Suggested Rides at STN National

[FJRmgm]

for you folks who have never been in NW Arkansas and Southern Missouri to ride - you are in for a treat with some of the finest riding in the southern midwest region.

I see there have been several routes posted that are south and east of E.S. and they are good ones.  

But, you will be remiss if you don't partake of some of the best routes - which are right along the Ark/Missouri border and in southern Missouri.  When Missouri builds rural roads they don't flatten or straighten anything so they can be hilly and twisty.

Having been to Eureka Springs five times now - four on the bike and once in a Miata, I think I can offer up some choice routes/roads you will find quite tasty.

I was just there the last weekend in April at the Southern FJR Owners Rally where we had 85 FJRs.

WARNING: The roads in this area have many blind corners, hilltop driveways and decreasing radius turns at 10-30 mph so be careful and alert at all times.  One moment of inattention can be disastrous as two FJR owners found out.

This is from Yahoo Maps site.

Route 1: - if you only do one - DO THIS ROUTE
go east out of E.S. on HW 62 to Berryville
go northeast on HW 21 almost to the Missouri border to Blue Eye
at Blue Eye go east/south on HW 311 to County Road 91
Go left on CR 91 to CR 16 which turns into Denver Road to Burlington
at Burlington, turn north on HW 65 to HW 14 and turn right
Go east on HW 14 to Lead Hill (gas stop) and go through town to HW 268
Turn left on HW 268 about six miles to HW 125 and turn left (north) to Peel
take HW 125 to Bull Shoals lake and cross the lake on the small ferry (worth the trip)
Take HW 125 in Missouri north until it intersects HW 160
Go Left on HW 160 (BEST ROAD IN THE AREA)
At intersection of HW 160 and Road "O" there is a small cafe on the right that has EXCELLENT
food and a nice view.
Continue on HW 160 to HW 76 (gas stop) and turn left on HW 76
Take HW 76 to Road "J" and turn left (south)
Take Road "J" to "JJ and turn left on JJ
Take Road JJ all the way back down south to HW 14 in Arkansas
At HW 14 turn right (west) back to HW 65 and turn right (north)
Take HW 65 north to HW 86 and turn left (west) on HW 86
Take HW 86 west all the way to Road "P" (Ark 23 - gas stop) and turn left (south)
Take Road "P" (Ark 23) south back to Eureka Springs - you will ride up through town to HW 62

Route 2:
take HW 62 west/north out of E.S. to Gateway and HW 37
go north on HW 37 to Washburn and turn left (west) on HW 90.
Take HW 90 west all the way to Noel - gas stop
At Noel - turn around and repeat road back to Washburn
At Washburn turn right (south) on HW 37 to Seligman to HW 112
Turn left (east) at Seligman on HW 112 to Road "F"
At Road "F" turn right (south) to Eagle Rock and HW 86
Go left (east) on HW 86 to Road "P" (Ark 23 - gas stop) and turn right (south)
Take Road "P" (Ark 23) south to Eureka Springs.

Route 3:
Take HW 23 south out of E.S. to HW 12 and turn right (west)
Take HW 12 west all the way to Rogers - turn around and repeat
HW 12 is a lot of fast sweepers and a very smooth road

[SWriverstone]

Thanks for the suggestions FJRmgm...I was just wondering about good rides down there. You mentioned other routes have been posted...where? (Can't seem to find them...)

I noticed your routes don't include the Talimena Highway (I think that's what it's called)...I've always gotten the impression this is a "must-do," but are the routes you posted as good or better?

Just trying to get a handle on everything!

