range of leisure possibilities. Outdoor recreation, just minutes away, may include fishing or boating on 28,000-acre Beaver Lake, exploring the pristine wilderness at Devil's Den State Park, hiking a mountain trail, or canoeing a free-flowing stream. History buffs will want to include visits to Pea Ridge National Military Park and Prairie Grove Battlefield State Park, plus museums at Rogers, Springdale and Fayetteville (including sports museums on the U of A campus). There's also arts centers, major sporting events, galleries, a scenic railway, and fine shopping.
U.S. 62 takes the tour eastward, across the White River, and into Eureka Springs, one of Arkansas's top travel destinations. Clinging to the mountainsides, Eureka Springs is a Victorian resort town that has catered to visitors since its beginnings. It offers fine arts, crafts, shopping, home tours, musical shows, museums, railway tours, bed and breakfasts, and excellent travel facilities. This is also the home of the Great Passion Play and Eureka Springs Botanical Gardens.
Our tour continues east along U.S. 62, through Berryville (which boasts two museums) and on to Harrison, an historic and accommodating headquarters for visitors. The famous Buffalo National River is nearby, offering great canoeing, hiking, and camping. Mountainside cabin rentals, cavern tours, stream and lake fishing, and a slower pace are some of the reasons vacationers return here year after year.
Scenic Highway 7, oldest designated byway and still the most popular drive in the state, takes our tour south through Jasper and deep into the rugged mountains. Hwy. 7 continues through Russellville to Hot Springs and on southward. However, our tour swings east on Highway 16 at the Pelsor community and follows a winding circuit across the mountains to Witts Spring, where our route becomes Ark. 377 through Snowball to U.S. 65.
The middle sections of the Buffalo National River are nearby. For an introduction to the region, a stop at the modern Tyler Bend Visitor Center is recommended. U.S. 65 south takes us through Marshall and a short drive east on Ark. 27 and 14, brings us to the lower stretches of the national river. Buffalo Point -- former state park created in the 1930s, now operated by the National Park Service -- offers rustic cabins and a wide array of outdoor recreation. Canoeing and commercial cabin rentals are also available in the area.
Scenic Hwy. 14 continues northward to Yellville, where our tour takes U.S. 62 east. This is the twin lakes country, a popular travel destination since the late 1940s when the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers constructed massive lakes on the White and North Fork rivers. Bull Shoals and Norfork lakes provide boating, fishing, and a host of outdoor possibilities. Trout fishing below the big dams created a new industry for the region and resulted in resort facilities for 70 miles downstream. Mountain Home is the largest town in the region and offers excellent travel amenities.
Our new course is Ark. 5 south to the Norfork community, where the historic Wolf House (oldest two-story log house in the state) welcomes visitors as a city museum. Our next stop is Calico Rock, a colorful little bluff-top town. Ark. 56 takes our tour into the Ozark foothills country and, at Ash Flat, a turn north on U.S. 167 takes us into Hardy. Situated on the Spring River, Hardy is a booming antiques and crafts town. Its quaint Main Street still has its 1920s charm and almost every storefront markets handcrafted wares to the public. A military museum, musicals, whitewater canoeing, and festivals also add to the enjoyment of the Hardy area.
Mammoth Spring, just north of Hardy, is both a town and one of the state's most wondrous attractions. A natural spring flows almost ten millions gallons of fresh water each hour and creates a river habitat perfect for trout and walleye. The spring is protected as a state park, which also boasts a restored 1880s railroad depot museum.
U.S. 63 takes our tour eastward to the very edge of the foothills country at Black Rock. Turning south on Hwy. 25, stop at the 1888 Powhatan Courthouse State Park for a glimpse of rural 19th century history. Lake Charles State Park is nearby and along our route to Cave City, where our tour joins U.S. 167 into Batesville. This is one of the state's oldest cities and home of Lyon College, oldest private college in Arkansas. Batesville's historic districts contain restored homes from every decade since the 1840s.
Our tour continues west along Hwy. 14 to Mountain View, known as the "folkways capital of the nation." The Ozark Folk Center State Park, established in 1973, carries on extensive programs of education and entertainment to preserve and perpetuate the folklore of the Ozarks. More than 20 cabin skills are demonstrated and musicals are performed at the Center and in private theaters in the area. Craft and antiques shops are numerous. Blanchard Springs Caverns, operated by the National Forest Service, is a short drive north of Mountain View. Explored and developed in the 1960s, the massive cave is ranked among the 10 most beautiful in North America.
Departing south along Ark. 5, our tour includes a visit to the Greers Ferry Lake region. Dedicated by President John F. Kennedy in 1963, Greers Ferry is known as one of the cleanest and most popular Corps of Engineer projects in the nation. The Little Red River, which flows from the 40,000-acre lake, is the home of the world-record, 40-plus pound Brown trout. Include a stop at the Garner Information Center, near the dam site, for an introduction and welcome to the area. Our tour stays on Ark. 5 south for the return to Little Rock.
For more information on any of the places mentioned in the tour, contact: Arkansas Department of Parks and Tourism, One Capitol Mall, Little Rock, AR 72201; or call 1-800-NATURAL.
