In 2002, I made my first ever trip to the Buffalo River Area of Arkansas upon the encouragement of my now-wife Michelle
Instantly, I fell in love. It was amazing that throughout my entire life I had been making the long drive across Kansas to the Rocky Mountains in order to get my outdoors fix -- and it had never occurred to me to go just a few hours South to the Natural State.
Over the years, the wife and I have visited the area with some regularity, and recently decided to buy our cabin in Newton County so we could spend more time enjoying the area. We named the 70 year old cabin "Grandma Stella's Homestead" -- after our dog Stella who seems to enjoy running the pastures surrounding it the most.
Meanwhile, it has also occurred to me that The Buffalo River National River is unlike most other national parks. While most National Parks are accessible to very casual explorers -- who mostly like to just drive through and look over a few overlooks, and call it a day -- The Buffalo River area is best explored off the road. There is no drive through road -- in fact, the primary "road" through the area is the Buffalo River itself.
Because of this, I think many are either intimidated by the park, or because they don't get out of the car, never really quite experience it the way it needs to be experienced. And that's where I hope this blog comes in.
Over the course of writing this blog -- I'm going to share pictures of waterfalls and historic sites, trails and river bluffs, and of course, the river itself. Plus, cover just plain fun stuff to do. I'm going to talk about how many great things there are to see if you just venture just a bit off the beaten path -- to see what I think is an absolutely magical area of the country. Some waterfalls and hikes are short and very easy. Some will be more rugged. There are also certain times of year that are better than others for certain trails. I'll be sure to tag everthing accordingly so hopefully everyone can have a great time and not get in over their head. There's nothing I like less than an unexpected overnight camping trip.
We won't be confined to the Buffalo River Area -- we'll venture to neighboring trails in the Ozark National Forest in the Arkansas State Parks in Northwest Arkansas. I might eat a few tasty meals too and share some thoughts on great eats, small towns, historical sites, breaking news,local festivals, wildlife, tourist attractions -- it's all fair game.
I hope you find the blog entertaining and helpful if you are exploring the area for the first time and I hope you share your stories in the comments as well.
A couple of quick helpful notes:
If you plan to visit the Buffalo River Area - even one time -- then go out and buy at least one of these two books (I'd recommend both) by local outdoorsman Tim Ernst. Tim has a host of books to buy on his website - but two that I think are invaluable to exploring the area are the Buffalo River Hiking Trails book and the Arkansas Waterfalls Guidebook.
These books are so well done that I have no desire to recreate Tim's awesome work (and no, I'm not getting paid for an endorsement -- I gladly endorse them for free). They will prove to be invaluable to you in finding roads and trailheads and following trails. But I'll point you to the appropriate trail and map in the guidebook -- and hopefully provide you a few new ways to explore the area -- and maybe spend a bit more time on some specific sights along the way. Tim also has a great blog as well with great photos. With the help of these books I've yet to need a GPS to explore the area (I'll let you know when I do).
All of the photos in this blog unless otherwise noted are taken by me or my wife, Michelle.
I really do hope you learn to enjoy the area as much as we have.
