Arkansas Curve Tour

[DirtFun]

30 years ago, I was in Lampe, Missouri and remembered how curvy the roads were . I'm interested in a trip to NW Arkansas/SO Missouri to explore the regions curves.

I bought MadMaps USRT110 for their useful and informative perspective of the area.

First, would Russelville, Arkansas be a good place to drop the trailer (trailering from Orlando, Fla) and begin exploring? We'll stay in hotels along the way.

Second, should I stick to the NW side of Russelville for the highest concentration of curves?

Finally, we're pretty flexible on when we can go. We're thinking of the end of April, first of May. The Weather Channel says this is when Arkansas gets a lot of rain. Since we're trailering, we can always go a few days later for the clear sky's if need be. Is spring in full bloom the first of May, is fall better?

I've always wanted to ride the twisty roads of the area, it looks great!!

[tbirdsp]

Not from AR but ride there several times a year.

Russelville or Clarksville would be good places to base out of. There are exceptions, but IMHO the best stuff is north of I-40 and west of a line straight up from Little Rock. (One exception is the Mt Magazine Scenic Byway Hwy 309 - which is just south of Clarksville/I-40).

There is some good stuff further south and west near Mena and Hot Springs in the Ouachita NF, but I think the northern roads are better.

Hard to find a bad road up there. Hwy 14,16,23,21,123, 341 (AKA Push Mountain Rd) just to name a few.

Scenic Byway 7 is nice, but IMHO has too much traffic on it. There are as good or better roads which are much less traveled.

I usually go down there in the fall. Used to do a ride near Mena in April and it was always hit or miss with the rain. I made the mistake of doing a street ride to Clarksville in June '09 - it was stupid hot. Still had a good time though. I'd say mid Sep to mid Oct would be best. Leaves won't change until the very end of Oct, but if you wait that long you may hit some cold weather.

Do you have a GPS?

[Lone Rider]

Originally Posted by tbirdsp

.....Russelville or Clarksville would be good places to base out of.x....

Good suggestions.
Remember that Russellville is dry.
Ozark, Jasper and Eureka Springs would also be good places.

[tbirdsp]

Originally Posted by Lone Rider

Good suggestions.
Remember that Russellville is dry.
Ozark, Jasper and Eureka Springs would also be good places.

Agreed

And he means dry as in no alchohol sales. Clarksville too.

[DRZ Charlie]

Highway 123
Highway 16
Highway 215 and Oark
Highway 103 from I-40 to Green Forest
Roads around and through Devils Den


Eureka isn't dry, far from it. Are you planning on road, off road, gravel, combination?

[Zerk]

I've been down there a couple times. April may be early. It is for me, since I am travelling from the north. June is nice.

Branson, MO sucks. Eureka Springs, AR is cool town. Hot Springs isn't bad either. Be carefull lots of dry counties. Also gas up. Just cause the map shows a town, doesn't mean anything thing is there, other then a run down house or two.

Tons of fun roads, hwy 21, 23 and 7, plus lots of others. There are some Arkansas motorcycle websites with suggestions.

Spend some time in Euerka Springs, then take 7 to Hot Springs, for the way home, or up.

[DirtFun]

Thanks for all the great information!

It's a street riding only event on my ST3 and my wife on her beloved CS650 (a very cool motorcylce BTW).

I don't care about the "dry" towns or counties. In fact, it sounds pretty good to possibly have a few less intoxicated dummies on the roads.

It's tough to beat fall riding anywhere IMO. I really get excited when someone explains a certain area with, "you really cannot go wrong with any road"

Good tip on keeping fuel use in mind, I'll remember it. If you flog a twin, like an Aprillia, Ducati and BMW, they'll use fuel like crazy. My wife's single 650 gets amazing MPG's-hey, guess I"ll start hauling around a siphon hose.

[Zerk]

I don't know if dry counties are any safer. People just have to drive drunk to the next county. To me it is so backwards. Hard to believe in this day and age. Oppressive. I am not much for letting the government tell me what to do.

[Lone Rider]

One thing to be aware of on these great roads is any very recent roadside grass cutting. You can be hauling balls and come up on sections where the shoulders were just cut with grass slung across the lanes.

Just an FYI for the spirited riders...

[Zerk]

Eureka Springs has a motorcycle only motel with covered parking. Though its not right downtown, which can be nice for drinking and walking. Cool thing about the south, is its pretty cheap, alot motels are under $50.

Riders Rest.
www.ridersrestmotel.com

[Marty Humphrey]

The only place that preachers and bootleggers get along is in Dry Counties.

[Bug Dr.]

I live in Russellville and you are more than welcome to leave your trailer here. I am selling my house and if I still own it when you come up you are more than welcome to park it and camp in the yard. If I sell before you arrive, I have a safe place that you can park it for an extended visit.

Just about any paved road in NW Arkansas is a good road. We like to keep some unadvertised but I'll tell about those when you get here

Just give me a PM when you are ready to ride.
Mike

[DirtFun]

Originally Posted by Zerk

I am not much for letting the government tell me what to do.

Thanks again to all who've responded!

I'm with you Zerk, among many other things (gov related), I can't understand speed limits on the Interstates.

[Lone Rider]

Originally Posted by Zerk

Eureka Springs has a motorcycle only motel with covered parking. Though its not right downtown, which can be nice for drinking and walking. Cool thing about the south, is its pretty cheap, alot motels are under $50.

Riders Rest.
www.ridersrestmotel.com

The Pink Rally was held there a few years ago. Nice folks, and a small bonfire is ok. The rooms are just fine, what you need.

[Zerk]

The place next door, Country Mountain Inn, changed hands and is not motorcycle friendly.