Lived out West for nearly a decade after my time in the Army but I'm Northeast Arkansas native here, always been at awe of the beauty and power of nature that our state showcases. My hometown of Pocahontas feeds the floodplains east to Crowley's Ridge and the Mississippi River thanks to the 5 rivers we have here in Randolph County. The west side of town is a gateway to the Ozarks, with rolling hills and bluffs shooting up just across the Black River with many caves and beautiful views from their peaks. There's many reasons why I decided to come back home to Arkansas, the nature and outdoor lifestyle are how people should be living, not surrounded by concrete jungles.
I have been to dozens of National Parks and forests all over the country. The Buffalo has something about it that I love. A three day float will change everything. Absolutely wonderful. I love it so much I moved to St. Joe, AR!
I was able to canoe the lower section a few years back in the fall. I want to do that again- hopefully when my son gets home from overseas. At any rate, glad I found your channel!
Moved from Iowa in 78 to Mountain Home. The Buffalo was one of the best reasons to live here! There are a lot of cool trails and trees, elk, hippies, and camping !
Ha, we've been wondering how long it would take for someone to ask for Oklahoma coverage. We definitely plan to cover that area but it's a longer-term project since it's farther from our base and we want to make sure we cover core areas first. There's just so much to cover and we can only dedicate so much time, a constant frustration for us. But hey, if we ruin the Buffalo River by drawing too many people there, maybe you're next!
I grew up visiting family in Rudy, Arkansas and playing in Frog Creek. That creek was good for fishing and Indian arrowheads. At flood stage, the creek was a river with a depth no one can understand! I am not sure tourist from the West Coast can handle those extremes. But if they relocate, I know of a bunch of houses that are built on old cemeteries. I am not kidding! It is so weird driving down a road you have used for 40+ years and notice a new house on the family cemetery!
Yeah, that's a tough one. We have an obscure family cemetery on our place, too, just rows of rough-rock head/footstones with no carvings or other info. Deep in what's now woods again and it'd be easy to miss if you didn't know how to read the signs. A lot of them are supposed to be registered with the county or another entity, but that often doesn't happen or no one bothers to check.
This title reminded me of a scenic point near Jasper called the Arkansas Grand Canyon lol.. It was actually the first spot I stopped at during my first trip to the Ozarks to visit with family up in Harrison.. Its a nice little spot honestly lol.
To our viewers: We have had to remove responses from the user TRUUTAH60559 before due to personal attacks and false claims; it appears they've also removed some of the more egregious attacks. After some discussion, we're leaving a recent comment up as evidence of their behavior. Further abuse may result in blocking this person from the channel altogether. We'd really rather not do that but are tired of playing whack-a-mole with repeated abusive and false commenting behavior. We're posting this comment separately, rather than as a response, to ensure it remains as a future warning if the commenter removes more of their own comments as has happened before when called on their behavior. The latest comment in question contains two blatant falsehoods: (1) That the commenter can somehow guarantee arranging backcountry permits independent of the official NPS system, which operates by rules and application success rates we clearly and accurately describe. Our statements can be fact-checked by visiting the NPS Grand Canyon backcountry site; we also included multiple screenshots from this official source in the video. The permit application process rightly applies to everyone for fairness. (2) That we work for "the state" as some kind of undercover tourism promoter. Neither of us works for any Ozark state (MO, AR, or OK) or have any promotional arrangement with any such agency, though we have worked for Federal agencies (USGS, NPS) in the past, and are now self-employed. This is an especially ludicrous claim since we're based in Missouri but the video in question promotes Arkansas. Any further posting approaching doxxing will result in an immediate ban from the channel.
I've been there several times, but I usually put in on the White river and travel to the mouth of the Buffalo and then go up into it. The fishing is good and I'm usually alone during the fall.
That's a fun plan, and especially good for fishing, but will only let you follow the valley so far upriver unless you plan on doing a lot of dragging/portaging through riffles. We were most interested in following a longer route, so floated/paddled down instead. But we did enjoy popping out onto the White and going downriver to the next ramp.
