Up into the
In-Between

Splitting the Difference in the Arkansas River Valley.

By Matt McNair

Park It! |  Bridging History  |  Off the Beaten Cast  |  Pay Tribute to a Tributary  |  Vroomin’ Up the River  |  Designate a Driver  |  Head West, Young (Wo)man  |  A Bit of Grit

By the time this issue has gone to press and ended up in your hands, the clocks will have already sprung forward and marks on the wall calendar will show that meteorological spring has sprung up and settled in.

So: Happy springtime, one and all!

Like autumn, springtime is an in-between season, one that leaves a very distinct season of the year behind and presages another, and also like autumn, Arkansas’s springtime weather can swing wild, taking the form of one full-blown season to the other, making a mockery of forecasts and a necessity of creative wardrobe construction; there’s no seasonal layer-boxing to be done in spring, you’re gonna need all of it.

Springtime’s worse than autumn though, inasmuch it offers up the promise of warmth and growth after the cold, unrelenting brown dormancy of winter while yet holding the threat of a killing frost or two (see ya, strawberries; adios, apples), all those sunny days a half-a-jet-stream away from the bluster of a north wind and a good soaking in the coldest not-quite-snow downpour in which you’ve ever had the displeasure of being doused.

And while it can be a real drag for the summertime heat to intrude on the first run of near-perfect fall temperatures, the shock of a springtime cold front — just as a body’s fancy has turned to thoughts of cookouts and swimming holes — is about as mean a stunt as Mother Nature can pull without causing actual damage.

So in that to-and-fro spirit, let’s take a trip up the most in-between of all our state’s geographical regions: the Arkansas River Valley.

Beginning just west of Conway in Faulkner County, the Arkansas River Valley more or less follows the Arkansas River westward, encompassing a roughly 40-mile north-south swath (with the river in the middle) and stretching to the Oklahoma border. East of that point the Arkansas River remains a formidable river, albeit just one more large watercourse in a vast wetland cut through and washed over with them. West of Conway, though, it is a geographically- and geologically-dominant feature, its waters and flood plain a stark dividing line between the Ozark and Ouachita mountains.

The result is a land that is both highland and lowland, both very rural (whole lotta expanse out there) and oddly urban (several towns on the bigger side for Arkansas, and seemingly side-by-side thanks to Interstate 40). Native Valley folk might take it all for natural, but for a person raised in the Arkansas high country, the River Valley might as well be the bayou; likewise, to the true lowlander from off down in the South Arkansas piney woods or the Delta wetlands, the River Valley is so high up and folded as to lack oxygen. And both sets might well find it as cosmopolitan as anyplace they’d care to be. 

Sounds like a pretty neat place to us.

So layer up (it will be hot, cold, wet, windy, and possibly tornadic in its very quick turn) and get ready to see the best of what in-between Arkansas has to offer. We’re going to the River Valley!

Park It!

The Arkansas River Valley contains three of Arkansas’s most breathtaking mountaintop state parks: Petit Jean, Mount Nebo, and Mount Magazine. All four are worth the trip, and all four can easily be a trip unto themselves; for road tripping, both Petit Jean and Mount Magazine are traversed by through-roads that, while making for an extensive detour, can nonetheless be laid out on a route.

Situated near the Valley’s eastern edge, Petit Jean State Park is Arkansas’s first state park and remains one of its most spectacular. Petit Jean Mountain, like the other two mountains designated as state parks on this list, is a breathtaking and anomalous sight, rising up out of the surrounding countryside like a mountain range unto itself, with nary a sister peak nor foothill to be found.

The mountain is fascinating in and of itself, but the park atop it is the real draw: Stunning trails that range from leisurely walkabouts to strenuous multi-mile treks, campgrounds and cabins, and historic Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) structures dating to the 1930s make Petit Jean State Park a world unto itself.  As noted, a daytripper can daytrip straight through … but why would they?

Mount Nebo State Park, just east of Dardanelle, also sits atop a geological anomaly, and while smaller than Petit Jean, Mt. Nebo’s views of the surrounding countryside are just as grand. A secluded getaway for River Valley gentry after the Civil War and the site of a feminist groundswell in the 1920s (when the town of Mt. Nebo was governed entirely by women), the park today offers trails for hiking and mountain biking, and is a popular spot for hang gliding.