Scott

[SWriverstone]

• Okay—for anyone interested, I mapped out FJRmgm's Route #1 (see above) in Google Maps. (197 miles total.) Here's the link...
http://tinyurl.com/6c22vj

• And here's FJRmgm's Route #2 (see above) in Google Maps. (140 miles total.) Here's the link:
http://tinyurl.com/6zzc3f

• And here's FJRmgm's Route #3 (see above) in Google Maps. (80 miles total.) Here's the link:
http://tinyurl.com/5larlk

• Here is sprocket's first loop, a long one at 420 miles (perfect for you Doug!):
http://tinyurl.com/2jv9cm

• And sprocket's second loop, another doozy at 434 miles:
http://tinyurl.com/yvwnpf

I also thought I'd start posting individual (unconnected) stretches of roads that are reputed to be famous, great, must-rides, etc (so if you want you can string these together however you choose)

• Push Mountain Road - AR-341 south of Mountain Home, 29 miles
The "Dragon" of Arkansas
http://tinyurl.com/4bfp4d

• Lost Canyon (or Lost Valley) - AR-74 from Hasty to Ponca, 25 miles
http://tinyurl.com/49wh9y

And here are some resources from the state of Arkansas website...

• Motorcycle Destinations in Arkansas
http://www.arkansas.com/outdoors/motorcycling/motorcycling-hot-spots.aspx

• Five Suggested Rides (from 143mi to 230mi)
http://www.arkansas.com/outdoors/motorcycling/suggested-rides.aspx

• "Let's Ride," a PDF brochure published by the state with routes
http://www.arkansas.com/outdoors/motorcycling/Lets_Ride_08.pdf


If anyone has other good routes in the area, it would be awesome if you could map them in Google Maps and post them here! It would be really nice to have one thread with all routes posted. (Or post directions and I'll Google Map 'em.)

As I've said before, I know people (including me) may still need to get these routes into Garmin MapSource or Streets 'n Trips...but Google Maps is a good universal way for *everyone* to be able to see the routes.  

Scott

[Mac]

I think Rocketbunny had several of these routes you could download for your gps. I'm not sure where they are though.


Found it.

I uploaded a Garmin Mapsource file to my server here.

I don't remember where I got the file, but it has 4 or 5 good day ride loops on it out of Eureka Springs. One of them goes up into Missouri and does the ferry crossing on the WONDERFUL MO125

[R Doug]

Route 1: - if you only do one - DO THIS ROUTE
go east out of E.S. on HW 62 to Berryville
go northeast on HW 21 almost to the Missouri border to Blue Eye
at Blue Eye go east/south on HW 311 to County Road 91
Go left on CR 91 to CR 16 which turns into Denver Road to Burlington
at Burlington, turn north on HW 65 to HW 14 and turn right
Go east on HW 14 to Lead Hill (gas stop) and go through town to HW 268
Turn left on HW 268 about six miles to HW 125 and turn left (north) to Peel
take HW 125 to Bull Shoals lake and cross the lake on the small ferry (worth the trip)
Take HW 125 in Missouri north until it intersects HW 160
Go Left on HW 160 (BEST ROAD IN THE AREA)
At intersection of HW 160 and Road "O" there is a small cafe on the right that has EXCELLENT
food and a nice view.
Continue on HW 160 to HW 76 (gas stop) and turn left on HW 76
Take HW 76 to Road "J" and turn left (south)
Take Road "J" to "JJ and turn left on JJ
Take Road JJ all the way back down south to HW 14 in Arkansas
At HW 14 turn right (west) back to HW 65 and turn right (north)
Take HW 65 north to HW 86 and turn left (west) on HW 86
Take HW 86 west all the way to Road "P" (Ark 23 - gas stop) and turn left (south)
Take Road "P" (Ark 23) south back to Eureka Springs - you will ride up through town to HW 62

Thanks for the route.  

Does the following map look right to you?  You're the second person today to mention 125.  But, is there any reason why I should miss the rest of 125?  From what I calculated, this route is only 187 miles.  I was thinking about something closer to 350 miles.

[SWriverstone]

LOL...I don't know Doug—350 miles on 10-30mph 2nd-gear twisties is a L-O-N-G day of riding—you might miss dinner!  

Thanks for the link Mac...I'll check those routes out...

Scott

PS - See my Google map link above Doug (and you can compare it to yours)...