From a poem : " I took the road less traveled by,- and that has made all the difference." Robert Frost, The Road Not Taken and Other Poems" The Buffalo river is a great place to visit and not as crowded as the national parks. Places like the Grand Canyon and Devil's Tower are worth seeing but are overcrowded. Devil's Tower parking is very limited .Many state parks like Custer State park in South Dakota is a good alternative the Bad Lands National Park nearby .Custer state park has great views and a huge herd of Buffalo and Pronghorn antelope. It is worth a look .
The Park service sucks but Ar. Is still beautiful with a lot of history to be discovered. The lifestyle and environment is a wonderful welcome compared to a lot of places with a higher rating.
I hope you got to hike to Hemmed-in Hollow Falls from Horseshoe Bend. It's the tallest waterfall between the Rockies and the Appalachians if I'm not mistaken. So beautiful, although, I'm not sure if it would be flowing in November.
We've certainly been there; one of us grew up not far away and it's one of our favorite Ozark places. Conditions were pretty dry the November this video was filmed, and I doubt the falls themselves were overly impressive, though the amphitheater certainly is. We didn't make it on the trip featured here since Hemmed-in Hollow is along the upper Buffalo and we focused on the lower river this time.
As a hunter myself, I hear you. But I also want to call out bad behavior because it reflects on the rest of us and has the potential to undermine hunting rights and access. It's unfortunate that most of us will never notice respectful hunters.
In 1974 I got lucky. Knew some people who had a permit. One person backed out. Leaving room for me. We spent a few nights on the bottom. Swimming in the falls. I was 17. Will never forget it. Highly recommend the donkey ride back out. 😂
Good for you they rejected your application. The Buffalo is one of the best things on this planet. A special benefit for those pulling out in Buffalo City, where the Buffalo and the White make crossing quite challenging.
Locals trash Arkansas natural areas , shame . We have a beautiful state , . I live in the Ouachitas. There is alot to see in our state. From.the deltas to the hills and forest . Help keep Arkansas natural.
It's our mission to encourage viewers to appreciate our Ozark landscape (and beyond)! The Ouachitas are wonderful, too. Eventually we'll do some filming down there as well, if nothing else because their geologic story is tied up with that of the Ozarks.
Hey .. look at Forest City Ark.. what cause of the rise of the over 600foot rise in the Middle of the flat plane.. was it cause by the 1812 earthquake. ? ?? I'm just asking .. it puzzles me and I know that the land scape was changed overnight.. I'm a scientist of machine..but love Geo.
That's Crowley's Ridge, a feature that extends far up the middle of the Mississippi floodplain. The Wikipedia article has a good summary but basically it's old high ground isolated by the changing Mississippi River channels (possibly even a large river island chain at some point); there's also evidence that tectonic activity has played a part. It may have been affected by the 1812 quakes but it wasn't created by them.
Just got back from the canyon! Man what a special place! Nothing else like it in the world even comes close! Place was empty! I didn’t see one human for 5 days on my solo trip. I can’t wait to go back in November!
Help Arkansas save the buffalo river from our governor!! She is trying to destroy it! They are trying to change the river status so they can take minerals and rocks for profit! 😢
NA!!! you don't want to come here, ther are spiders, ticks snakes, cyotes, deer running rampent , skunks, and bears. juts to name a few of the critters and two lakes. Stay away
We hear you, we really do! It's a tough balance to strike, trying to help people better understand and appreciate a region while also not calling too much attention to it.
Also like to point out that this info isn’t accurate. You said you have to fax in permit and kinda scoffed at em because you can’t do this online. 100% wrong it’s all online, I thought you would of mentioned that since you posted in 2024.
Some of your previous comments have been removed for tone and content. We're not going to provide a platform for consistent rudeness, mockery, or incivility. It's quite easy to share differing perspectives with an open mind rather than through attacks. As to this specific criticism, it was fax or snail mail only through 2023, the relevant time frame for this video; NPS finally added a digital option for 2024. The fax/mail system has been the subject of complaints for years. The digital option streamlines some aspects, but won't relieve the collective pressure on the permit system, with its approval rates as low as 40% in popular months (see NPS graph in video around 1:30). It also doesn't change the required 5-month pre-application period, which makes travel planning difficult for many people. This isn't a future guide for how to go to the Grand Canyon in 2024; it's a retrospective story on how choosing more off-the-beaten path destinations can have compensating benefits as opposed to highly visited ones. We've both worked at major National Parks and have an inside perspective into how difficult it is to juggle management with accessibility (as acknowledged in the video), but it's still the case that bureaucracy and crowding create barriers to visitation that can be balanced by seeking out alternative destinations.
