Arkansas Vacation in August-Need Tips!
 

While everyone is dragging their kids and ole lady to the beach for their "summer vacation" I'm gonna pack up the truck and head to the mountains in Arkansas for 4-5 days. Hoping to venture no farther north than Oua****a Nat Forest area to keep my drive around 6 hours. Fly fishing, Hiking, and relaxing is on the agenda. If anyone has experience with that region I'd appreciate the info before I start digging on the internet.

Albert Pike has all that and is nice. They had closed some camp sites from a flood that swept some people away a few years ago, but maybe they are elevated now and reopened. There is a blue hole swimming hole that is real neat there.


We always go to Shady Lake about 20 miles from there, it is a 10 acre lake in the middle of the national forest with a nice stream, but not big enough for fly fishing.

A few more hour drive to the Buffalo River is the real Arkansas mountain experience with real fly fishing and canoeing.

Petit Jean State Park is nice. That's the only place I've been in the Oua****a's. My buddy went to Cossatot River and lived it.

What's the main city around there?

X2. I stayed in Mountain Home and did some fly fishing on both the buffalo river and the white river. It's about a 9 hour drive though

Jasper is a good city to stay that places you in the center of activities near the Buffalo River.
Stayed in a VRBO there this past Thanksgiving, had a blast.

X3... We stayed in a cabin right on the white river that we found on VRBO, just north of Norfork. It is a longer drive but IMO worth it. With the minimum flow on the White River, wading opportunities are limited. Plenty places to rent a boat, but we were more interested in wading with a fly rod. You can wade the Norfork River and catch plenty stocker trout, or venture a little further north and catch wild trout. The wife and I caught lots of nice Rainbows and a couple brook trout while fly fishing the Norfork.

Oua****a national forest is great for hiking and sight seeing Caddo river for smallmouth you won't find any good fly fishing for trout that close to you unless you were to go to broken bow in Oklahoma which is decent

The ozarks are much better and only a little further Norfork and white river for trout and the buffalo and crooked creek for smallmouth well worth the couple extra hours

Have to agree The buffalo / white river area is much better fishing. Lot's of canoe rental places so that you can spend a day or 3 on the buffalo.
If y'all are so inclined it's a bit out of the way but take a day on the way home and stop by Crater of diamonds state park in murfreesboro ark for a day in the dirt.
http://www.craterofdiamondsstatepark.com/