# The Buffalo River Loop *Jasper, Ponca and the Boxley Valley on AR 7, 74 and 43* The Buffalo River Loop is a ~100-mile back-roads route, a loop from Harrison, on AR 7, AR 74 and AR 43, driven in 1–2 days, that stays off US 65 (and every other four-lane) through the Ozarks, Ouachitas & the Bootheel. - **Drive:** Loop from Harrison - **Distance:** ~100 mi - **Days:** 1–2 - **Highways:** AR 7, AR 74, AR 43 - **Avoids:** US 65 (and every other four-lane) - **Region:** Ozarks, Ouachitas & the Bootheel - **Themes:** Natural Beauty, Small Towns, Oddities & Roadside Wonders, History & Markers America's first National River (1972), the one the Corps never got to dam, seen from the two state roads that cross it: Scenic 7 south from Harrison into the 'Arkansas Grand Canyon,' Jasper's one-square town, AR 74 west over the Little Buffalo to Ponca's elk fields, Hawksbill Crag and the Boxley Valley's nineteenth-century farms, then AR 43 back north by Compton. Big Bluff is the tallest cliff between the Rockies and the Appalachians, the elk are the state's only herd, the gravel roads are optional and the paved ones are enough. Markers: Buffalo National River wayside exhibits at Pruitt, Steel Creek and Boxley; the Arkansas Grand Canyon overlook on AR 7 is the money shot. ## The drive, segment by segment ### Scenic 7 into the canyon *Harrison → Jasper · ~22 mi* AR 7 south past the show caves and the Pruitt bridge over the National River to the overlook above the Big Creek valley and Jasper's square. Stops: - **Mystic Caverns** (Harrison) · Oddities & Roadside Wonders — Two show caves under one ticket on AR 7 south of Harrison, the second one found by accident in 1968 and left wild. - **Buffalo River at Pruitt** (Pruitt) · Natural Beauty — AR 7's bridge over the National River: the Pruitt ranger station, a swimming gravel bar, and the first look at the bluffs. - **Arkansas Grand Canyon** (Jasper) · Natural Beauty — The Cliff House Inn's deck above the Big Creek valley, a thousand-foot drop by Ozark standards; the Company's Comin' pie is the toll. - **Jasper** (Jasper) · Small Towns — Newton County's seat of 500: the 1940s courthouse square, the Ozark Cafe since 1909, and canoe outfitters for the whole river. ### The Ponca road *Jasper → Boxley · ~30 mi* AR 74 west over the Little Buffalo and the ridges to Ponca, the upper river's put-in, then AR 43 up the Boxley Valley past the elk fields, the old mill and the road to the Crag. Stops: - **Ponca & Steel Creek** (Ponca) · Natural Beauty — The put-in for the upper Buffalo's famous float (Ponca to Kyle's Landing, spring only) and Steel Creek's campground under Roark Bluff; the Ponca low-water bridge is where the elk cross. - **Boxley Valley elk fields** (Boxley) · Natural Beauty — Arkansas's elk, brought from Colorado in 1981, graze the Boxley fields at dawn and dusk; the valley's 1850s–1920s farms are a historic district the Park Service keeps in hay. - **Boxley Mill & the Beechwoods church** (Boxley) · History & Markers — An 1870 gristmill and the white 1920s church on AR 43; the old post office and the Villines homesteads are the rest of the museum. - **Hawksbill Crag** (Boxley) · Natural Beauty — The most photographed rock in Arkansas: a sandstone beak over the Whitaker Creek gorge, 1.5 miles from the trailhead on Cave Mountain Road, six gravel miles from Boxley. ### Back by Compton *Boxley → Harrison · ~48 mi* Lost Valley on the way back north, then AR 43 over the plateau to Compton, the trailhead town for the biggest waterfall in mid-America, and down to Harrison. Stops: - **Lost Valley** (Ponca) · Natural Beauty — A 2.3-mile trail to Eden Falls and a cave with a waterfall inside; the best short hike in the Ozarks. - **Compton** (Compton) · Small Towns — Trailhead town for Hemmed-In Hollow, the tallest waterfall between the Rockies and the Appalachians at 209 feet, five hard miles down and back. - **Boone County Courthouse** (Harrison) · Small Towns — The 1909 courthouse square and the 1929 Lyric Theater; the Buffalo River headquarters is the planning stop, and Scenic 7 continues south from here to Hot Springs. ## Tips and best time to go - Elk are easiest at dawn and the last hour of light in Boxley, with the October rut best; stay in the car at the pull-offs. - The upper Buffalo floats only in spring, March through May, and after rains; by July it is a wading river. - Cave Mountain Road to Hawksbill Crag is gravel and steep; a sedan makes it dry, not after rain. - AR 7, 74 and 43 are the paved loop; everything else here is gravel and a long way from a tow truck. ## Worth a detour - **Big Bluff & the Goat Trail** — The 550-foot bluff above the Buffalo, with a ledge trail across its face from the Centerpoint trailhead on AR 43, three miles each way, not for the dizzy. - **Dogpatch USA** — The 1968 Li'l Abner theme park on AR 7, closed in 1993; its ruins are private and being redeveloped, so look from the road. ## Spurs & side-roads - Cave Mountain Road to Hawksbill Crag - Hemmed-In Hollow trailhead ## Frequently asked questions ### How long is The Buffalo River Loop and how many days does it take? The Buffalo River Loop is about 100 miles and takes 1–2 days at a back-roads pace. ### Where does The Buffalo River Loop start and end? It is a loop: Loop from Harrison. ### Which highways does The Buffalo River Loop follow? It follows AR 7, AR 74 and AR 43. ### Which interstate does The Buffalo River Loop replace? It avoids US 65 (and every other four-lane), using AR 7, AR 74 and AR 43 instead. ### How many stops are on The Buffalo River Loop, and what are the highlights? 11 stops are mapped, including Mystic Caverns, Buffalo River at Pruitt, Arkansas Grand Canyon, Jasper and Ponca & Steel Creek. ### Which ready-made itineraries include The Buffalo River Loop? Buffalo River Weekend (2 days). ### When is the best time to drive The Buffalo River Loop? The atlas’s seasonal note for this route: “Elk are easiest at dawn and the last hour of light in Boxley, with the October rut best; stay in the car at the pull-offs.” ## Ready-made itineraries using this route - [Buffalo River Weekend](https://dixieroadtrip.com/trips/buffalo-river-weekend) — 2 days, ~120 mi ## Connects with - [Arkansas 7: The Scenic Seven](https://dixieroadtrip.com/routes/scenic-7) — Hot Springs → Harrison - [The Pig Trail & Eureka](https://dixieroadtrip.com/routes/pig-trail) — Ozark → Eureka Springs - [Talimena & the Ouachitas](https://dixieroadtrip.com/routes/talimena) — Hot Springs → Talihina, OK --- Canonical URL: https://dixieroadtrip.com/routes/buffalo-river-loop Publisher: Dixie Media (Dixie Road Trip, https://dixieroadtrip.com/) Last updated: 2026-10-05