Exactly so why wouldn’t you seek out different options at the canyon? It’s a big park and tons of options. You can tell me all you want about graphs and statistics but I’m telling you from actually doing not personally I’ve never been denied a permit going from October to March. And yea they do have rules and limit people to certain numbers, do you have any idea what that place would look like if it was a free for all?? Your video you come off as just mocking the whole system and act like you have a better idea how to run it. And it’s funny never heard one person complain about old permit system having to fax or mail, I personally liked that and added to experience, if you went to phantom ranch would you complain that that you could snail mail something by mule and ask why they don’t have a computer to email? I’ll be enjoying the canyon very soon and can’t wait! You enjoy the Ozarks!
Ok I have a question, if it’s 40% approval rate for peak months is that for the whole park?? Or what sites or zones are guy talking about. You leave out so much information. This video seems like click bait, your channel is all about the Ozarks but then you come out bashing the Grand Canyon and then saying how great and convenient the Ozarks are. There is a reason it’s empty and so easy to go to.
Hahaha so having a thumbnail and title bashing one of the 7 natural wonders of the world isn’t click bait???? These 2 are just entitled babies who have no idea how to plan a trip to the Grand Canyon, and just had to make a video crying about it. It’s click bait and they probably work for the state trying to get people to come visit that lame place. Tunnel vision in the trees with little itty bitty baby hills. You guys enjoy
Anybody watching this and wants a permit to the Grand Canyon, dm me, I’ll get a permit for whatever dates and wherever you want to hike. This guy works for the state trying to bring tourism to the Ozarks because numbers are down and no one wants go. Amazing what you can find on the internet. 😉
Please report destruction or misuse of our national parks, as well as illegal hunting or fishing activies to the local Park Rangers. (Take pics and send gps coordinates.) Thanks very much. Together, we can ensure that our beautiful parklands are protected for future generations to enjoy. 💚
Lived out West for nearly a decade after my time in the Army but I'm Northeast Arkansas native here, always been at awe of the beauty and power of nature that our state showcases. My hometown of Pocahontas feeds the floodplains east to Crowley's Ridge and the Mississippi River thanks to the 5 rivers we have here in Randolph County. The west side of town is a gateway to the Ozarks, with rolling hills and bluffs shooting up just across the Black River with many caves and beautiful views from their peaks. There's many reasons why I decided to come back home to Arkansas, the nature and outdoor lifestyle are how people should be living, not surrounded by concrete jungles.
Welcome home! One of our core visions for the channel is to help people appreciate and respect this fantastic region. Glad you found us.
I have been to dozens of National Parks and forests all over the country. The Buffalo has something about it that I love. A three day float will change everything. Absolutely wonderful. I love it so much I moved to St. Joe, AR!
It's a truly wonderful setting. Thanks for watching!
I was able to canoe the lower section a few years back in the fall. I want to do that again- hopefully when my son gets home from overseas. At any rate, glad I found your channel!
We hope you and your son can share that! We were once able to canoe a stretch of the lower Buffalo with parents and it's a fond memory.
I missed the Buffalo last year. Definitely need to put it on my list for this summer. It's amazingly beautiful and fun!
Moved from Iowa in 78 to Mountain Home. The Buffalo was one of the best reasons to live here! There are a lot of cool trails and trees, elk, hippies, and camping !
Heck of a storm the other night. Salem got it pretty good, not like mnt home.
@yep-sb4uf Yes sir. I hope you're safe and your electrics on.
I'll blame the tornado on Biden.
Trump 2024!
I might have to move the Buffalo River higher up on my bucket list. Thanks for the video!
And we only covered the lower portion! The upper is, if anything, more spectacular.
