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Iron Butt
Posts: 623
| I will be heading out to the ozarks in Oct. was wanting some info from anyone who knows the riding out there? will be a week long trip. Local knowledge goes a long way, places to see, roads to not miss, campgrounds etc.etc etc. my first ride out there so any help would be great.
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Visionary
Posts: 1632
Jasper, MO | Can you be a bit more specific about the general area you'll be in? "The Ozarks" covers a lot of geographical area, with most of the actual Ozarks being in Missouri. Much of what most people think of as the "Ozarks" in Arkansas and Eastern Oklahoma is actually the Ouachita Mountains. Both areas offer a lot of good riding. One of my favorite rides starts in the Ozarks in Missouri, going through or around Eureka Springs, AR to MT. Nebo State Park in the Ouachitas just south of the Arkansas River, just south of Russelville, Arkansas (near Dardanelle). There are several good ways to get there, depending on how much time you have to spend. Another nice ride is the Talimena Drive (in the Ouachitas), which runs East/West from Mena, Arkansas to Talihina, Oklahoma. There is a nice lodge up there, at the Queen Wilhelmina State Park, which offers nice accomodations (reservations recommended) and a nice restaurant. We often combine the two places into a weekend ride, beginning and returning to SW Missouri. There are Interstate highways in the area if you have to get somewhere quickly (I40 and I540/US71, but we try to stay off them and ride the gorgeous backroads.
Just south of Harrison, AR is Jasper Arkansas on the famous Highway 7. Once you get to Jasper (which is a very small and friendly town) just pick a road out of there and ride. Any road will do. You won't be disappointed with any of them.
Ronnie
Edited by rdbudd 2009-07-30 12:06 PM
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Iron Butt
Posts: 669
Peachtree City, GA | Eureka Springs, AR - ah the memories... | |
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Puddle Jumper
Posts: 21
Omaha, NE | We usually base out of campgrounds around Greers Ferry Lake since it is centrally located in the state. We prefer the Boston Mountains to the Ouachita Mtns. The Bostons have more twisting roads and scenic vistas. Look at a map and you will see the Ouachita's are a parallell range where the Boston's are not.
Hwy 7 S out of Jasper to Russellville. Side trip off Hwy 7 - take Hwy 374 East towards Mt Judea then Hwy 123 South. Nice switchbacks good views. This will get you back onto 7.
Hwy 23 South from Eureka Springs. South of there is the Pig Trail - good twisties.
Hwy 16 from Hwy 23 to Heber Springs. You'll have a day's work cut out for you. Fuel up where possible along the way.
Now for the eats: CJ's Burger Boy at Hwy 7 and I40.
Whattaburger Hwy 7 Russelville.
Larry's Famous Hamburgers, Hwy 5, 16, & 25 in Heber Springs. This is by far the best cheeseburger we have had.
JR's Barbeque, Hwy 16, Greer's Ferry.
Coursey's, Hwy 65 some 5 to 7 miles south of St Joe, Ark. Great ham sandwiches! Send home some bacon too!
If you are down there during Bikers, Blues, and Barbeque you'll be sharing the road quite a bit. I stay away from all that to enjoy the peace and solitude. | |
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Iron Butt
Posts: 623
| right on guys, this what i was looking for. we were planning to base our selfs near Uereka, or the Ouachita Mountains. But willing and up for anything. | |
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Tourer
Posts: 363
Goldsboro, NC | I have very fond memories of Johnson's shut-ins in SE MO. An ancient lava flow crossed a river bed and the river cut intricate paths through the rock. You look across this rock field and see rock. You walk across it and look down, there are 100's of small to medium pools of various depths and water flows. very cool.
10-15 years ago, there was a huge flood that shut the place down for a long time. They have apparently cleaned up the mess and opened up the swimming area again.
http://www.missouri-vacations.com/johnson's-shutins-state-park/inde...
http://www.mostateparks.com/jshutins.htm
Edited by trailbarge 2009-07-30 2:50 PM
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Cruiser
Posts: 64
Hot Springs Village, Arkansas | Try to see Mount Magazine and it's Lodge, newer/nicer than the Wilhelmina lodge and a very good resturant (not spendy). The "Scenic Byway 7" is maybe the best fun in several states (south of I40 is twistier), the state website or visitor centers have a booklet with I think 6 loops out of Eureka Springs or Harrison. Alan | |
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Visionary
Posts: 1436
| Try this website www.RRmotorcycling.com
If you check their archives you should find plenty of tours, sites to see, lodging etc... as they have done many writeup's. They did an Ozark Missouri writeup in Dec 04 which may help some. Great site you just need to play around some to find what you want | |
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