Near the western edge of the Valley is Mount Magazine State Park. At 2,753 feet above sea level, Magazine Mountain is the highest point in Arkansas. Among Magazine’s many wonders is a population of butterflies so robust and, in some cases, rare, that it draws lepidopterologists from all over the world; Francophile butterfly fans will find a bit of home at the base of the mountain, where the town of Paris serves as the park’s unofficial gateway.

“Like a whole lot of other places in Arkansas, the River Valley is stuffed to the gills with great fishing spots.”

Bridging History

While Interstate 40 is a good way to get to or from any given River Valley destination in a hurry, it’s no proper way to take in the region’s local color and fascinating history. Get to the same spots with Arkansas Highway 22 (south of the Arkansas River) and U.S. Highway 64 (north of the river). Each road traverses the Valley, and each  is associated with a designated historic trail.

In 2019, Highway 22 from Dardanelle to Fort Smith was designated the True Grit Trail. True Grit, written in 1968 by Arkansawyer Charles Portis, follows Mattie Ross as travels from her Yell County home to Fort Smith seeking justice; her route roughly followed what is now Highway 22.

A more somber tale is told on U.S. 64, numerous sections of which are included in the Trail of Tears National Historic Trail. Documenting the forced removal of Native Americans from their ancestral homes, the trail is well marked and meticulously documented, suitable for hardcore history buffs and the merely curious alike.

The entire Valley is riddled with historical sites and curiosities, from a once-thriving coal industry (Coal Hill, Paris, Altus) to the ongoing viticultural pursuits of the state’s Wine Country, the heart of which is Wiedehkehr Village. Home to the namesake winery — the oldest continually-operating winery in the state — and restaurant, Wiedehkehr Village was incorporated in 1975 to avoid annexation by nearby Altus (itself the site of wineries aplenty), and as of 2025 was the smallest incorporated city in Arkansas with a population of 38.

If choosing a highway on either side of the Arkansas River and sticking to it the length of the Valley sounds too straightforward, pick a few spots on both the north and south side to visit and make it a point to crisscross the big river a few times. There are not many places to do it — there are six bridges across the Arkansas in the River Valley proper: near Morrilton, at Dardanelle, near Scranton (south of Clarksville), at Ozark, at Fort Smith-Van Buren, and Fort Smith-West Fort Smith — and choosing to peel off your main route to make a crossing is sure to introduce happy complications to your itinerary, the kinds of zig-zags that add to your travel time, but and make possible a whole host of unexpected roadside discoveries.

Off the Beaten Cast

Like a whole lot of other places in Arkansas, the River Valley is stuffed to the gills with great fishing spots. The biggest and most prominent by far is Lake Dardanelle, a 40,000-acre reservoir formed by the Dardanelle Lock and Dam. Lake Dardanelle State Park, with its primary facilities in Russellville (there is another unit of the park near Dardanelle, on the south side of the lake) boasts boat ramps and shore-fishing opportunities, camp sites and RV hookups, an amphitheater and a 10,000 square foot visitors center that includes museum-quality exhibits and multiple aquariums.

While the state park is the centerpiece of Lake Dardanelle’s fishing opportunities, the lake extends 50 miles upriver and is bounded by more than 300 miles of shoreline, with public and private fishing access scattered up and down both sides of the massive pool. Aside from Lake Dardanelle, the Arkansas River Valley is pockmarked with fishing spots of varying sizes, many of them public and all of them teeming with fish. To get away from the crowds of more popular and populated spots like the state park, check out one of the numerous smaller lakes with public fishing access, many maintained and stocked by the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission. A prime example of such is Lake Atkins, a local fishing haunt that is the source of many a Valley resident’s first big-fish story and a shining example of the AGFC’s commitment to the conservation of the state’s resources and the provision of access to all citizens and visitors. (Find your Valley hotspot at agfc.com.)