Love the content! Cover some of the Oklahoma Ozarks sometime please! It can be tough finding geo info on NE Oklahoma since we don't hold the oil lol.
Ha, we've been wondering how long it would take for someone to ask for Oklahoma coverage. We definitely plan to cover that area but it's a longer-term project since it's farther from our base and we want to make sure we cover core areas first. There's just so much to cover and we can only dedicate so much time, a constant frustration for us. But hey, if we ruin the Buffalo River by drawing too many people there, maybe you're next!
I grew up visiting family in Rudy, Arkansas and playing in Frog Creek. That creek was good for fishing and Indian arrowheads. At flood stage, the creek was a river with a depth no one can understand! I am not sure tourist from the West Coast can handle those extremes. But if they relocate, I know of a bunch of houses that are built on old cemeteries. I am not kidding! It is so weird driving down a road you have used for 40+ years and notice a new house on the family cemetery!
Yeah, that's a tough one. We have an obscure family cemetery on our place, too, just rows of rough-rock head/footstones with no carvings or other info. Deep in what's now woods again and it'd be easy to miss if you didn't know how to read the signs. A lot of them are supposed to be registered with the county or another entity, but that often doesn't happen or no one bothers to check.
Shush! You’re gonna tell everybody and ruin it.
LOL, we thought about that.
@@ozarkoutsiderno really. Stop talking about it. 😂
Same here, the Buffalo is my backyard. Don’t be tellin’ folks about it!!!
Exactly!!
This title reminded me of a scenic point near Jasper called the Arkansas Grand Canyon lol.. It was actually the first spot I stopped at during my first trip to the Ozarks to visit with family up in Harrison.. Its a nice little spot honestly lol.
I grew up in the Current River Valley of Missouri. Very beautiful river. The Buffalo is just as spectacular.
We agree!
Im 7 mile from the Buffalo. It’s a hidden 💎. Absolutely gorgeous
Saline County, sshhhhh... moved here 16 years ago, Best Place Ever... Arkansas and her people are Awesome !!
One of my favorite places in the country and I have been to many western national parks.
Good choice for your trip & thanks for sharing your experiences!
Shhhhhh - one of the best kept secrets in the world
Thank you for height lighting this park. I’ve never heard it before and now it intrigues me. I hope to be able to bring some friends here.
You're welcome; don't bring too many!
To our viewers: We have had to remove responses from the user TRUUTAH60559 before due to personal attacks and false claims; it appears they've also removed some of the more egregious attacks. After some discussion, we're leaving a recent comment up as evidence of their behavior. Further abuse may result in blocking this person from the channel altogether. We'd really rather not do that but are tired of playing whack-a-mole with repeated abusive and false commenting behavior. We're posting this comment separately, rather than as a response, to ensure it remains as a future warning if the commenter removes more of their own comments as has happened before when called on their behavior.
The latest comment in question contains two blatant falsehoods:
(1) That the commenter can somehow guarantee arranging backcountry permits independent of the official NPS system, which operates by rules and application success rates we clearly and accurately describe. Our statements can be fact-checked by visiting the NPS Grand Canyon backcountry site; we also included multiple screenshots from this official source in the video. The permit application process rightly applies to everyone for fairness.
(2) That we work for "the state" as some kind of undercover tourism promoter. Neither of us works for any Ozark state (MO, AR, or OK) or have any promotional arrangement with any such agency, though we have worked for Federal agencies (USGS, NPS) in the past, and are now self-employed. This is an especially ludicrous claim since we're based in Missouri but the video in question promotes Arkansas. Any further posting approaching doxxing will result in an immediate ban from the channel.
I've been there several times, but I usually put in on the White river and travel to the mouth of the Buffalo and then go up into it. The fishing is good and I'm usually alone during the fall.
That's a fun plan, and especially good for fishing, but will only let you follow the valley so far upriver unless you plan on doing a lot of dragging/portaging through riffles. We were most interested in following a longer route, so floated/paddled down instead. But we did enjoy popping out onto the White and going downriver to the next ramp.
I loved the fade out when you announced the decision. Well done!
