East of the Rockies, overlanding is mostly forest-road travel, and Arkansas has a great deal of forest. The Ozark National Forest spreads across the Boston Mountains north of the Arkansas River, with outlying districts around Mount Magazine, Mountain View and Fayetteville. The days here are made of gravel roads along ridgetops, steep drops to creeks that may or may not be running, and a camp in the hardwoods at the end of a spur.
The Forest Service manages it with the much smaller St. Francis National Forest in the east of the state. This page covers how the agency decides which roads are open to which vehicles, what it says your vehicle may need, the rules for camping away from campgrounds, the developed campgrounds, the off-highway vehicle trail systems such as Mill Creek, and the weather that shapes all of it.
Why the Ozarks, and when
The Forest Service is precise about what these mountains are: “The Ozark Mountains are actually plateaus, uplifted as a unit, with few folds or faults. The ruggedness of these mountains is due to erosion of the plateaus by swift rivers rising in them.” The Boston Mountains, where most of the forest lies, are described as narrow V-shaped valleys bordered by steep slopes and vertical bluffs of sandstone and limestone beside clear streams.
The cover is upland hardwood, oak and hickory with scattered pine, over an understory of dogwood, maple, redbud and serviceberry. Two seasons stand out in the agency’s telling: spring, when the dogwood and redbud bloom, and fall, when the forest turns orange, red and yellow. The 2026 recreation schedule lists most campgrounds as open all year, so winter and high summer are there for anyone who wants the roads quiet.
Keep one thing in mind from the first mile: there are many private landowners inside the forest boundary. Some prohibit certain activities or require permission to enter. Carry a map that shows ownership and do not assume every track leaving a forest road is public.
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The roads and the motor vehicle use map
On a national forest the motor vehicle use map, or MVUM, decides where you may drive. The Ozark-St. Francis publishes seven, one each for the Big Piney, Boston Mountain, Mt. Magazine, Pleasant Hill, St. Francis, Sylamore and Wedington districts, as free PDFs. The maps are georeferenced, so a phone can show your position on them without a signal. They are reissued each year, and the forest states that “it is the responsibility of motor vehicle users to acquire the current MVUM.”
The map sorts roads into two main classes. Roads open to all vehicles may be driven by anything, including off-highway vehicles that are not licensed for the street. Roads open to highway legal vehicles only are for vehicles licensed under state law for general use on public roads, which is where a plated four-wheel drive belongs. A symbol marks roads and trails with seasonal or special vehicle designations, listed in a table on the map. It is prohibited to possess or operate a motor vehicle on the forest other than in accordance with those designations, whether or not a sign is present.
The forest also sells a printed visitor map at district offices and offers an interactive one online. Use them together: the MVUM carries no topography and is poor for finding your way.
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What your vehicle needs
The Forest Service sets no forest-wide requirement for clearance or four-wheel drive. What it prints on every MVUM is a warning. Designating a road “should not be interpreted as encouraging or inviting use or implying that the road, trail, or area is passable, actively maintained, or safe for travel.” It continues: “Many designated roads and trails may be passable only by high-clearance vehicles or four-wheel-drive vehicles,” and many may receive little maintenance. Seasonal weather and natural events can leave designated roads impassable for extended periods.
The same panel tells drivers to expect “rough surfaces and features, such as snow, mud, vegetation, and water crossings.” Much of the forest is remote, medical help may not be readily available, and cell phones do not work in many areas. Take food, water, first-aid supplies and equipment to suit the conditions.
The forest’s rules of conduct add three points for drivers. State traffic law applies on forest roads. Avoid driving on unpaved roads or trails when they are wet or muddy. A road with a gate or an earthen berm across it is closed to vehicles. Motor vehicles are not allowed in wilderness areas at all.
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Dispersed camping rules
Dispersed camping, in the forest’s definition, is camping anywhere in the national forest outside a designated campground, with no services and little or no facilities. It is typically not allowed in the vicinity of developed recreation areas such as campgrounds, picnic areas or trailheads. The agency’s picture of it will be familiar: people “drive out on Forest Service roads into the woods and find a clearing or a spot near a stream or with a view of the mountains.”
Pick a site that has been used before, and an existing fire ring if there is one. Campfires are allowed unless fire restrictions are in effect, and you may gather dead and down wood for them without a permit. It is your responsibility to know whether restrictions are in force; the nearest Forest Service office will tell you.
The rules the forest publishes
- 01Stay up to 30 days in one dispersed area, then move at least 5 road miles. You may not return to the same campsite within the calendar year.
- 02Drive on existing roads to reach your site, do not drive on meadows, and keep the campsite within 150 feet of a roadway.
- 03Camp at least 100 feet from any stream or other water source.
- 04Be self-contained. No water, restrooms or trash cans are provided. Pack out everything.
- 05Bury human waste six inches deep, at least 100 feet from water, and carry out the toilet paper.
- 06Do not dig trenches or level a tent site.
- 07Stay off private land inside the forest boundary.
- 08Groups of more than 75 people need a special use permit.
- 09Be bear aware. There are bears on the forest.
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Developed campgrounds
Most campgrounds on the forest take no reservations and fill first come, first served. The two that do are Cove Lake, below Mount Magazine, and White Rock Mountain, both booked through Recreation.gov. White Rock is the one overlanders tend to aim for: Civilian Conservation Corps cabins and a small campground on a bluff-rimmed summit 2,260 feet above sea level, reached by gravel. The forest’s directions run 15 miles up Arkansas 215 from Mulberry, then 8 miles on Forest Service Road 1505, paved for the first half mile and gravel after, then 2.5 miles of gravel on Road 1003.