[R Doug]

LOL...I don't know Doug—350 miles on 10-30mph 2nd-gear twisties is a L-O-N-G day of riding—you might miss dinner!  

Thanks for the link Mac...I'll check those routes out...

Scott

PS - See my Google map link above Doug (and you can compare it to yours)...

Hey, I pulled it off at ESTN last year with the Snake, Rt. 16, and Rt. 80 which included a lot of 15 MPH curves.  

Remember, I subscribe to the SPORT-touring crowd.    

[R Doug]

PS - See my Google map link above Doug (and you can compare it to yours)...

Ah ha!  I missed a few miles on Rt. 311.  Now my Mapsource file shows 197 miles.

Thanks.

[SWriverstone]

Holy square tires...I was thinking I wanted to ride the Talimena Highway...but that's 200 miles from Eureka Springs!   (I thought it was closer than that.) Oh well. I guess it's a fairly short stretch of road anyway, huh?

Scott

[atypical1]

Thanks for posting and mapping these!!! I cannot wait to get the new bike on those roads.

james

[SWriverstone]

QUESTION for the Arkansas experts:

Would it be worthwhile to head south of Eureka Springs past the Ozarks (south of I-40) to do any riding in the Ouachita Mountains, for example AR-7 towards Hot Springs? I know that's a bit of a hike, but my impression is that's a pretty famous area of Arkansas.

Or...is that NOT a good place to ride because of its proximity to Little Rock and MOBS OF PEOPLE?

I'm not opposed to sticking to the Ozarks and/or southern Missouri...just trying to evaluate the "relative riding worth" of different areas of the state.

Keep in mind, I'm used to West Virginia...so I'm interested in finding areas that *don't* look like West Virginia (just for something new and different!). In other words, we've got thousands of miles of twisty mountain roads up here...which may or may not be similar to roads in the Ozarks (though I've heard the road surfaces are better in Arkansas?)

Thanks,
Scott

PS  - See my post above with links to ride routes---I'm updating it each day with more as I find it or hear about it...

[Yamadog]

QUESTION for the Arkansas experts:

Would it be worthwhile to head south of Eureka Springs past the Ozarks (south of I-40) to do any riding in the Ouachita Mountains, for example AR-7 towards Hot Springs? I know that's a bit of a hike, but my impression is that's a pretty famous area of Arkansas.

Or...is that NOT a good place to ride because of its proximity to Little Rock and MOBS OF PEOPLE?

I'm not opposed to sticking to the Ozarks and/or southern Missouri...just trying to evaluate the "relative riding worth" of different areas of the state.

Keep in mind, I'm used to West Virginia...so I'm interested in finding areas that *don't* look like West Virginia (just for something new and different!). In other words, we've got thousands of miles of twisty mountain roads up here...which may or may not be similar to roads in the Ozarks (though I've heard the road surfaces are better in Arkansas?)

Thanks,
Scott

PS  - See my post above with links to ride routes---I'm updating it each day with more as I find it or hear about it...

AR7 south towards Hot Springs is a very scenic though not technically challenging ride IMO. Hot Springs itself is a nice town, very scenic in the old part of town with the baths etc.

Another very scenic and twisty ride south of I40 is AR109 up and over Magazine Mountain south of Paris.

However, the really good riding is north of I40 IMO, YMMV

(edit to add: see http://www.motorcycleroads.us/ar.html and http://www.sportbikeroads.com/ar.htm for some ideas and comments WRT various rides). One last entry, I copied this from the AR Gap Yahoo Gp:

Re: So. AR twisties & sites to Potosi, MO route

1. By MENA Hwy. 88 to OK Hwy. 1 the Queen Wilhelmina
State Park & Rich Mt. is a beautiful ride & scenic
views. Great twisties. Hwy. 28 to Rover to Hwy. 27
N, to Hwy. 10 west to Hwy. 309 north to

2. Mt. Magazine... Hwy. 309 is a favorite of most who
visit AR.

Take Hwy. 309 to Ozark & get on Hwy. 23 north. Hwy.
23 is the famous Pig Trail.

