Driven: Arkansas 16

For enthusiasts of Ozark automotive culture, the area's beauty is also its burden. Most of the better roads are choked with plodding yokels, fiddle-farting bikers, and gawking tourists ferrying between one roadside trap and the next. Dense settlement and agriculture make it a little too hard to escape the mark of development upon the terrain.

That's why Arkansas 16 between St. Paul and Fallsville is undiscovered gold.

[Google Maps route]

The stretch connects points of little consequence, and offers little civilization in between. No stores, no gas stations. The route above is a solid 45 minutes of minimally spoiled Ozarkia. Just the basics: forests, hills, and valleys in one of the more jagged parts of the Boston Mountains.



Speaking of Boston, the Arkansas version is one signpost along the way. Like most of the drive, a polar opposite of Massachusetts version. Less than 9,000 people live in the whole of Newton County. Nice for peace of mind, but if you're in search of a party, there's not much more than a feeling to be found here, and hasn't been for a long time. Cool the engines until you're feelin' satisfied, and don't look back.



As a driver's road, it's not loaded with butt-puckering hairpins and car-swallowing ravines at pavement's edge. However, it's full of interaction from the regular changes in direction and elevation. The boon here is the light traffic and minimal lawful oversight. Set a brisk pace, and enjoy it.



Traffic: minimal, might be worse in warmer months
Driving challenge: moderate
Purty mouth: better not have one
Hippies: sometimes, but they might share
Ozarkbahn rating: Smokin'