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Arkansas Scenic Route 7

Introduction Western Ozarks Scenic Route 7 Table Rock Dam Bull Shoals Related Links

AR7 Slideshow
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Arkansas Scenic Route 7 may have been the first road I specifically planned to drive. I was going to Fort Smith on business, and wanted to take a look at the trophy bass lakes of Missouri and Arkansas, then take a drive through the Ozarks. They aren't exactly the Rockies, but hey, it's Arkansas!

AR-7 starts in Northern Arkansas, right by Bull Shoals Lake. From there, it travels South all the way to the Louisiana border, where it becomes State Route 558, a short 5 mile spur before ending at LA-15. I've driven all of it, though I usually get off I-44 at Springfield, Missouri, and head South on US-65 to Route 7. It's a fun road.

It travels through the Ozark Mountains, runs through Dogpatch USA and Hot Springs, if that fits your stereo-typical perspective better. When I first drove it, it was a two-lane country road through some fantastic scenery. However, the last time I drove it, they were widening and straightening portions of the road (forced upgrades to the current code when rebuilding a road), so it might be less fun now.

Western Ozarks
198600NCR_004X104 198600NCR_005X105 198600NCR_006X106 198600NCR_007X107AR 198600NCR_008X108AR 198600NCR_009X109AR 198600NCR_010X110AR

Arkansas Scenic Route 7
198600NCR_028XP08 199806SA_005006F0106AR 199206SA_113F0506 200509DSW_0002C07120 199206SA_111F0504 199206SA_112F0505 200209FNO_881885C12212 200209FNO_886C12212 200509DSW_0019D07124 200509DSW_0020C07135 199806SA_013F0115AR 198600NCR_023X124 198600NCR_022X123 198600NCR_021X122 198600NCR_020X121 198600NCR_019X120 198600NCR_018X119 200209FNO_875C12200 200209FNO_877C12201 200209FNO_878C12201 200209FNO_879C12201 199206SA_110F0503 199206SA_109F0502 199206SA_108F0501

Table Rock and Bull Shoals aren't exactly off of Route 7, but are in the general area...

Table Rock Dam
198600NCR_024XP03 198600NCR_025XP05 198600NCR_026XP06 198600NCR_027XP07

Bull Shoals
199206SA_120F0513 199206SA_121F0514 199206SA_122F0515 199206SA_123F0516 199206SA_124F0517 199206SA_125F0518 199206SA_126F0519 199206SA_127F0520 199206SA_128F0521 199206SA_129F0522 199206SA_130F0523 199206SA_131F0524 199206SA_132F0525 199206SA_133F0526

Related Links

Buffalo National River
Buffalo National River Link

Buffalo National River is located in Northwest Arkansas, and protects about 140 river miles (55 linear miles) of the Buffalo River as it flows through the Ozarks. I'm not quite sure why the Buffalo gets National River status, but a National River it is.

They've been developing more sites along the river since I first visited in 1992, and it is a scenic place. I've only been to two sites, both along AR-7, Ozark and Pruitt Landing.
Northwest Arkansas / 31 Images. Visited Jun 1998, Sep 2002, Sep 2005.
Hot Springs National Park
Hot Springs Link

Hot Springs National Park was the 18th National Park designated in 1921, during a health craze in the US. It was actually declared a reservation in 1832, making it the oldest park in what would become the National Park System. It's a huge fresh water aquifer that spits out 850,000 gallons of water per day.

It's I swear I had pictures of the bath houses somewhere, but I'm not sure where they are...
Hot Springs, Arkansas / 16 Images. Visited Jun 1998, Sep 2002.

Scenic Route 7 Trip Reports: Feb 1986, Jun 1992, Jun 1998, Sep 2002, Sep 2005.

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