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A limestone bluff rising out of fog above a gravel bar on the Buffalo National River.

The Overland Directory

Guides in Arkansas

Guided trips and local guides for the places where knowing the ground matters: remote deserts, high passes, long river corridors and borders.

Buffalo National River, Arkansas

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Arkansas by the numbers

Acres of federal land 1
3.17M
9.4 percent of Arkansas’s 33.6 million acres. The Forest Service holds 2,593,690 of them
Acres in the Ouachita National Forest 5
1.8M
Across central Arkansas and southeast Oklahoma. The oldest and largest national forest in the Forest Service’s Southern Region
Acres in the Ozark-St. Francis National Forests 19
1.2M
More than a million in the Ozark, over 20,000 in the St. Francis on Crowley’s Ridge
Acres of forest statewide 43
18.8M
The Forestry Division’s figure for all Arkansas forest, of which only 2.6 million is national forest
Magazine Mountain, the highest point in Arkansas 2
2,753 ft
Logan County. The lowest point is 55 feet, on the Ouachita River
Of free-flowing Buffalo National River 34
135 miles
One of the few remaining undammed rivers in the lower 48 states. Established in 1972
Federal campgrounds a vehicle can reach 4
130
100 Army Corps of Engineers, 19 Forest Service, 11 National Park Service. 115 take reservations
Average annual precipitation 45
50.1 in
NOAA’s long-term average for the state. Heavy rains can produce totals above 10 inches

When local knowledge pays here

Arkansas hides its difficulty. The byways are easy and the entrance roads are not, and the difference between a fine day and a recovery is often what fell out of the sky two days ago. A guide knows which gravel is holding up and which district office to call.

Water is the other reason. Six crossings of Big Shoal Creek on Huckleberry Mountain can be difficult in high water, and no agency publishes a gauge you can read from the road.

The full guide to overlanding Arkansas

What a guide adds

A guide earns the fee in the places where the map runs out of detail. They know which wash flooded last week, which gate is locked, where the fuel is, and how long the hard section really takes with a group.

A guided trip usually brings

  1. 01Route knowledge and current conditions
  2. 02Permits and access already arranged
  3. 03Recovery skill and equipment
  4. 04A pace that suits the group
  5. 05The history and natural history of the place

How to choose a guide

Ask the questions a land manager would.

  1. 01Ask whether they hold the permits and insurance required to operate commercially on the land they use.
  2. 02Ask about group size and the minimum vehicle requirements.
  3. 03Ask what is included: meals, camping gear, communications, a support vehicle.
  4. 04Ask about first-aid training and the plan for emergencies.

What to tell a guide

Honesty about experience makes for a better trip.

  1. 01Your vehicle and what has been done to it
  2. 02Your experience off pavement
  3. 03Who is coming, including children and dogs
  4. 04Your dates, and what you most want to see

Questions people ask

Do I need a guide?

Not for most travel. A guide earns the fee on routes that are remote, technical or hard to get permits for, and on first trips where you would rather learn than guess.

Can I join a guided trip in my own vehicle?

That is how most overland guiding works. The guide leads in their vehicle, you drive yours, and the trip sets minimum requirements for the vehicles that come.

How high is Arkansas?

From Marianna at 227 feet to Magazine Mountain at 2,753. Altitude decides what your engine, your brakes and your lungs have to work with, and how late in the year the passes open.

