Ozark Ride Suggestions

I am looking for some ride suggestions for the Northwest section of AR. Any ideas?

jdeereanton wrote:

I am looking for some ride suggestions for the Northwest section of AR. Any ideas?

http://www.motorcycleroads.us/states/ar.html

It really helps when you can see the routes on the map ... instead of checking routes one by one.

Thanks Bill I have been looking at roads from that link. Am really hoping for some personal suggestions. I really like AR-7 and AR-23.

I was ther last spring. Our group stayed in MMountain Home (not recommended) , i would recommend Erurka Springs or Harrison for a base city.

We rode routes 2,3,4 and 9 in the brochure below.

http://www.arkansas.com/outdoors/motorcycling/Lets_Ride_08.pdf

Mountain Home has music in the square at night, (nice) and very little else.
That is why I recommend the others , since more routes revolve alround them.
We also took the ferry and a route not on the map.

Be careful and fill up every chance you get. Especially route 2. There were lots of closed stations along that route. I thought it was the best route of the trip.

MaxB

jdeereanton wrote:

Thanks Bill I have been looking at roads from that link. Am really hoping for some personal suggestions. I really like AR-7 and AR-23.

I have have done both

AR-23 N (From north of Waldron to Eureka Springs)
The was one turn on the Pig Trail that seemed to be a non-stop turn ... I could not stop laughing while riding. This had a lot of sweeping curves.

AR-7 S (From Harrison to Russelville)
Nice ride (lots of tar snakes with slicker compound on the northern portion) and very scenic. I would ride again. I came from Missouri 125 and Bull Shoals ferry which was a nice ride also.

Ar-9 N (From Paron to Mamoth Springs)
North of Clinton, Ar the road became so twisty and lots of work that I thought for a moment ... "Can I get a straight road for a moment" ... then I immediately changed my mind Above Mountain View the twisties where more sweeping.

Dale,

When are you planning to go to NW Arkansas? Bob and I were there in October, 2009. We rented a GW for three days in early October. That was my first real bike trip. I wanted to see if I would be able to handle longer rides. The GW was a great ride. Bob liked it too. He found a whole new respect for the GW. His BMW is not comfortable for me to ride 2 up for a long distance. I found the roads nice but of course I was a passenger. Bob enjoyed the roads and the GW.

Anyway, we rode all over NW Arkansas. Went down as far as Hot Springs. Went west to Fort Smith. We were based in East Branson, MO. Didn't need to go through Branson to much to get where we wanted to go. If you are planning on going during the height of the summer it could be pretty congested. We stayed at Westgate Branson Woods Resort we rented a cabin. Very nice accommadations. We were celebrating our 25th wedding anniversary. I wanted something nice. The jacuzzi was nice after riding all day.

Needless to say I got hoooked and am now riding my own SW. Hope this helps a little with your question.

Cathy

Keep 'em coming.

Just so there are no questions - we won't be trailering our bikes over, I know this is only an issue with one individual, but thought I'd let him know.

More rides / road suggestions?

Any area north and west of Little Rock offers something to see and enjoy. I haven't been north of Little Rock in over a month, but here in South Central Arkansas the trees are gorgeous right now. Rain is coming so that is going to change very soon. The best time to SEE the N/W corner of Arkansas is fall. The best time to ride that area is anytime without ice.

Our ride will happen in May.

We've been to the area in September (STO) and have ridden the roads Bill suggested. They will be part of our discussion again.

We are trying to decide if it will be a base ride (central hotel point) or a rolling ride. Probably leaning toward a base ride, but now need to figure out where to locate the base. Branson had not been in the mix, but will have to consider that.

I do believe that May of 2011 will be a great time to ride.
Dale, you are familiar with the area. Finding a base won't be a problem for you. Others have mentioned some suggestions. There are many to choose from. Mountain View is kinda like Branson on a much smaller scale without all the hustle and bustle. There are a few shows there. And like Mountain Home there is blue grass around the square almost nightly. Good places to eat and right in the middle of hill country. I think it is a dry county. Not sure about that. The locals are very friendly and will welcome you to their area. BIKES are welcome and encouraged. There are some bed and breakfast places that offer very friendly rates. BUT they fill up during special events. Several are within walking distance of the square.
Good luck in getting your ride scheduled. I will be watching for updates.

Have a great Thanksgiving this week. I know you are a thankful kind of guy.

Check out Jan2011 issue of Road Bike Mag they have a section on Arkansas Ozark Rides/ 10 different ones. Full details.
Just watch for alot of harleys heading south to Hot Springs for the HOG Rally (May 9th)

Go to Jasper on Hwy 7 and then take AR hwy 74 east to AR 123 back down to Lurton. Go back north on AR 7 to AR 16, take a left and follow 16 a couple miles to Hwy 327 which is NOT MARKED. It's the only paved road on 16 heading north before you get into Deer. There is a sign for something-or-other recreation area. If you get into Deer you've gone too far. 327 takes you back up to Jasper.

This is one of the most scenic, beautiful rides I have ever taken. LOTS of twisties on 123 and 74. There's a cool little store at Parthenon that you should stop at too in a building that was built in 1909(?)

If you find some other cool routes to ride let me know about them as I am the ride coordinator for Scooting The Ozarks this year in September, which really sucks because NOW I'm gonna have to make several trips to Eureka Springs this summer and FORCE myself to ride my silverwing in that neck of the woods (literally!) (tongue firmly in cheek)

Here's a map I made for another route that apparently STO rode a couple years ago almost verbatim: http://maps.google.com/maps/ms?ie=UTF8&hl=en&msa=0&msid=109748207347256256451.00049366724b57ad67c9e&ll=36.026889,-93.540344&spn=1.057319,1.766052&z=9
There's a good place to stop for pie at Oark, AR.

I hope that is of any help to ya. Let me know when you're gonna be there in May and perhaps we can meet up! Maybe we can just start an impromptu silverwing convention! LOL

We headed out toward Mountain View, AR on May 26th, the weather had been iffy, but the rain was not falling at 5:00 am so off we went. Our plan going out was to cross the Mississippi at Helena/West Helena, AR. So west on US-72 - south on MS-7 to MS-4 to US-61 then west/north on US-49 to catch US-70 into North Little Rock. We wanted to see the Big Dam Bridge and walk over the bridge. Made it by 2:00 pm, walked halfway to the middle of the bridge then back to the bikes. From there we meandered through North Little Rock to catch AR-5 going north to Mountain View where we would stay at the Dogwood Inn. Nice place and great price.

There are four of us - all SilverWing riders that meet once a year to ride and enjoy each others company.



Above is a map of our routes.

Friday took us on the northern route - From Mountain View, AR toward Mountain Home into MO eating lunch in Bakersfield, MO and then back to Mountain View.

Saturday we headed out toward Marshall - Dongola - Jasper stopping for lunch in Yellville, AR and then heading back to Mountain View.

Sunday we added a 5th rider on a K1200RS. Route took us toward Shirley - Wonderview and a stop for lunch in Leslie, AR then back to Mountain View.

Monday our last day and the shortest ride as the BMW rider is heading home at the end of the ride. Went north toward Sylamore - Melbourne - Ash Flat and stopped for lunch in Batesville. The BMW had a drive line problem and so we ended up putting him on a ro-ro and he headed off toward Memphis, the SilverWing riders continued our trek and returned to Mountain View.

The ride home was dry and uneventfull. All told in 6 days we added 1800 miles to our odometers.