Ozark Mountains, AR: The Pig Trails

The Pig Trails are to North Western Arkansas what Palomar Mountain is to Southern California, what the Blue Ridge Parkway is to North Carolina, what the Million Dollar Highway is to Colorado.  It's some of the best motorcycle riding the area has to offer.

But instead of just being one stretch of highway, the Pig Trails are a network of roads that criss-cross the Ozark National Forest.  They twist and wind through the canyons and valleys of the Ozark Mountains, past tiny hamlets, up and down the grades, and through miles of breathtaking scenery.  It's a motorcyclist's dream.

Despite the weather forecast calling for a 30% chance of rain, Sash and I didn't at once think about possible precipitation.  We simply enjoyed mostly sunny skies and temperatures in the mid-80s.  With the swaths of summer wildflower color bordering both sides of the road, there were also excellent road conditions with endless runs of smooth pavement.

We had first stopped in the town of Harrison, where we met Sherry at the Arkansas Visitors Center, who gave us recommendations on places to eat and things to see.  From there, we pulled into Neighbors' Diner, a tiny little cafe, that according to Sherry, offered the best representation of local cooking.

Our choice through the Ozarks was Highway 123, a recommendation of one of our readers, Mike (@pstmstr), beginning in the north at the town of Western Grove and then to the town of Sand Gap in the middle of the Forest, where we switched over to Highway 7, continuing south to Russellville.

And Highway 123 started out easy enough, with sweeping curves that you could really lay the bike into.  There were places where the road descended, and right at the bottom it would make a turn, where it then climbed back up.  It seemed you could never hit the throttle hard enough when you hit a turn.


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Right where Highway 123 hits the northern border of the Ozark National Forest, everything changes.  The road becomes more narrow while the turns become more sharp.  20mph curves tightened into 15mph curves, which then tightened into 10mph curves.  And as the curves zig-zagged up the mountain side, they presented steep inclines, forcing a rider like Sash to really dig down deep into her beginner's skill set.

But Sash held up well, taking the sharp curves with a "can-do" attitude, while Katie Scarlet responded to her inputs with a combination of spunk and restraint found in a three year-old filly.

At Sand Gap, we found a reprieve from the mid-day sun in the form of a country store and a couple cold bottles of water.  After a breather, I noticed the tread on my rear tire had ground itself down to the steel belt on the left side.  But the timing was good because from here on out, we'd jump on Highway 7, an easier road with wider curves that wouldn't demand so much from my set of Michelins.

By the time we got into Russellville, the scenery did a complete 180 degree turn.  Where we once saw miles and miles of trees, hills, and empty highway, we saw cars, chains restaurants, and Interstate.

We pulled into our motel for the night, and never ventured out, opting to relish the air conditioning and the soft bed.

The next day, we would go the opposite direction, 200 miles of Interstate 40 towards Memphis.

Wildflowers adorn the highways through the Ozark National Forest

Beautiful vistas across valleys and canyons

Tiny towns found interspersed throughout the Ozark National Forest

Tighter curves and more technical riding along the Pig Trails

This sign from the Republicans found erected in response to another sign earlier by the Democrats.

Sash and Sherry sharing a photographic moment at the Arkansas Welcome Center, Harrison, AR

Neighbor's Diner, Harrison, AR

Posted by Anonymous at 8:09 AM

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Labels: Arkansas

Location: Russellville, AR, USA