Just got a lot of good info reading replies from Softpaw, Al-chuck, Jimjade and Lawied to a question from Phame in March 2005. We%26#39;ll be driving back to South Florida from Denver in early October and would like to see fall color in the Ozarks. 1) Will the leaves be turning that early? 2) We%26#39;ll take the routes suggested by the replies I read (Ft. Smith to Fayetteville to Eureka Springs to Harrison, then Rt 7 to Russelville. My question is whether Rt 65 from Harrison to Conway is as scenic as Rt 7 and would be just as good--or are the roads so narrow and mountainous that we%26#39;d be eager to get off them no matter how scenic, and should thus take the shorter route to Russellville, not Conway?
Routes in NW ArkansasArkansas Highway 7 from Harrison to Russellville is steep, narrow, and twisty -- real twisty. First time I rode it, in the back seat of a huge early 1970s sedan driven way too fast by my grandfather on our way to Dogpatch U.S.A. (a long-defunct Lil Abner-themed amusement park just north of Jasper), I got sick all over the place. In one of those karmic coincidences, I ended up living less than five miles from that spot a few years later.
US 65 from Harrison to Conway is not as scenic as Hwy 7, but it does still wind through the mountains and offer some nice views. It%26#39;s also a much easier drive and would put you at least an hour closer to your ultimate destination if you%26#39;re heading east on I-40. You might not guess it from the map, but it%26#39;ll take you nearly as long to drive Hwy 7 from Harrison to Russellville as it would to drive US 65 from Harrison to Conway. You also won%26#39;t find many places to stop in between Harrison and Russellville, so you%26#39;d want to eat and take care of any other biological necessities before leaving Harrison. If you%26#39;re in any kind of hurry, US 65 would be the better option.
Highway 7 takes you through the heart of Newton County - the least-populated, remotest county in Arkansas (population in the 2000 census was 8,608. Jasper, the county seat and largest town, has abut 500 people. Ben Hur, a community in the far southeastern corner of the county (turn east off Hwy 7 at Pelsor if you%26#39;re inclined), didn%26#39;t get electricity until 1969 or so. It also takes you across (between Jasper and Harrison) the Buffalo River, the only National River in the U.S. It%26#39;s absolutely beautiful country, regardless of the time of year, but you really can%26#39;t imagine how isolated it is until you see it.
If you want to get a good feel for what this part of the world is like, you could do a lot worse than to read Donald Harington%26#39;s novel ';The Architecture of the Arkansas Ozarks'; (no, it really is a novel, despite the title). Harington spent many of his summers as a child in Newton County, and locates his fictional town of Stay More somewhere between the real locales of Swain and Parthenon, just west and south of Jasper.
Routes in NW ArkansasDon%26#39;t overlook Hwy 5 from Mountain Home, through Calico Rock, down to Mountain View. Very scenic through the Ozark National Forest and you get to cross rivers and lakes along the way. You can intersect w/ Hwy 65 below Heber Springs and head on to Conway. As for leaf updates, check out local nature photographer Tim Ernst who updates the changing conditions in the Ozarks.
http://www.cloudland.net/currentjournal.html
Stop by and see us in Calico Rock!
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