3. Famous Pig Trail. At Cass is a little store, that
sells the sticker of the Pig Trail (kinda like the
sticker they sell at Deals Gap... only an AR version.)
Take Hwy. 23 north to Hwy. 16 east at Brashears.
Take Hwy. 16 to Hwy. 7 north.

4. Famous Cliffhouse restaurant at the AR Grand
Canyon is on Hwy. 7 about 8 miles north of the Hwy.
16/Hwy. 7 intersection. On the right side of the road
& overlooks the canyon.

5. AR Grand Canyon carving
After the Cliffhouse (a must stop & see) you continue
north on Hwy. 7 about 2 miles to Hwy. 374 east. This
is one of the canyon roads... take it down to Hwy. 123
and take a right on Hwy. 123 going south. This is the
other AR Grand Canyon road & some canyon carving a
visitor simply must do. At Lurton Hwy. 123 will dump
you on Hwy. 7 south for about 4 mile to Pelsor where
you should take Hwy. 16 east past Tilly to Hwy. 27
north east.

6. Hwy. 27 to Hwy. 14 at Harriet, where you take Hwy.
14 east to Hwy. 341 = AR Gap.

ENJOY!!! Points of interest after the AR Gap.

6.1 In Norfolk is the Wolf House, the oldest house /
log cabin in the state of AR. A nice stop & relax
after enjoying the AR Gap.

6.2 Norfolk cafe is the tiny local dinner only open
from 6 a.m. - 2 p.m., but great food & cheap prices.

6.3 Jo Jo's Catfish Wharf is on Hwy. 5 about 1 mile
north of Allison (the intersection of Hwy. 14, Hwy. 5,
& Hwy. 9 just 6 miles north of Mt. View.) Great
catfish there.

6.4 Angler's White River Resort at Allison also has
good food and is one of our local AR Gap riders "train
stops" to meet up & ride.

6.5 Mt. View town square in the evenings is where
they play local folk music every weekend evening and
sometimes during the week. The Ozark Folk Museum is
there in Mt. Home & worth a stop to check it out if
you got the time. Catch a Hillbilly Ho Down if you
got the time & desire.

6.6 Blanchard Springs Caverns is on Hwy. 14 just east
of the AR Gap & is ranked in the top 10 caverns in the
USA. A great place to cool off if your hot, only 58
degrees in the caverns & used to be the local
moonshine party place in its day.

7. HEADING EAST towards MO... Hwy. 9 from Allison to
Mammoth Springs (right on the MO border) is a good
route.

8. Mammoth Springs is worth a stop to see. Also, ice
cold water for a cool down splash in the face.

9. MO Hwy. 19 towards Patosi, MO... is famous & called
the MO roller coaster road.

10. Take Hwy. 19 north to 6 miles north of Round
Spring, and take County road A to BUNKER. At Bunker
take County road KK to Hwy. 32 by Bixby.

11. Bixby gas station is worth a stop. They have
great sandwiches & a model train running around in the
store that is worth checking out. This is the local
stopping place for many of the MO riders. And the
route I just gave you with A and KK is 2 of their
favorite roads to ride heading towards STL.

12. Take Hwy. 32 east to County road DD and take DD
to County Road P into Potosi, MO.

ALTERNATIVE OPTION NORTH:
If you've already done that route... after the AR Gap
experience, if you want to take Hwy. 14 west thru
Yellville, thru Summit, to Hwy. 125 north.... that is
the famous

13. AR / MO Ferry that crosses from hwy. 125 in AR to
Hwy. 125 in MO. A little ferry and quite the
experience if one has never taken such transportation.

