Ozark Highlands Scenic Byway from Clarksville

Scenic road chapters

Waypoint introductions and full write-ups

1. 1. Clarksville Arkansas

   Clarksville sits in the Arkansas River Valley, in the low country between the Boston Mountains to the north and the long, flat-topped ridge of Mount Magazine to the south. It is a proper small city of nine thousand or so, with a courthouse square, a college, a ring of motels along the interstate, and a reputation that rests on one fruit: Johnson County peaches. In summer the roadside stands sell them by the bushel, and the local festival has been running for decades. If you pass through in July, eat one and judge for yourself.

   Read the complete Clarksville Arkansas write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

   May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.

   Planning note

   Clarksville Arkansas is where the day begins. Next is Oark.

2. 2. Oark

   Oark is a place that exists mostly because motorcyclists love it. A handful of buildings stand at a crossroads in the Ozark National Forest, and the general store is the centre of everything. On a good weekend there are dozens of bikes parked outside, and riders from three or four states are comparing notes on the roads they have just ridden. Highways 21, 215, and 103 meet here, and all three are good, which is why people come.

   Read the complete Oark write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

   May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.

   Planning note

   Oark comes up about 35 km into the recorded legs. Next is Boxley Valley.

3. 3. Boxley Valley

   A wide, quiet valley opens along Arkansas Highway 21 where the Buffalo National River comes down out of the Ozarks, and for a few miles the road runs through farmland that feels almost European in its calm. Boxley Valley is a historic district, with old farmsteads, a mill, a church, and fields bordered by split-rail fences, all protected as part of the national river. The mountains stand back on either side, and the light in the early morning can be remarkable.

   Read the complete Boxley Valley write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

   May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.

   Planning note

   about 97 km into the recorded legs you reach Boxley Valley. Next is Jasper Arkansas.

4. 4. Jasper Arkansas

   Jasper is a courthouse square with a handful of shops and cafés in the middle of the Boston Mountains, and it is the finish line for a ride that has earned its sit-down. Newton County has fewer people than almost anywhere in Arkansas, and the village, a few hundred strong, is the county seat in the way small places often are, with a stone-fronted square, a pharmacy and a long front porch of a restaurant that has fed travellers since 1909. Harrison, twenty-six kilometres to the north, is the nearest town of any size.

   Read the complete Jasper Arkansas write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

   May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.

   Planning note

   Jasper Arkansas closes the day.