Towns

  1. Fayetteville The largest town in the northwest and the best place up here for parts and service. Mill Creek is reached from here on Arkansas 16 through Combs. 1,407 ft
  2. Mena The east end of the Talimena National Scenic Byway and the town for Wolf Pen Gap, whose west trailhead is nine miles out on Highway 8 and Arkansas 375. The Mena-Oden Ranger District office is here. 1,173 ft
  3. Harrison The headquarters town for Buffalo National River and the hub the park measures its driving directions from. 1,046 ft
  4. Jasper On Scenic 7 in Newton County, in the middle of the upper Buffalo country, with one of the Big Piney district offices in town. 848 ft
  5. Mountain Home Services between Bull Shoals and Norfork, two of the Corps of Engineers lakes that carry most of the federal camping in north Arkansas. 816 ft
  6. Mountain View The Sylamore Ranger District office and the town for Blanchard Springs, in the eastern Ozarks above the White River. 764 ft
  7. Mount Ida On US 270 between Mena and Hot Springs, with the Caddo-Womble Ranger District office in town and Lake Ouachita just to the east. 661 ft
  8. Yellville On US 62/412 in Marion County, the turn for the lower Buffalo district down Arkansas 14 and the road to Rush. 627 ft
  9. Hot Springs The Ouachita National Forest supervisor’s office and Hot Springs National Park are both here, along with the last full services before the forest roads west of town. 590 ft
  10. Paris Services below Mount Magazine and the Mt. Magazine Ranger District office, on the road to Arkansas’s highest ground. 405 ft
  11. Ozark On the Arkansas River at the foot of the Boston Mountains, with the Boston Mountain Ranger District office in town. 402 ft
  12. Clarksville An I-40 exit onto Arkansas 21 into the Ozarks, and the Pleasant Hill Ranger District office. 370 ft
  13. Russellville Where I-40 meets Scenic 7. Moccasin Gap is 25 miles north up Arkansas 7, and Lake Dardanelle sits on the edge of town. 348 ft
  14. Little Rock State capital where I-30 meets I-40, the natural place to fit tires or have work done before heading into either forest. 337 ft
  15. Arkadelphia On I-30 south of the Ouachitas, the highway town for DeGray and the southern Corps of Engineers lakes. 244 ft
  16. Marianna The St. Francis Ranger District office and the north end of the St. Francis Scenic Byway along Crowley’s Ridge, in the Delta. 227 ft

Passes, high roads and summits

  1. Magazine Mountain The highest point in Arkansas, in Logan County. The USGS publishes 2,753 feet; our own reading of the elevation surface at its map point gives 2,747 2,753 ft
  2. Rich Mountain The highest point on the Ouachita National Forest, on the Talimena byway west of Mena. The Forest Service publishes 2,681 feet; the elevation surface reads 2,678 2,681 ft
  3. Rich Mountain Talimena National Scenic Byway: Mena, Arkansas and Talihina, Oklahoma 2,681 ft
  4. White Rock Mountain A gravel-road summit on the Boston Mountain district. The Forest Service publishes 2,260 feet; the elevation surface reads 2,313 2,260 ft
  5. White Rock Mountain White Rock Mountain road: Mulberry to the White Rock Mountain Recreation Area 2,260 ft
  6. Petit Jean Mountain The mesa between the Ouachitas and the Arkansas River valley. Our own reading of the elevation surface at its map point 1,194 ft
  7. Crowleys Ridge The wind-blown ridge that the St. Francis Scenic Byway follows across the Delta. Our own reading of the elevation surface 544 ft

Pass, road and summit elevations are the figures published by the agency that manages them. Town elevations are the town’s or county’s own figure where it publishes an exact one; the rest are from the U.S. Geological Survey (3D Elevation Program at the place’s official coordinates), retrieved September 18, 2026. Every source is listed at the foot of the page.