Pay Tribute to a Tributary

All that water in the Arkansas River has to come from somewhere, and two of those somewheres constitute some of the finest canoeing in Arkansas (whitewater, even, if the springtime rains have been falling). Rising in the Ozarks but hitting their stride in the hilly northern reaches of the Valley, both Piney Creek and the Mulberry River exemplify the in-between nature of the Arkansas River Valley, being mountain streams closely associated with the bustling burgs (again, by Arkansas standards) of the Valley.

Piney Creek, with its lower reaches in Pope County, meets the Arkansas River at Piney Bay, where access points directly off U.S. 64 provide the launching ramp for innumerable big-water fishing adventures every day of the year. But where Piney Creek is known as “The Piney” (or just “The Creek”) is a ways upstream, still in Pope County and still in the Valley, but butted up against the foothills of the Ozark Mountains. It’s here you’ll find a good chunk of the Valley’s whitewater enthusiasts (and general adrenaline junkies) any time there’s been a big rain, any time there’s going to be a big rain, or any time there hasn’t been one in a while. (Rain can come quick, and it’s a good place to hang out, besides.) The U.S. Service operates the Longpool Recreation Area along the banks of a creek section with that same name, but for the last few decades the place you’ll find the locals congregating and forecasting (or grousing, if the forecast is bad) is Moore Outdoors. A classic American canoe livery serving up shuttles, campsites, and pretty much anything else one might need for a day on the creek, Moore Outdoors is a Pope County institution, and also a mandatory stop on any paddler’s River Valley itinerary.

On up the Valley (westward), the Mulberry River — after rising in the Ozark highlands near the source of the Piney — empties into the Arkansas at the town of Mulberry. Plenty of fishing to be done where the small river and the big one meet, but — again like the Piney — the real action for most Valley folk entails inching up into the hill country and getting on the Mulberry where it’s still running swift and clear, and maybe getting a little spicy after a good rain. The place to grab a boat and shuttle for this classic River Valley adventure — along with extra river gear, assorted sundries, and the best counter-top sandwich one is ever likely to eat — is Turner Bend, where Brad Wimberly and his wife, Vien,  operate a canoe livery and general store on the same site the original Turner Bend mercantile occupied beginning in 1911. Tethered to the River Valley and the Arkansas River town of Ozark by Arkansas Highway 23 (designated The Pig Trail Scenic Byway), Turner Bend is another River Valley icon that any self-respecting road-tripper, boat-freak or not, will put on their itinerary.

“You’ll find the locals congregating and forecasting — or grousing, if the forecast is bad.”

Vroomin’ Up the River

Splitting the difference between the Ozark and Ouachita mountain ranges, the Arkansas River Valley is perhaps unique among all six of Arkansas’s natural regions in being defined by its built environment as much as its natural features, in the Valley’s case even the great river that actually bestows its name: The Arkansas River Valley is, for the most part, the I-40 corridor. Or at least that corridor as it runs from just west of Conway west-northwest to Fort Smith.

Interstate 40 runs the other direction too, of course, but south-southeast of Conway, and certainly east of Little Rock, it’s really just a big road, no more emblematic of the land it traverses than a fast-food cluster off a random cloverleaf. Go north off of I-40 in eastern Arkansas and you’ll be in the Delta for a good long while (the minor narrative inconvenience of Crowley’s Ridge, notwithstanding); go south and you’ll be in the Delta till you fall off a daiquiri bar straight into the Gulf.

It’s a whole different story in the River Valley though, where veering north or south off I-40 (or its parallel roads) for much any distance at all will put you in a whole other world. Go south and you’re in the Ouachita Mountains, go north for any piece at all and you’re in the Ozarks. Not a difference of degree, but a difference. A different world, like I said. All of this, plus the fact the entire ecoregion is, for a large number of Arkansas residents, doable as a daytrip, makes an exploration of the Valley’s highways and byways a natural thing to do in The Natural State, especially in the springtime when outdoor activities can be cut short by wild weather at the drop of a hat.

Designate a Driver

The Arkansas River Valley has no shortage of amazing places to grab a bite, and in recent years the region has even become a destination for Arkansas travelers to raise a pint. As the microbrewing scene grew around the state, mostly in the larger cities, some enterprising brewmasters in the rural reaches of the River Valley got in on the act.

