# The Pig Trail & Eureka *the Ozarks' favorite bad idea* The Pig Trail & Eureka is a ~85-mile back-roads route from Ozark to Eureka Springs on AR 23, driven in 1 day, that stays off I-49 through the Ozarks, Ouachitas & the Bootheel. - **Drive:** Ozark → Eureka Springs - **Distance:** ~85 mi - **Days:** 1 - **Highways:** AR 23 - **Avoids:** I-49 - **Region:** Ozarks, Ouachitas & the Bootheel - **Themes:** Natural Beauty, Oddities & Roadside Wonders, Small Towns, Iconic Stays AR 23 earned the name Pig Trail from generations of Razorback fans white-knuckling it to Fayetteville, and its tunnel-of-trees switchbacks over the Boston Mountains remain the state's definitive motorcycle road. It climbs from the Mulberry River's swimming holes through Madison County hill country to Eureka Springs, a Victorian spa town built on cliffs, with a glass chapel in the woods and a seven-story Jesus watching over it all. Markers: Ozark National Forest waysides mark the Mulberry crossings; Eureka's entire downtown is its own register district. ## The drive, segment by segment ### The Trail Proper *Ozark → Huntsville · ~45 mi* The famous forest section: Turner Bend, Mulberry River access, and the switchback climb that gave the road its reputation. Stops: - **Turner Bend Store** (Mulberry River) · Buc-ee's & Pit Stops — The river outpost since 1911: canoe rentals, sandwiches, shuttle wisdom and the Pig Trail's unofficial ranger station. - **Mulberry River** (Ozark NF) · Natural Beauty — Arkansas's rowdiest float in spring flow, a swimming-hole necklace by July. The AR 23 bridge pools are the classic cool-off. ### Madison County to Eureka *Huntsville → Eureka Springs · ~40 mi* Hill-country pastures and hollows, then the drop into Eureka's improbable stacked streets. Stops: - **Thorncrown Chapel** (Eureka Springs) · History & Markers — E. Fay Jones's 1980 glass-and-pine chapel in the woods, routinely ranked among the great American buildings of the century. Forty-eight feet of light; bring your quiet. - **Christ of the Ozarks** (Eureka Springs) · Oddities & Roadside Wonders — A seven-story 1966 statue with a 65-foot armspan looming over town, centerpiece of the Great Passion Play grounds. Subtlety was never the assignment. - **Downtown Eureka Springs** (Eureka Springs) · Small Towns — An entire Victorian downtown on the National Register, stacked on switchbacked streets with no right angles and no traffic lights. Healing springs built it; stubbornness preserved it. - **Crescent Hotel** (Eureka Springs) · Iconic Stays — The 1886 grande dame billing itself America's most haunted hotel, thanks largely to a 1930s quack cancer doctor named Norman Baker. Ghost tours nightly; breakfast unbothered. ## Tips and best time to go - Fall weekends belong to the motorcycles; ride the Trail midweek if you want it to yourself. - Eureka's streets were built for buggies; park once and use the trolley. ## Worth a detour - **White Rock Mountain** — CCC stone cabins on a rim with a full-circle bluff trail; the forest-road approach is rough and the sunset makes it a bargain. - **Quigley's Castle** — The 'Ozarks' strangest dwelling': a 1943 house skinned in stones and fossils, with tropical plants growing in soil beds inside the walls. ## Frequently asked questions ### How long is The Pig Trail & Eureka and how many days does it take? The Pig Trail & Eureka is about 85 miles and takes 1 day at a back-roads pace. ### Where does The Pig Trail & Eureka start and end? It runs from Ozark to Eureka Springs. ### Which highways does The Pig Trail & Eureka follow? It follows AR 23. ### Which interstate does The Pig Trail & Eureka replace? It avoids I-49, using AR 23 instead. ### How many stops are on The Pig Trail & Eureka, and what are the highlights? 6 stops are mapped, including Turner Bend Store, Mulberry River, Thorncrown Chapel, Christ of the Ozarks and Downtown Eureka Springs. ### Which ready-made itineraries include The Pig Trail & Eureka? The Scenic Seven & the Pig Trail (3 days) and The Ozark & Ouachita Highlands (6 days). ### When is the best time to drive The Pig Trail & Eureka? The atlas’s seasonal note for this route: “Fall weekends belong to the motorcycles; ride the Trail midweek if you want it to yourself.” ## Ready-made itineraries using this route - [The Scenic Seven & the Pig Trail](https://dixieroadtrip.com/trips/ozark-scenic) — 3 days, ~340 mi - [The Ozark & Ouachita Highlands](https://dixieroadtrip.com/trips/ozark-highlands-week) — 6 days, ~780 mi ## Connects with - [The Buffalo River Loop](https://dixieroadtrip.com/routes/buffalo-river-loop) — Loop from Harrison - [Arkansas 7: The Scenic Seven](https://dixieroadtrip.com/routes/scenic-7) — Hot Springs → Harrison - [Talimena & the Ouachitas](https://dixieroadtrip.com/routes/talimena) — Hot Springs → Talihina, OK --- Canonical URL: https://dixieroadtrip.com/routes/pig-trail Publisher: Dixie Media (Dixie Road Trip, https://dixieroadtrip.com/) Last updated: 2026-10-05