Upper Buffalo Wilderness Trailhead

D M H

As usual for us, my wife and I "stumbled" upon this area while looking for something else. We didn't go on the trail so I can't speak for it other than looking at it from the head, it looked pretty primitive or unkept if you will. We went for a trek on a small trail to the right that passes some old structures by the base of the mountain and the field. It was there I got to hear my first elk bugle in the wild. He bellowed 4 separate times and I caught the last one on my camcorder. Hoping to catch a glimpse of him we came across the last little field that ended up at a beautiful scene at the Buffalo River. I saw by the fire ring that we were not the first here. We made our way down to the river witch was mostly dry but, just enough water to make a difficult crossing; difficult because we didn't want to get our feet wet. We enjoyed a very peaceful and serene time on the rocks to take in the magnificent beauty of the place.

Joseph Garten

I don't recommend this trail. It's definitely not for beginning hikers. For the time you would spend hiking these 11 miles you could see a lot more from the other hikes available in the area. The trails from Boxley to Ponca are not well maintained. Sometimes I had a hard time telling where the actual trail was, got off track, and had to retract. There were times when the grass was chest high or even up to my head. I ended up pulling off probably three dozen ticks off my body. I came across many trees that had been down over the trail and you had to go around, over, or through. Also you don't really get a good view of the valley or river from up there there. I had planned to run a lot of the trail with trail running shoes but the terrain didn't allow for it in several spots as previously mentioned. If you want to do the entire trail in one day I recommend starting by noon or earlier so you have plenty of time to get back before dark. There are a few places to camp along the way. I was on this trail 21 years ago and I didn't recognize it. I remembered that somewhere towards the beginning when you got up at the top or as high as the trail goes anyways there is an open area with an old farmstead type place but I didn't see it this time. Maybe that was due to me wandering off trail last time or because I was busy navigating through the swampy grass this time. I also had to take my shoes off a couple times to cross the water so I would have dry shoes. For those who are interested in the area and serious hikers I would recommend it but for the average person I would not. On a positive note there were a few ravines along the way that I enjoyed seeing.

Joshua McCormick

Trail in very rough shape and an unbelievable amount of ticks. Attempted to hike from Boxley to Kyles Landing but had to bail out due to the hundreds of ticks on each person . Trail is much cleaner from Kyles so we hiked in that way and found a primitive camp which was really nice (still some ticks). The river itself is amazing and I'd go again only for the float trip. No more Arkansas backwoods for me.

Andrew Jackson

Hands down one of the best backpacking trails in AR. Many sites to see and places to experience. I would recommend doing a day hike or two before you try to take on the whole trail. Always sign in to the trail and make sure someone else knows your schedule. Don't forget to have an exit plan, better to be safe than sorry!