In Morrilton, Point Remove Brewing Company weathered the pandemic early in its existence and has come out the other side as a favorite among beer lovers in Point Remove’s hometown of Morrilton and beyond. With a second taproom in Russellville, they’ve gotten even closer to the namesake of one of their most popular brews, Long Pool APA.

Further upriver, Prestonrose Farms is brewing up beer and serving up gourmet-quality farm-to-table plates in rural Logan County. The working farm, brewery, and restaurant does all that plus sell a selection of high-quality dry goods off Highway 22, down a county farm road a ways and then up a hill off that. They’re not exactly hiding, but don’t expect a neon (or much of any) sign …head west on Highway 22 out of Dardanelle, and if you get to Paris, maybe stop and ask a local. (Or check their website, but definitely do that, at least. It really is tucked back in there, and hours are limited.) Just down the (main) road from Prestonrose is Pridgin Family Brewing, another farm-to-table operation located in Scranton, which just so happens to be along the route for one of the bridge-hopping options available to an enterprising River Valley road-tripper. And finally, pick up your final Arkansas-brewed pint before heading into Oklahoma at the Fort Smith Brewing Company.

Head West, Young (Wo)man

Regardless of the road one takes, heading west through the River Valley will ultimately lead to the West, at least as the West is reckoned in the popular imagination and, particularly, the Old West of Hollywood oaters. That’s because the Arkansas River Valley finds its western (Arkansas) terminus at Fort Smith, the real-deal frontier outpost where Judge Isaac Parker held court and from whence Bass Reeves rode into the Territory to execute Parker’s warrants, and where the fictional heroine Mattie Ross went searching for a lawman possessing enough “true grit” to aid her in her quest for justice.

The city maintains its frontier aura today, and while it is indeed a city — the third-largest in the state as of this writing — its downtown retains the feel and flavor of its frontier past, with the history and imagery of that period on display at every corner. In particular, visitors with a penchant for the region’s outlaw past should check out the Fort Smith National Historic Site, where the military fort and federal courthouse, as well as the surrounding grounds and some outbuildings, have been restored and preserved. For a newer taste of old history, visit the U.S. Marshals Museum. The facility, which has only been open since 2023, tells the story of the U.S. Marshals Service since its inception, paying special attention to Fort Smith’s pivotal role in that story. And if you’re feeling cheeky, you can visit Miss Laura’s, an interesting museum very near both the old fort and the Marshals museum. Wer’ll forgo the roles of Miss Laura and her house in Fort Smith’s boisterous history, which should tell the astute reader most of what they need to know in order to decide whether to add Miss Laura’s to their River Valley road trip itinerary.

Fort Smith is also the site of the Janet Huckabee Arkansas River Valley Nature Center, where visitors can walk along a user-friendly boardwalk trail through representative River Valley environs and learn about the flora, fauna, and overall ecosystem of Arkansas’s fascinating in-between. If inspiration strikes during the visit, head from the nature center to Fort Smith Park and launch a canoe or kayak on the Fort Smith Water Trail, or if the river looks too big for your taste, stroll along the bank using the Greg Smith River Trail. 

A Bit of Grit

For our money, one of the best things about a road trip is getting out of the car and ambling through the woods or near the water for an hour or two before heading on to the next stop. If you’re looking for a little fresh air without the structure of, say, a state park, think about visiting an Arkansas Natural Heritage natural area.

Dardanelle Rock Natural Area is one such place. The rock itself has been used as a landmark for boatmen plying the Arkansas River, and Dardanelle itself has a rich history as a frontier river town. (Check out the famous “Council Oak” on the way to the Dardanelle Rock trailhead.) 

Other Valley natural areas in the ANHC system get much closer to the “fully unstructured,” with out-of-the-way natural areas such as Goose Pond (Pope and Conway counties, near Atkins), Cherokee Prairie (Franklin County), and Sugarloaf Mountain – Midland Peak (Sebastian County) requiring a bit of map-work to get you where you need to go. Once there, roam about as you please; remember, though, most natural areas lack any kind of facility at all, not even marked trails. Do some research up front at arkansasheritage.com/arkansas-natural-heritage/anhc-home and then go out and get a little gritty.