best round trip from dallas through ozarks including branson

My husband and I will have 4 days for this trip. Would like to stay in Eureka springs 2 nights and branson 1 (or 2?) seeing as much as we can and coming back south to reach I-40 to return. We like to canoe, golf, shop and see beautiful scenery. Please help! It%26#39;s our first trip to the Ozark region. Thanks so much!

best round trip from dallas through ozarks including branson

Two nights in Eureka Springs and one in Branson on a 4 day trip doesn%26#39;t leave a lot of time for anything else, but I%26#39;d probably go with the default answer for the outbound leg, taking US 75/US 69 north from Dallas to I-40 at Checotah, OK, I-40 east to I-540 near Alma, AR, and I-540 north to Rogers, AR. Then US 62 east to Eureka Springs. That should get you there in 7 hours or less. After your time in Eureka Springs, head north on Arkansas 23, which becomes Missouri P, then east on Missouri 86 and then north on US 65 to Branson. When you%26#39;re ready to head home, if you%26#39;re tired of driving, you could go back the way you came. If you still want beautiful scenery, however, head back south on US 65 to Harrison, AR, then south on Arkansas Hwy 7. From Harrison southward, Arkansas 7 is one of the most beautiful drives I%26#39;ve ever been on. It%26#39;s also quite steep and twisty, and there%26#39;s not all that many amenities along the way -- Boone, Newton, and Pope counties include some of the most remote, rugged, and scenic areas in America, but there%26#39;s not a convenience store on every corner -- given the way the roads wind around, there aren%26#39;t even that many corners. Along the way, you%26#39;ll cross the Buffalo National River near Pruitt, the Little Buffalo River at Jasper (pop. 500, the largest town in Newton County), and pass near what%26#39;s known as the Arkansas Grand Canyon (the valley of the Little Buffalo south of Jasper), and through part of the Ozark National Forest. Once you reach Russellville, you have at least three main options -- if the stretch from Harrison to Russellville has sated your appetite for mountain driving, or if it%26#39;s already dark, you could just head west on I-40. Or you could head east on I-40 to Little Rock and pick up I-30. If you haven%26#39;t had enough yet, you could follow Arkansas 7 south to Hot Springs, then pick up I-30 from there. Personally, I can%26#39;t see heading through Hot Springs unless you have time to stop there, but to each his own.

On the other hand, you could do the route in reverse, heading up I-30 to Hot Springs first, spending some time there, then heading up to Branson, and then to Eureka Springs.

Either way, you%26#39;re going to have a large part of the drive back that%26#39;s not going to be very interesting.

best round trip from dallas through ozarks including branson

WOW!! Thank you SO much for all the information....I%26#39;m thinking we

may take a week instead of the 4 days planned. Never realized there was so much to see and do!

Movinon -- there%26#39;s all that and more. If your travel plans are more flexible, I%26#39;d definitely suggest some adjustments to your itinerary. I assumed you were pretty much set on spending two nights in Eureka Springs and one in Branson, and tailored my recommendations accordingly.

Movinon -- reviewing Zebras23%26#39;s post, keep in mind that most of the suggestions there are for the area to the east of your most direct routes to the points you originally mentioned -- well worth visiting, especially Blanchard Springs Caverns (which everyone should see some time in their life), but not directly on your way. You probably would need to extend your trip to cover it all.