Thanks, that approach seemed to capture how we felt at the time...
From a poem : " I took the road less traveled by,- and that has made all the difference." Robert Frost, The Road Not Taken and Other Poems" The Buffalo river is a great place to visit and not as crowded as the national parks. Places like the Grand Canyon and Devil's Tower are worth seeing but are overcrowded. Devil's Tower parking is very limited .Many state parks like Custer State park in South Dakota is a good alternative the Bad Lands National Park nearby .Custer state park has great views and a huge herd of Buffalo and Pronghorn antelope. It is worth a look .
The upper Buffalo is a very unique float, we did several 5 day floats.
The river rocks! The bluffs!
The Ozarks are amazing.
The Park service sucks but Ar. Is still beautiful with a lot of history to be discovered. The lifestyle and environment is a wonderful welcome compared to a lot of places with a higher rating.
I hope you got to hike to Hemmed-in Hollow Falls from Horseshoe Bend. It's the tallest waterfall between the Rockies and the Appalachians if I'm not mistaken. So beautiful, although, I'm not sure if it would be flowing in November.
We've certainly been there; one of us grew up not far away and it's one of our favorite Ozark places. Conditions were pretty dry the November this video was filmed, and I doubt the falls themselves were overly impressive, though the amphitheater certainly is. We didn't make it on the trip featured here since Hemmed-in Hollow is along the upper Buffalo and we focused on the lower river this time.
As someone who hunts north Arkansas near the Buffalo, please don't let those handful of jerk hunters speak for the rest of us.
As a hunter myself, I hear you. But I also want to call out bad behavior because it reflects on the rest of us and has the potential to undermine hunting rights and access. It's unfortunate that most of us will never notice respectful hunters.
I am a Missourian. The Ozarks need to be more well known!
We agree!
In 1974 I got lucky. Knew some people who had a permit. One person backed out. Leaving room for me. We spent a few nights on the bottom. Swimming in the falls. I was 17. Will never forget it. Highly recommend the donkey ride back out. 😂
LOL, we had been debating whether to use the mules for baggage or be purists and carry it all ourselves. Glad you got to go!
That sure looks like Bumpers Falls at 5:22
Watch out for ticks and chiggers........they are everywhere
Definitely have to make it to the Ouachita mountains next
Good for you they rejected your application. The Buffalo is one of the best things on this planet. A special benefit for those pulling out in Buffalo City, where the Buffalo and the White make crossing quite challenging.
Hope you got to see Kyle’s Landing
Locals trash Arkansas natural areas , shame .
We have a beautiful state , .
I live in the Ouachitas. There is alot to see in our state.
From.the deltas to the hills and forest .
Help keep Arkansas natural.
It's our mission to encourage viewers to appreciate our Ozark landscape (and beyond)! The Ouachitas are wonderful, too. Eventually we'll do some filming down there as well, if nothing else because their geologic story is tied up with that of the Ozarks.
Awesome Narrative!! I have no interest in the "Big Ditch". Other water are way more interesting in my path of travels. Thanks for the information!
We can't go that far, the rock sequence alone would be well worth it for us. But we agree there are a lot of cool rivers out there.
Hey .. look at Forest City Ark.. what cause of the rise of the over 600foot rise in the Middle of the flat plane.. was it cause by the 1812 earthquake. ? ?? I'm just asking .. it puzzles me and I know that the land scape was changed overnight.. I'm a scientist of machine..but love Geo.
That's Crowley's Ridge, a feature that extends far up the middle of the Mississippi floodplain. The Wikipedia article has a good summary but basically it's old high ground isolated by the changing Mississippi River channels (possibly even a large river island chain at some point); there's also evidence that tectonic activity has played a part. It may have been affected by the 1812 quakes but it wasn't created by them.
Just got back from the canyon! Man what a special place! Nothing else like it in the world even comes close! Place was empty! I didn’t see one human for 5 days on my solo trip.
I can’t wait to go back in November!
Don't tell everybody
Man that's solid bigfoot country. Count yourself lucky you didn't have an experience.