The 2026 schedule gives a sense of the rest. Shores Lake has 18 sites and Redding 27, with showers. Long Pool, on Big Piney Creek, has loops with and without electricity. Richland Creek has 11 sites, Gunner Pool 27 and Ozone 8. Haw Creek Falls, Bayou Bluff and Brock Creek are free, with vault toilets and pack-in, pack-out trash. At several, drinking water is turned on only from March to November.
In any developed campground, camp only in the marked places, keep quiet hours from 10:00 p.m. to 6:00 a.m., and have someone occupy the site on the first night after you set up.
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Mill Creek and the other OHV trail systems
Apart from the roads, the forest keeps designated off-highway vehicle trail systems. Mill Creek, on the Boston Mountain Ranger District, is the one most often named. The Forest Service describes a main trail with connected inside loops through “remote areas of the Ozark National Forest”, on a surface that is “gravel or unsurfaced and is made of rough and rocky terrain”, with difficulty from easy to very difficult. It is open year-round. The trailhead is 4 miles down gravel Forest Service Road 1007 from Combs and half a mile along Road 1509, and has a vault toilet and no drinking water.
As of September 2026 the day-use fee at Mill Creek is $3 per vehicle per day. No camping is allowed at the trailhead, state laws on helmets, spark arresters and mufflers are enforced, and ATVs are not allowed in designated campgrounds.
The forest lists similar systems at Buckhorn, Brock Creek, Moccasin Gap and Huckleberry Mountain. They are built for ATVs, side-by-sides and motorcycles, and they are not all open to a full-size truck. Buckhorn restricts vehicle width, and only portions of Moccasin Gap are open to OHVs and high-clearance vehicles. Read each system’s page and map before you unload. Cross-country travel is not permitted anywhere.
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Weather and hazards
Water is the hazard the Forest Service dwells on. “Showers can be locally heavy and occasionally have been known to produce 5 to 10 inches of rain in a few hours,” it warns, and such storms flood the rivers and their tributaries. That is the reason for the 100-foot setback from streams, and the reason to think twice about a low creek crossing with rain in the forecast. The same streams are usually dry in late summer and early fall, so do not count on them for water either.
No natural water source on the forest is safe to drink untreated. Boil it, filter it or use purification tablets. Water from faucets in developed recreation areas has been tested. Each year the forest has wildfires, many caused by people, so drown a campfire until you can put your whole hand in the ashes.
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Fuel, services and who to call
The Forest Service does not publish fuel or service information. The towns that hold its offices ring the forest: Ozark, Clarksville, Hector, Paris, Russellville and Mountain View. Plan fuel around the highway towns, and confirm before you go, because the country between them is empty by design.
Call the district that manages the ground you plan to drive, and ask about road conditions, closures and fire restrictions. Boston Mountain, in Ozark, is 479-667-2191. Big Piney, in Hector, is 479-284-3150. Pleasant Hill, in Clarksville, is 479-754-2864. Mt. Magazine, in Paris, is 479-963-3076. Sylamore, in Mountain View, is 870-269-3228. The supervisor’s office in Russellville is 501-802-0287, which the forest also gives as the number to try when a district phone is not answering. Recreation areas on the St. Francis National Forest are managed by Mississippi River State Park.
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Questions people ask
Can I camp anywhere in the Ozark National Forest?
Almost. Dispersed camping is allowed outside designated campgrounds, but typically not in the vicinity of developed recreation areas such as campgrounds, picnic areas and trailheads. Keep your site within 150 feet of a roadway and at least 100 feet from water, stay no more than 30 days, then move at least 5 road miles.
Which roads can I drive in a street-legal 4x4?
The roads shown on the current motor vehicle use map as open to highway legal vehicles or open to all vehicles, subject to any seasonal designation. The forest publishes seven MVUMs, one per district, and reissues them every year. Driving anywhere else is prohibited, signed or not.
Do I need four-wheel drive?
The Forest Service sets no forest-wide requirement. Its motor vehicle use maps warn that many designated roads and trails may be passable only by high-clearance or four-wheel-drive vehicles, that many receive little maintenance, and that weather can make them impassable for extended periods.
Can I drive a full-size truck on the Mill Creek or Buckhorn trails?
Check each system before you go. The Forest Service restricts vehicles on the Buckhorn OHV Trail to 72 inches in width. Its Mill Creek page states no width limit but describes rough, rocky trail rated from easy to very difficult, with a day-use fee per vehicle.
Do I need a permit for a campfire or firewood?
No permit is needed to gather dead and down wood for a campfire while you camp. Campfires are allowed at dispersed sites unless fire restrictions are in effect, and it is your responsibility to find out from the nearest Forest Service office.
Bureau of Land Management (BLM)
US Forest Service (USFS)
National Park Service (NPS)
US Fish and Wildlife (USFW)
Bureau of Reclamation (USBR)
Department Of Defense (DOD)
Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA)
Other Federal
State
Local
Alaska Native Lands (Patented or Interim Conveyed)
Alaska Native Allotment
Road
Primitive Road
Road
Primitive Road
Trail
Roads open to all Vehicles, Yearlong
Roads open to all Vehicles, Seasonal
Roads open to highway legal vehicles only, Yearlong
Roads open to highway legal vehicles only, Seasonal
Special Designation, Yearlong
Special Designation, Seasonal
Trails open to all vehicles, Yearlong
Trails open to all vehicles, Seasonal
Trails open to vehicles 50" or less in width, Yearlong
Trails open to vehicles 50" or less in width, Seasonal
Trails open to motorcycles, Yearlong
Trails open to motorcycles, Seasonal
Special Designation, Seasonal
Trails Open to Wheeled Vehicles Only < 50" in Width, Yearlong
Trails Open to Wheeled Vehicles Only < 50" or Less in Width, Seasonal
Wilderness Area
Wilderness Study Area