Arkansas Photos ~ Scenic Byway ~ What to See in Arkansas

Arkansas scenery

This portion of a vacation trip that my mother and I took in 1995 will concentrate on images as seen from the road, particularly the Scenic 7 Byway a portion of which is considered to be one of the most beautiful drives in the United States.

We had already spent some time at the DeGray Lake Resort State Park and Hot Springs National Park (the only urban national park in the nation) and went on to spend the night in Russellville, Arkansas.

Russellville is located on the north bank of the Arkansas River which separates the Ouachita National Forest in the south from the Ozark National Forest which lies to the north. This portion of the state in which we were driving is in the west-central to northwest and our next destination was Eureka Springs where we would spend several days.

Most of the photos in this hub were taken along Highway 7, the scenic byway in Arkansas. We had initially begun this scenic drive at Arkadelphia off of Interstate 30 to the south. We would veer off of 7 onto highway 62 at Harrison in the north to go to Eureka Springs.

(c) Peggy Woods - All Rights Reserved

Arkansas photos

The scenery from the road is spectacular! But for certain, this is not a route to take if one is in a hurry.

The road twists and turns and we often had to slow down on this two lane road to make hairpin turns at 15 miles per hour only to go a little way and make another sharp turn in the opposite direction at 20 or 25 miles per hour.

Obviously if one gets behind a slow moving vehicle, there is not much that can be done as there are few straight stretches of road where one can easily see far enough ahead to safely pass that vehicle.

However, this is scenery worth taking the time to appreciate as one passes each twist and turn in the road!

Ouachita mountains



The rolling hills and vistas that my mother and I saw south of the Arkansas River were of the Ouachita mountains and national forest.

These mountains run east and west and were formed by tectonic plate movement in past ages. They extend from the west central portions of Arkansas into the southeastern portions of Oklahoma.

The derivation of the word Ouachita comes from the Choctaw Indians who used the word "ouac" to mean buffalo and "chito" meaning large.

Obviously herds of free roaming buffalo used to roam these hills and valleys supplying the Indians with food, clothing and other supplies that came from hunting these majestic animals.

While no longer seen roaming these parts, the buffalo legacy lives on in names given to not only these mountains but also to the Buffalo River and Buffalo River Canyon to the north of Russellville.

Scenic photos

Fortunately there were pull-overs where one could stop and get out of one's vehicle and gaze at the spectacular scenery and also take photos if so desired.

As we headed north of Russellville we got to see vistas of the Buffalo River Canyon from a high point of elevation.

Continuing north we drove through heavily forested areas of the Ozarks and finally crossed the Buffalo River and meadows south of Harrison.

Coming from the very flat terrain of Houston, Texas...my mother and I enjoyed all of the varying scenery and elevation changes.

We were traveling in September and both of us could only imagine how beautiful the colored leaves of the deciduous trees would be in the Fall of the year! We were a little ahead of getting to see that autumn season to best effect.

What to See in Arkansas

Unfortunately one of the fun stops along the way at which my mother and I took a rest from driving for a while is no longer open according to the Wikipedia information.

Booger Hollow was obviously built to attract tourists...and that it did in our case. The name alone was interesting but when we saw the signs and humor used in creating this tourist attraction, we just felt compelled to check it out.

It was a rest stop that sold food and souvenirs and except for people living in that part of Arkansas, I would guess that a good proportion of people passing by would have stopped as we did.

I took some photos, bought and mailed some Booger Hollow postcards home and my mother and I left with smiles on our faces particularly after seeing the Booger Hollow Double Decker Outhouse. It had signs which had "PAW" and "MAW" on opposite sides with signs in the middle which read the following..."UPSTAIRS CLOSED TIL WE FIGUR OUT PLUMMIN."

Hankins Country Store

We stopped at this establishment on Highway 7 to refuel our car and simply take a look as it looked like another cute place. It did not disappoint us as it was filled with local handicrafts as well as photos of folks who obviously patronize this country store.

Cliff House Inn

While the two places mentioned above were certainly fun spots to visit, I would heartily recommend stopping at the Cliff House Inn if traveling in northwest Arkansas on Scenic Highway 7. The views from the deck in the back of the inn / restaurant are fantastic overlooking the Ozarks from a bird's view perspective.

It is a sheer drop-off in the back and with a certain amount of trepidation we did walk on the back deck hoping that the architects and builders of this Cliff House Inn knew and practiced their fields of expertise with precision and accuracy.

My mother had one of their homemade pieces of pie along with a cup of coffee and said that it was very good. I had a cup of their homemade soup all the while enjoying the views along with the friendly service.

For people wishing to spend more time there, the inn consists of five rooms...so one probably needs to make reservations well in advance.

Arkansas apples

Often when my mother and I would travel together we would always look for local fruits and vegetables along the way to supplement our diet.

We were delighted to find these home grown Arkansas apples and cherry tomatoes being sold in the front yard of a very friendly lady.

We stocked up and munched on our purchases for quite a few days during our vacation.

Scenery

My mother and I went on to visit and thoroughly enjoy Eureka Springs which has already been featured in another hub. But we were so glad that we had taken the time to travel along a large portion of the Arkansas Scenic 7 Byway. If wondering what to see in Arkansas and if one enjoys lots of scenery which takes one through different geographical regions including rolling hills / mountains; thick forested areas; meadows and valleys with lots of plant diversity and wildlife...then put this part of Arkansas on your bucket list of places to see. Hope you enjoyed these Arkansas photos of natural scenery taken along this route.