Buffalo National River Trail Project (AHS)

The Buffalo River, located in northern Arkansas, is 151 miles in length, with the lower 135 miles flowing within the boundaries of an area managed by the National Park Service and designated the Buffalo National River. In 1972 it became the first national river in the United States and is one of the few remaining unpolluted, free-flowing, un-dammed rivers in the lower 48 states and offers both swift-running and placid stretches.

There are over 120 miles of hiking trails in the park, and the 26 mile section currently under construction (about 11 miles completed) runs from U.S. Highway 65 to Arkansas Highway 14 and is mainly due to the tireless efforts of Ken Smith, the author of the guidebook Buffalo River Handbook. Ken was our leader and he heads up a minimum of 6 crews per year, each working for a week or more. This trail section will link segments of the Ozark Highlands Trail and Buffalo River Trail and will ultimately connect with Missouri's Ozark Trail, creating a trail nearly 1000 miles long running from Fort Smith in southwest Arkansas to St. Louis, Missouri.

Below are a few shots of our crew at work, and at the bottom of this post is a link to a movie featuring some highlights from our week's efforts. The section we worked had been roughed-in last fall, but the weather had been wet back then and many sections located in areas with poor drainage had been skipped over, so we fine-tuned them, removing obstructing trees and boulders...



...placing gravel on areas that had been muddy last fall, raising low areas and improving drainage...



...repairing and stabilizing creek crossings to make them safe for hikers and erosion-resistant...



...widening the trail in spots by shoring up tread that was falling down the hillside...



...and constructing steps where tricky uphill slopes existed...



The area is home to black bear, herons such as the great blue, the little green, and the snowy white, woodpeckers, songbirds including finches, cardinals, mockingbirds, whip-poor-wills, wrens, and thrushes, as well as frogs and turtles and coyotes. It is also rife with poison ivy and ticks, both of which afflicted many of us.

We were given Wednesday off and offered the opportunity to hike or canoe the Buffalo. Thirteen of us chose the latter and enjoyed a magnificent day of scenic wonder around every bend in the river...



Here's the group of stalwart and dedicated trail workers (L to r, back row: Chuck, Reid, Scott, Jenny, Ray G., Steve, Duane, and Lynn; front row: Rivi, Sonja, Scott K., Ken M., Ken S., Pat, and Ray A.; not pictured: Bill and Chuck M. Click to enlarge.)



Highlights of our week's labors on the trail as well as life in camp and our 12 mile canoe trip down the Buffalo River on our day off are all documented in this brief movie...




This project was under the auspices of the American Hiking Society.

Buffalo River Handbook by Ken Smith

My other volunteer trail projects (American Hiking Society, Sierra Club, Appalachian Mountain Club, and Lake County Forest Preserve)