Ozarks Motorcycle Camping Trip - 2018
May 2018 we rode to Harrison, Arkansas for three days of riding in the Ozark mountains. We were joined by our son Travis who will soon be off to start his new life as a US Navy submariner operating the nuclear engine. We based at The Shady Oaks campground. ( https://camptheoaks.com/ ) This campground is very nice and owners Rob & Melissa are outstanding. I highly recommend this campground. Below are some highlights of our loops. You will also find links below to our photos and Garmin .gpx file.
Day 1 - Cafe Run. For this loop we started out west on Rt 206 then turned onto Rt43 southound. Along the way we stopped at the Elk Education Center. Nothing fancy but a good rest stop with interesting facts and displays. We then turned south onto Rt 21 and then westbound onto Rt 16. All very fun twisty roads. We then joined Rt 23 southbound. Also know as The Pig Trail. For it's hype, we found this road to be some of the most boring and least well maintained of all we rode while here. Frankly, we didn't see the appeal. All roads getting to this point so far were far superior and fun. We then turned east onto Rt 215 which we followed for about 17 miles to The Oark Cafe. This is an iconic cafe and general store dating back to the late 1800's. We watched on my Goldwings radar as nasty weather approached. While we ate, a very strong thunderstorm rolled in producing high winds and sleet. Some folks reported hail but I never saw any. At one point the electric went out which was quite interesting. As the storm lessened, we decided to make a break before the next batch moved in which we could see on radar. My sons bike needed a rear tire soon so we opted to take Rt23 southbound to I-40 to Russellville Honda for a tire. Diverting to I-40 allowed us to get ahead of the next storm. After the tire was mounted, we then took Rt 7 all the way back to our basecamp. As we entered Jasper, AR, we stopped at the Ozark Cafe. Another iconic place dating to the very early 1900's. We got some milkshakes and enjoyed listening to some local musicans on stage. The chocolate/peanutbutter with oreos shake was one of the best I've tasted in a long time. Aside from a few light showers, we managed to stay out of all nasty weather.
Day 2 - Eureka Springs Loop. We started out south on Rt 7. We made a stop to try to see Marble Falls, but heavy foilage blocked any view. We stopped at a marker commemorating where marble was mined and used for the Washington Monument. As we proceeded south, we seen a very picturesque local swim hole on the Buffalo Rover and stopped for some photos. We then turned westbound onto Rt 74. A very fun mountain road! In Huntsville, we stopped for lunch at Granny's Kitchen. My son and I both got the roast beef special and Lisa got a chicken salad. Everything was excellent although I could not finish mine. Very healthy portions. We then proceeded on Hwy 412 (boring) to Rt 303 to War Eagle Mill and Bridge. An interesting stop with a really cool working gristmill and historic displays. After the mill, we seen a sign for War Eagle Caverns so decided to check that out. Folks... do yourself a favor... skip this. Privately owned, touristy, overpriced and the caverns themselves are boring with very few interesting formations. We left War Eagle area via rt 12 eastbound then again joined The Pig Trail (Rt23) norhtbound to Eureka Springs. We again failed to see the attraction of this route. The Rt 74 we ran earlier today far surpassed this ride. We arrived at Eureka Springs after most shops closed due to wasting time at the caverns, so we did a ride through then continued back to basecamp for the evening campfire.
Day 3 - Mountain View Run. We started out by heading east on Rt 412. A mostly boring ride but somewhat scenic. We then turned south on Rt 14 which eventually became quite fun. We enjoyed playing on rt 14 until reaching Blanchard Springs Cavern. Now this cavern, I highly recommend you DO NOT miss. We have visited many caverns and I believe the formations in this one are some of the best I've seen. After a very enjoyable tour, we then went to Mirror Lake and took a very short hike to an old abandoned mill. We then proceeded to Mountain View, Ar where we stopped at Wing Shack & Cheeseburger Grill for lunch. It was OK. Had a fast food joint feel and the food was mediocre at best. We then stopped at the historic downtown section but didn't stay long. We were expecting something with a bit more historic feel, but it just felt touristy. We then took rt 66 to rt 65 back to basecamp. By this time, it was still early afternoon and quite warm. We changed into some swim gear and strapped some chairs to the bikes and roade 8 miles south down Rt 7 to the local swim hole on Buffalo River we spotted yesterday. We had a great time cooling off in the river and talking with some locals. We also got to watch darwinism in action as several locals dove off a 35 foot cliff into 8 foot of water. No rednecks were harmed in the filming of this... but it could have turned bad fast. After our swim, we headed back to basecamp and got cleaned up. We then drove into Harrison which was having it's yearly Crawdad Days Music Festival. We ate some crawfish and other carnival health food while enjoying a very good Stevie Nicks/Tom Petty cover band. The Stevie Nicks singer was outstanding. We then headed back to basecamp to get rested up for tomorrows long 730 mile ride on I-40 east back home.
