Things to do in the Ozarks

Attractions, activities, entertainment, museums, State Parks and more! There are plenty of things to see and do in the Ozarks.

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Road Descriptions - Eastern Arkansas Region

These are the red and a few of the blue routes from the maps, along with a few of the highlights of the highways in the eastern Arkansas Ozarks and what makes them worthy of your attention. Try them out and you'll discover why they top my list.

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Arkansas Highway 14

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Ark. 14 is a wonderful highway, running through rural farm and wood lands, passing through primarily small-town Ozarks. The entire length of highway 14 is a nice ride. If you are coming from Branson, Mo., it would be a good choice for heading southeast into the region. The 67 mile stretch from U.S. 62 south to the community of Harriet offers a great combination of winding, twisty roads through very nice scenery. It crosses the Buffalo River south of Yellville, a nice place to take a break. Yellville is a county seat town and is the home of the famous/infamous (take your pick) Turkey Trot, where live turkeys used to be dropped from airplanes to crowds waiting below. Contrary to what a national tabloid reported, the turkeys did flutter down and landed alive and safe, often evading the waiting captors.

Ark. 14 is fine, pleasurable ride through a varying Ozark country side.

Arkansas Highway 9

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Ark. 9 runs south from Mammoth Spring, site of the 10th largest spring in the world, almost the entire length of the state. But perhaps the best section of the road is from Melbourne almost 30 miles south to Mountain View, self proclaimed "Folk Music Capital of the World". This stretch is very twisty and serpentine as it runs under foliage overhangs, much like a tunnel of trees up into the mountains.

Like Ark. 5, highway 9 runs through a rural landscape as well as a portions of the Ozark National Forest. This highway takes you through some of the most unique, representative parts of the Ozarks.

Arkansas Highway 16 - Sweet 16 and Never Been Ridden... Much

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This is perhaps the best little known highway in the Ozarks. Except for short sections which run concurrent with highways 23, 21 & 7, this road is familiar mostly only to local riders. This is really too bad because the 110 miles of Ark. 16 between Fayetteville and Clinton is a fun, twisty and scenic ride.

The reason Highway 16 overlooked is that it really doesn't take you any place. It basically runs along the backbone of the Ozarks. It follows a route full of curves and wonderful scenery. If you start out on the eastern end, in Fayetteville, have breakfast at the Rolling Pin Cafe (at the intersection of highways 16 and 265). Head west, hang on and enjoy the ride. Most of the time traffic will be light and you'll have a great time discovering this fantastic road. Many visiting riders will not know to make this wonderful ride. That's their loss.

Arkansas 5

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Ark. 5 runs from the Ark-Mo border through Mountain Home to such colorful places as Norfork, Calico Rock and Mountain View. It plays tag with the White River, once a Super highway of commerce in days gone by.

Ark. 5 runs through the mountains of the eastern Ozarks, a more rural part of the region. The road is winding and scenic and takes you to some unique and interesting places in the Ozarks. Plan on spending some time poking around the little towns mentioned earlier.

Arkansas 341

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Ark. 341 runs north from Ark. 14, near Big Flat, to Norfork, an old river town located at the confluence of the White River and the North Fork of the White River. The road runs mostly through the Ozark National Forest. It's winding and very scenic with traffic. It's fun and exciting and Norfork is a interesting little historic town, famous now as a trout fishing destination.

Arkansas 63

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Ark. 63 is a wide, pleasant, easy riding road that runs between the Hardy north to Mammoth Spring, site of the 10th largest spring in the world. Both Hardy and Mammoth Spring/Thayer offer plenty of places to eat, sleep and sight-see. Hardy is particularly tourist oriented and features many shops and boutiques. The park at Mammoth Spring is a nice place to rest a while, plus, it has a lot of historic interest, too.


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