[SWriverstone]

I love twisties---don't get me wrong!   But...(Iron Men like Doug notwithstanding)...I find an entire day of 20-30mph, tight-technical twisties to be damn exhausting.   Some of that is great...but my idea of the "perfect" ride is a nice, even mix of tight technical stuff, moderate stuff, and even some relatively straight stuff now and then where you can just sit back and relax and enjoy the scenery. (The scenery's GOTTA be good everywhere---that's my only criteria---and no traffic!)

I could ride 60mph sweepers all day, for example, and be perfectly happy (as long as the scenery is good and I'm not stuck behind trucks all the time).

So given this...recommendations for beautiful roads that *aren't* super-technical are appreciated!

Scott

PS - Hey Doug, how far is that southern loop you mapped out?

[FJRmgm]

From various other message boards, I was going to take this southern loop (any feedback would be appreciated!)...

Rt 127 South
Rt 23 South
Rt 309 South
Rt10 over to Rt. 7 and take it south to Jessieville (just north of Hot Springs)
Then Run Rt. 7 all the way north to 62 which I'll take back to Eureka Springs.

This is a good route and will be scenic. The closer you get to Hot Springs and Little Rock the less hilly and more vehicles you will have.

There is really no need to get close to either of them because the best riding is north and west/east of both.

If you are on HW 7 going north, be sure to jump off NE on HW 123 towards Mt. Judea and Hasty to Western Grove.   HW 123 is EXCELLENT with some very scenic vistas and riding next to cliffs.

[R Doug]

If you are on HW 7 going north, be sure to jump off NE on HW 123 towards Mt. Judea and Hasty to Western Grove.   HW 123 is EXCELLENT with some very scenic vistas and riding next to cliffs.

Thanks for the feedback.  

Rt 123 between Rt. 7 and Mt. Judea shows up as a dashed line in my software.  It isn't a dirt road is it?

[sprocket]

Where to ride, where to ride? What a great issue to have!
All the routes posted are really great roads, and I know I have done all of them many times.
Here's my take for what its worth. I prefer those routes south and east of E.S. because..
The sections of road traveled are longer and more rural than north of E.S. You get up around Branson in MO. and there is more traffic, especially in the summer time, lots of vacationers. Its even worse if you go west of E.S.
Both routes I posted include 341 (Arkansas Dragon) 123 and 74. 123 has 3 sections upper, middle and lower. The middle section from Hasty south to Hwy 7 is the creme, it doesn't get better! The lower section is very rural and is almost as good.
Last Saturday I was riding the area and took 74 west of Jasper, got a ticket from Arkansas Trooper for 60 in a 55, seams the residents there are fed up with the motorcycles. 341 and 123 (middle) are also "hot spots".
Three weeks ago we were riding 123 (middle) and counted 4 Leo's with radar. Fortunately they mostly do this on weekends.
Hwy 7 is a nice road, but always heavy traffic, its a main hwy through there.
Hwy 309 over Magazine mountain is quite a bit south and Talimena Scenic Drive is even further, but still really great rides. You cant hardly go wrong any direction you go.

As for me (bring on the dog pile) I like the long, stay on the gas, twisty as hell, "spirited" kind of ride, besides I got a Colorado Ironbutt to do in July, so I need the seat time. This is gonna be fun!!!!

[R Doug]

Hey all, thanks for all the tips.  I have refined my “Ozark Loop” day trip to include all the good elevation changes through the Ozark area based on the taking sections from the routes posted above.  

The route is 324 miles of twisty and sweepers in the Ozarks.  Since I plan on hitting some of the suggested roads to the NE of Eureka Springs on the way in and out of town, I would really like to experience the Ozarks since it's unlikely I'll ever be back.

Would someone with familiarity of the area critique the following route???

*  23 South to 127 (just past Aurora).  This turns into a series of County Routes… first 5 to 136 (before Venus) then 141 to pick up Rt. 16.

*  Then, Rt. 16 southeast to Rt. 21 towards Lake Dardanelle.  

