Directions

Plane
Airports are located in Harrison, AR, Branson, MO, Springfield, MO, Northwest Arkansas, AR , Fayetteville, AR, and Little Rock, AR.

Car
Buffalo National River is a long, narrow park that is crossed by three main highways. Using Harrison as a starting point: To reach the Upper District, visitors travel south from Harrison on Highway 7, or Highway 43; To reach the Middle District, visitors travel 31 miles south of Harrison on Highway 65; To reach the Lower District, visitors take Highway 65 south from Harrison for five miles, then take Highway 62/412 to the east to Yellville, and Highway 14 south.

Public Transportation
No public transportation in the park.

Plan Your Visit

Please use the links to the topics above to help you plan your visit to Buffalo National River. You can partake of many activities, including floating the river, visiting historic homesteads and prehistoric sites, hiking and camping. Many nearby attractions outside of the park are within short driving distances.

The park's visitors guide, Currents, is a very good source of park information. Adobe Acrobat Reader is required to view this guide.

The main park visitor center, open year round, is located at Tyler Bend, located eleven miles north of Marshall, AR, on Highway 65. Visitor contact stations are also located at Buffalo Point, 17 miles south of Yellville, AR, on Highway 14/268, and at Pruitt, five miles north of Jasper, AR, on Highway 7 South.

There are over 100 miles of maintained trails in the park. Several trails are open both to horse and hiking use. For information on these trails, call park headquarters, or any of the ranger stations.

Regularly scheduled programs and activities are offered by rangers, Memorial Day through Labor Day. These activities include guided hikes, float trips, junior ranger programs, music programs, and evening programs.

Park Welcome

The natural and cultural resources of this national river exemplify much of the beauty and diversity which makes up the Ozark region of Arkansas. You will find a wild, free-flowing and unpolluted river that passes towering bluffs, pioneer homesteads and wilderness areas, dominated by a vast hardwood forest, verdant much of the visitor season. The river offers recreational pursuits like canoeing, fishing and swimming. Inspirational and educational opportunities are also available, where one can experience life at a slower pace. It is indeed a place where you can get glimpses of an earlier way of life, whether that is seeing examples of prehistoric Native American presence in Ozark Bluff Dweller cultures or pioneer homesteads in this beautiful and scenic, rugged landscape.

Your visit  should be a pleasurable experience, whether that is getting the area information you need, receiving assistance from staff members, or finding the public facilities clean, orderly, and well maintained. If you choose to partake of interpretive programs, the staff can help you learn more about this significant resource that is America's first national river.

Over thirty years have passed since Buffalo National River was established "for the purposes of conserving and interpreting an area containing unique scenic and scientific features, and preserving as a free-flowing stream an important segment of the Buffalo River in Arkansas for the benefit and enjoyment of present and future generations."

The National Park Service, working with park neighbors and friends, manages the park to provide camping, canoeing, hiking, wilderness and outdoor opportunities to all park visitors. Thanks to the dedicated efforts of many people the Buffalo River remains preserved for all Americans. Take advantage of your visit to Buffalo National River and join the ranks of those that have been touched by the Buffalo experience.