Sources for this page

46
  1. Congressional Research Service. Federal Land Ownership: Overview and Data (R42346), Tables 1 and 2, data as of September 30, 2024. Retrieved September 19, 2026.
  2. U.S. Geological Survey. Elevations and Distances in the United States, online edition. Retrieved September 19, 2026.
  3. U.S. Geological Survey. Geographic Names Information System and 3D Elevation Program point query. Elevation of the 3DEP surface at the GNIS coordinates of the named place, rounded to the nearest foot.. Retrieved September 19, 2026.
  4. Recreation.gov. Recreation Information Database (RIDB) full export. Retrieved September 19, 2026.
  5. USDA Forest Service, Ouachita National Forest. About the Area. Retrieved September 19, 2026.
  6. USDA Forest Service, Ouachita National Forest. Maps and Guides, including the five district Motor Vehicle Use Maps. Retrieved September 19, 2026.
  7. USDA Forest Service, Ouachita National Forest. Off-Highway Vehicles (OHV). Retrieved September 19, 2026.
  8. USDA Forest Service, Ouachita National Forest. Camping and Cabins, including the dispersed camping guidelines. Retrieved September 19, 2026.
  9. USDA Forest Service, Ouachita National Forest. Fire. Retrieved September 19, 2026.
  10. USDA Forest Service, Ouachita National Forest. Safety and Outdoor Ethics. Retrieved September 19, 2026.
  11. USDA Forest Service, Ouachita National Forest. Mena-Oden Ranger District. Retrieved September 19, 2026.
  12. USDA Forest Service, Ouachita National Forest. Caddo/Womble Ranger District. Retrieved September 19, 2026.
  13. USDA Forest Service, Ouachita National Forest. Jessieville Winona Fourche Ranger District. Retrieved September 19, 2026.
  14. USDA Forest Service, Ouachita National Forest. Poteau/Cold Springs Ranger District. Retrieved September 19, 2026.
  15. USDA Forest Service, Ouachita National Forest. Talimena National Scenic Byway. Retrieved September 19, 2026.
  16. USDA Forest Service, Ouachita National Forest. Rich Mountain. Retrieved September 19, 2026.
  17. USDA Forest Service, Ouachita National Forest. Wolf Pen Gap Trail Complex. Retrieved September 19, 2026.
  18. USDA Forest Service, Ozark-St. Francis National Forests. Ozark-St. Francis National Forests. Retrieved September 19, 2026.
  19. USDA Forest Service, Ozark-St. Francis National Forests. About the Area. Retrieved September 19, 2026.
  20. USDA Forest Service, Ozark-St. Francis National Forests. Maps and Guides, including the seven district Motor Vehicle Use Maps and the 2026 summary of changes. Retrieved September 19, 2026.
  21. USDA Forest Service, Ozark-St. Francis National Forests. Passes and Permits. Retrieved September 19, 2026.
  22. USDA Forest Service, Ozark-St. Francis National Forests. Offices. Retrieved September 19, 2026.
  23. USDA Forest Service, Ozark-St. Francis National Forests. Camping and Cabins, including the dispersed camping guidelines. Retrieved September 19, 2026.
  24. USDA Forest Service, Ozark-St. Francis National Forests. Safety and Outdoor Ethics. Retrieved September 19, 2026.
  25. USDA Forest Service, Ozark-St. Francis National Forests. Big Piney Ranger District. Retrieved September 19, 2026.
  26. USDA Forest Service, Ozark-St. Francis National Forests. Ozark National Forest Scenic Byway (Scenic 7 Byway). Retrieved September 19, 2026.
  27. USDA Forest Service, Ozark-St. Francis National Forests. St. Francis Scenic Byway. Retrieved September 19, 2026.
  28. USDA Forest Service, Ozark-St. Francis National Forests. Buckhorn OHV Trails. Retrieved September 19, 2026.
  29. USDA Forest Service, Ozark-St. Francis National Forests. Brock Creek Trails. Retrieved September 19, 2026.
  30. USDA Forest Service, Ozark-St. Francis National Forests. Moccasin Gap. Retrieved September 19, 2026.
  31. USDA Forest Service, Ozark-St. Francis National Forests. Huckleberry Mountain. Retrieved September 19, 2026.
  32. USDA Forest Service, Ozark-St. Francis National Forests. Mill Creek Trail. Retrieved September 19, 2026.
  33. USDA Forest Service, Ozark-St. Francis National Forests. White Rock Mountain Recreation Area. Retrieved September 19, 2026.
  34. National Park Service, Buffalo National River. Buffalo National River. Retrieved September 19, 2026.
  35. National Park Service, Buffalo National River. Basic Information, Directions and Camping. Retrieved September 19, 2026.
  36. National Park Service, Buffalo National River. Camping. Retrieved September 19, 2026.
  37. National Park Service, Buffalo National River. Camping Rules. Retrieved September 19, 2026.
  38. National Park Service, Buffalo National River. Management, quoting Public Law 92-237. Retrieved September 19, 2026.
  39. National Park Service, Hot Springs National Park. Scenic Drives and Overlooks, and Basic Information. Retrieved September 19, 2026.
  40. U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Engineer Research and Development Center. Corps Lakes Gateway: Arkansas projects. Retrieved September 19, 2026.
  41. U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. Felsenthal National Wildlife Refuge. Retrieved September 19, 2026.
  42. Arkansas Game and Fish Commission. 2026-27 General WMA Regulations. Retrieved September 19, 2026.
  43. Arkansas Department of Agriculture, Forestry Division. Forestry Division, and its Wildfire Danger and Burn Bans map. Retrieved September 19, 2026.
  44. Arkansas Department of Transportation. Arkansas Department of Transportation. Retrieved September 19, 2026.
  45. NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information. State Climate Summaries 2022: Arkansas (NOAA Technical Report NESDIS 150-AR). Retrieved September 19, 2026.
  46. National Weather Service, Little Rock. Arkansas Weather Records and Climate Information. Retrieved September 19, 2026.

Reviewed September 19, 2026. Conditions, closures and rules change; check with the managing agency before you travel.

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