Beautiful Buffalo River

Roaming the Ozark Mountains

​This week we were fortunate to get to spend some time in the Buffalo River Valley portion of Arkansas. As always the woods are peaceful, the scenery is gorgeous and the wildlife is everywhere. Here are two photos of the elk that we saw as we walked along the Buffalo River.

​For those of you not familiar with the area, the Buffalo National River was established in 1972 as America's First National River and flows freely for 135 miles making it one of the few remaining undammed rivers in the lower 48 United States. The park encompasses over 95,000 acres that surround the free-flowing Buffalo, much of which is linked together by a network of trails that accommodate hiking and equestrian activities. These trails allow you to hike to locations that showcase both the natural and human history that have shaped the Ozarks.

​Here are a couple photos of the massive bluffs that tower over the Buffalo 

​Of course the most beautiful areas are those actually on the river - which are comprised of everything from running rapids to quiet pools, all surrounded by the bluffs and forest, as you float through the Ozark Mountains down the Buffalo to the White River.

Although my friends and family don’t want to let other people know about the Buffalo River - so that they can keep it to themselves – you really might want to take a trip to the Ozark Mountains to see it; especially in the fall since that’s when the trees turn the mountains a spectacular set of colors. If you want a little taste of what the area is starting to look like now that it is October, you should check out the recent article from Arkansas Living Magazine titled: “Autumn in Arkansas – Through the lens of Tim Ernst”:

http://arkansaslivingmagazine.com/article/autumn-in-arkansas-through-the-lens-of-tim-ernst/

Photo by Tim Ernst - Arkansas Living magazine - 29 Sep 2019

If you want to make the trip, here’s the link to the National Park Service’s webpage about the Buffalo National River:
        https://www.nps.gov/buff/index.htm
 
Here's their hiking page for information and maps about the park's trails:
       https://www.nps.gov/buff/planyourvisit/hiking-trails.htm
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