Visit Wilderness

Search for a wilderness as the destination for your next outdoor adventure.

Bob Marshall Wilderness Area, Minnesota

Why Visit Wilderness?

While wilderness can be appreciated from afar—through online content, television, or books—nothing compares to experiencing it firsthand. Activities like camping, hiking, or hunting allow you to fully enjoy the recreational, ecological, spiritual, and health benefits that wilderness areas offer. These areas provide “outstanding opportunities for solitude or a primitive and unconfined type of recreation,” chances to observe wildlife, moments to renew and refresh, and the physical benefits of outdoor exercise. In many wilderness areas, you can even bring your well-behaved dog.

Learn more about the diverse ways in which we benefit from wilderness and threats wilderness areas face today.

Canoeists paddling the Buffalo find themselves on what may be one of the most scenic rivers in the eastern United States. From its headwaters in the Boston Mountains to its confluence with the White River, 135 miles of the Buffalo's 153 miles are managed by the National Park Service as a National River. Most of the upper 18 miles are managed by the Ozark National Forest as a Wild and Scenic River. Flowing through the Arkansas Ozarks, the river has carved a path out of an ancient seabed, leaving bluffs of sandstone, limestone, and dolomite towering as high as 440 feet above the water. Quiet, languid pools stand between runs of swifter water, often disguising the river’s drop of over 2,000 feet during its long journey. You’ll see glens that trap noon shadows and hollows hiding curtains of ferns fed by secret waterfalls. While the Buffalo is one of the cleanest rivers in America, you should always purify its water before drinking.

Wildlife watchers frequently spot elk, white-tailed deer, mink, river otters, beavers, raccoons, opossums, bobcats, black bears, turkey vultures, black vultures, bald eagles and osprey. Eastern elk, exterminated in the 1840s, were replaced with Rocky Mountain elk in 1981, and the herd has been growing slowly ever since.

Buffalo National River Wilderness is divided into three sections (all managed by the National Park Service). The Upper Buffalo Unit adjoins Upper Buffalo Wilderness (managed by Ozark National Forest). Here you’ll find the river at its wildest and most primitive. From Ponca to below Kyles Landing, a distance of 11 miles, the Ponca Unit protects the most used section of the river. Watch for storms: the river has been known to rise 25 feet in 24 hours. The Lower Buffalo Unit is the largest, stretching from Buffalo Point Ranger Station to the town of Buffalo City on the White River, a distance of 32 miles. Here the water runs smooth and has few human visitors. The Lower Buffalo Unit adjoins Leatherwood Wilderness (managed by Ozark National Forest). Several trails provide access from the river into the Wilderness areas. The Buffalo River Trail winds along scenic overlooks and through isolated forestland. Hiking on the upper trail is strenuous. Camping is allowed anywhere in the Wilderness.

Recreational Opportunities

Opportunities exist for canoeing, hiking, and horseback riding in the three wilderness units. There are no maintained trails in the Upper Buffalo unit. The Ponca unit has an extensive network of maintained trails and primitive routes. The Lower Buffalo unit has an extensive network of primitive routes, and one maintained loop trail. Some of the caves within Wilderness are closed for part or all of the year to protect endangered bats or sensitive cave features. The Ponca and Lower Buffalo units have extensive abandoned underground mine workings. Because of their instability, all of the abandoned mines within the park are closed to visitation.

Climate and Special Equipment Needs

The climate in north Arkansas is quite variable. In winter temperatures typically reach lows in the teens, with below zero weather being uncommon. Summer temperatures are typically in the 90's with temperatures over 100F being fairly common. Humidity can always be expected to be high in the spring and summer. Ticks, chiggers, and mosquitos are also fairly common in the warmer months, but ticks can be found during any month.

Safety and Current Conditions

All caves and mines in the wilderness areas are closed to entry. This is to prevent the spread of White Nose Syndrome to the bats that inhabit these features, and to protect visitors from the hazards associated with abandoned mines.

The January 2009 ice storm caused a great deal of damage to the forest in the park. Extra care should be taken in travelling and especially when setting up camp as many large hanging limbs still exist in the canopy and may come down at any time.

The park is open to hunting, be aware of current hunting seasons. Weather is highly variable. Current and forecast weather can be accessed from numerous internet weather sites. Zip code 72636 is centrally located.

River access and water levels can be accessed from the park website.

For current information, contact the park headquarters at 870-365-2700.