*  Go across the Arkansas River on Rt. 109 and pick up 197 in Scranton then head south to pick up Rt. 309 just before it enters the Ozark National Forest.  Rt. 309 goes up and over Magazine Mountain, which is 2749 ft. at it’s peak.  

*  After climbing Magazine Mt., take Rt. 10 east to pick up 27 north to Rt. 7.  

*  Take Rt. 7 north past Dover and pick up 164 west to Hagarville.  

*  At Hagarville, head north on Hwy 123 to Brown Mt., Wheeler Knob, and Colman Knob.  Then cross Rt. 7 again to reacquire 123 and head towards Mount Judea.
 
*  Then pick up Rt. 74 to make my way back to Rt. 7 via Hwy 374 which goes around Morgan Pt.  

*  Reacquire 74 at Jasper and head west to 43 north then 103 north

*  103 to County 719 to Hwy 21 north

*  Then 62 to the STN National Dinner back in Eureka Springs!  

[FJR1300]

Would someone with familiarity of the area critique the following route???

The only thing I might suggest is reversing the route.  321 is a lot better going south to north.  Maybe sprocket will have some input on this?

[DredheadV2.0]

I think Rocketbunny had several of these routes you could download for your gps. I'm not sure where they are though.


Found it.

Sweet.

[sprocket]

Hey all, thanks for all the tips.  I have refined my “Ozark Loop” day trip to include all the good elevation changes through the Ozark area based on the taking sections from the routes posted above.  

The route is 324 miles of twisty and sweepers in the Ozarks.  Since I plan on hitting some of the suggested roads to the NE of Eureka Springs on the way in and out of town, I would really like to experience the Ozarks since it's unlikely I'll ever be back.

Would someone with familiarity of the area critique the following route???

*  23 South to 127 (just past Aurora).  This turns into a series of County Routes… first 5 to 136 (before Venus) then 141 to pick up Rt. 16.

*  Then, Rt. 16 southeast to Rt. 21 towards Lake Dardanelle.  

*  Go across the Arkansas River on Rt. 109 and pick up 197 in Scranton then head south to pick up Rt. 309 just before it enters the Ozark National Forest.  Rt. 309 goes up and over Magazine Mountain, which is 2749 ft. at it’s peak.  

*  After climbing Magazine Mt., take Rt. 10 east to pick up 27 north to Rt. 7.  

*  Take Rt. 7 north past Dover and pick up 164 west to Hagarville.  

*  At Hagarville, head north on Hwy 123 to Brown Mt., Wheeler Knob, and Colman Knob.  Then cross Rt. 7 again to reacquire 123 and head towards Mount Judea.
 
*  Then pick up Rt. 74 to make my way back to Rt. 7 via Hwy 374 which goes around Morgan Pt.  

*  Reacquire 74 at Jasper and head west to 43 north then 103 north

*  103 to County 719 to Hwy 21 north

*  Then 62 to the STN National Dinner back in Eureka Springs!  

I'm not sure about the county roads beyond 127, sometimes there all paved sometimes its a mix, paved and gravel. It may not be the same from one year to the next, there was some serious flooding back in early April and even some of the paved roads got washed out. Have they got the roads fixed yet? who knows this is Arkansas. If your coming on the Duke you probably ride them however they come!
All the routes below I-40 are good, just a lot more traffic, IMO.
From 164 north of Dover on it gets really good again. When 123 gets back to 7 at Pelsor (Pelsor is nothing but an old shut down store on the left as you come in on 123) go left for 3-4 miles then you will turn right onto 123 to Mt Judea. At the 123 and 7 intersection if you go across onto 16, you will find another one of the best twisty roads.
Anyway if you do continue on to 123 going south to north there are a 4 or 5 really neat switch backs, you'll be going down them.
Be cautious when you get close to Jasper, the leo's have stepped up there presence there lately, I'm hoping they keep it to the weekends.
All of my opinions are based on the fact that I prefer, minimal traffic, lots of twisties and can pick the pace up every now and then. Any direction you choose to go from E.S. you cant go wrong.