Arkansas is better trust me
Buffalo River valley has a lot more wildlife, not as much white water as Colorado River, but more interesting IMHO.
better camp next to a tall hill flash flood,s can catch even the most experienced
Help Arkansas save the buffalo river from our governor!! She is trying to destroy it! They are trying to change the river status so they can take minerals and rocks for profit! 😢
Huckleberry Sucks. From an Arkansas resident.
Sarah Sanders greatest governor in America
NA!!! you don't want to come here, ther are spiders, ticks snakes, cyotes, deer running rampent , skunks, and bears. juts to name a few of the critters and two lakes. Stay away
Don't forget chiggers!
Ease don't bring more people to my home State. Please I beg of you.
We hear you, we really do! It's a tough balance to strike, trying to help people better understand and appreciate a region while also not calling too much attention to it.
Stay away . We want to keep to the way it is . Less people better off . Stay out go away
I had to decide between both of those locations too... because I'm a child of divorce.
Also like to point out that this info isn’t accurate. You said you have to fax in permit and kinda scoffed at em because you can’t do this online. 100% wrong it’s all online, I thought you would of mentioned that since you posted in 2024.
Some of your previous comments have been removed for tone and content. We're not going to provide a platform for consistent rudeness, mockery, or incivility. It's quite easy to share differing perspectives with an open mind rather than through attacks.
As to this specific criticism, it was fax or snail mail only through 2023, the relevant time frame for this video; NPS finally added a digital option for 2024. The fax/mail system has been the subject of complaints for years. The digital option streamlines some aspects, but won't relieve the collective pressure on the permit system, with its approval rates as low as 40% in popular months (see NPS graph in video around 1:30). It also doesn't change the required 5-month pre-application period, which makes travel planning difficult for many people.
This isn't a future guide for how to go to the Grand Canyon in 2024; it's a retrospective story on how choosing more off-the-beaten path destinations can have compensating benefits as opposed to highly visited ones. We've both worked at major National Parks and have an inside perspective into how difficult it is to juggle management with accessibility (as acknowledged in the video), but it's still the case that bureaucracy and crowding create barriers to visitation that can be balanced by seeking out alternative destinations.
Exactly so why wouldn’t you seek out different options at the canyon? It’s a big park and tons of options. You can tell me all you want about graphs and statistics but I’m telling you from actually doing not personally I’ve never been denied a permit going from October to March.
And yea they do have rules and limit people to certain numbers, do you have any idea what that place would look like if it was a free for all?? Your video you come off as just mocking the whole system and act like you have a better idea how to run it. And it’s funny never heard one person complain about old permit system having to fax or mail, I personally liked that and added to experience, if you went to phantom ranch would you complain that that you could snail mail something by mule and ask why they don’t have a computer to email?
I’ll be enjoying the canyon very soon and can’t wait! You enjoy the Ozarks!
Ok I have a question, if it’s 40% approval rate for peak months is that for the whole park?? Or what sites or zones are guy talking about. You leave out so much information. This video seems like click bait, your channel is all about the Ozarks but then you come out bashing the Grand Canyon and then saying how great and convenient the Ozarks are. There is a reason it’s empty and so easy to go to.
You definitely aren't click bait OO.
Hahaha so having a thumbnail and title bashing one of the 7 natural wonders of the world isn’t click bait???? These 2 are just entitled babies who have no idea how to plan a trip to the Grand Canyon, and just had to make a video crying about it.
It’s click bait and they probably work for the state trying to get people to come visit that lame place. Tunnel vision in the trees with little itty bitty baby hills. You guys enjoy
Anybody watching this and wants a permit to the Grand Canyon, dm me, I’ll get a permit for whatever dates and wherever you want to hike.
This guy works for the state trying to bring tourism to the Ozarks because numbers are down and no one wants go. Amazing what you can find on the internet. 😉
Please report destruction or misuse of our national parks, as well as illegal hunting or fishing activies to the local Park Rangers. (Take pics and send gps coordinates.) Thanks very much. Together, we can ensure that our beautiful parklands are protected for future generations to enjoy. 💚
We did report these issues. But keep in mind that the NPS is stretched extremely thin in most places.
@@ozarkoutsider -
Thanks! ❤️