Summer 2021 Friends & Lakes RV Tour - Buffalo National River

Buffalo National River – Aug 17 – 23

Buffalo Point Campground

Yellville, Arkansas

https://photos.app.goo.gl/C3AhxJ9NmNHPYQPL9

After driving 124 miles on back country, winding mountain roads, with awesome views of mountains and farms, we arrived at Buffalo National River, which is a National park. We had camped here in 2013 on our way west. We had forgotten how nice the park and river were, back then the river was really flowing and deep. Established in 1972, Buffalo National River flows freely for 135 miles and is one of the few remaining undammed rivers in the lower 48 states. The river is surrounded by massive bluffs through the Ozark Mountains. This area is so remote there is no cell service available without driving to the top of the mountain, to maybe get 1-2 bars of signal. We were fortunate enough to get a satellite signal down in the river valley campground. It was great to have some connection with the outside world. The campground was very nice and well maintained.

Despite the heat wave through the area, we were able to get out on the river and paddle our kayaks for a few miles. We took Luca with us, but he was so hot, I sprayed him with water to keep him cool. The river was very low due to recent drought, but had just enough depth for our kayaks. Kurt had also paddled an 8 mile distance on the river, I shuttled him to a distant put-in and he was able to paddle right back to the river banks of the campground.

There were several hiking trails in the park, but dogs were not allowed to hike there. Kurt hiked the longest one called Indian Rockhouse Trail. The trail goes back to an ancient rock cave where native Indians had resided since around 700 AD. These ancient peoples were nomads and moved around the area as needed for hunting and harvesting. This trail revealed a lot of history of this area. There were abandoned zinc mines, some sinkholes and creeks along the trail.

We did enjoy our time here and met some really nice people. Next we will head southeast to our next adventure.