AY Magazine
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Arkansas’ Buffalo River: A National Treasure
By Joe David RiceFebruary 25, 2022
Fifty-one years ago this month, I took my first canoe trip on the Buffalo River, a three-day, two-night adventure that ended at the old Buffalo River State Park southeast of Yellville. A little more than five decades later, I can vividly recall paddling for hour after hour hard against a bone-chilling wind that always seemed to be blowing upstream, and then struggling to stay warm in a sleeping bag that was far better suited to a summer excursion. Yet that chilly journey — with memories of incredibly clear water, noisy shoals, towering bluffs and too many stars to count — remains one of the highlights of my life.
The 2,500-acre Buffalo River State Park, along with the much smaller Lost Valley State Park, were absorbed into the Buffalo National River, a brand-new unit of America’s national park system, in 1972. Stretching eastward some 135 miles from the Boston Mountains to the stream’s confluence with the White River, this 95,000-acre corridor is among the true gems of the Natural State.
Canoeists discovered the Buffalo in the 1960s, although it was already known by a select few. One of them was Ray Bergman, a long-time editor with Outdoor Life magazine. In his 1942 classic, Fresh-Water Bass, Bergman recounts a memorable fishing trip down the stream:
“The Buffalo River flows through a valley of soul-inspiring scenery. Each bed of the stream brings forth new beauties of unusual distinction. In all my travels from coast to coast, I have never witnessed more impressive beauty that can be found in the Buffalo River of Arkansas.”
But much of this scenery was nearly lost to a pair of reservoirs planned since the late 1930s by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. The outbreak of World War II temporarily halted the projects, but the proposed dams resurfaced in the early 1960s. A heated struggle developed between vocal supporters of the impoundments and equally vocal proponents of a free-flowing Buffalo River, a conflict that eventually involved such political notables as Supreme Court Justice William O. Douglas, Arkansas Gov. Orval Faubus, Congressman John Paul Hammerschmidt, Sen. J. William Fulbright, and even President Richard Nixon. And it birthed The Ozark Society, an organization that half a century later continues to address key environmental issues in Arkansas and adjacent states. For a blow-by-blow account of this fateful controversy, spend some time with The Battle for the Buffalo River, Dr. Neil Compton’s 481-page record of a clutch conservation victory.
Today, as a result of that historic win, some 800,000 visitors annually enjoy the Buffalo in one fashion or another: hiking along the 100-mile trails system; riding horseback; camping; overnighting in a CCC cabin; skipping rocks; birding; and, of course, paddling beneath those sheer bluffs. Tens of thousands of memories have been made because of countless Buffalo River experiences over the years. As a special feature to mark the 50th anniversary of the Buffalo National River, AY About You asked a handful of people to share some of their thoughts and recollections, and the responses can be found below.