Ozark-St. Francis National Forests

Combining the 1.2-million-acre Ozark National Forest in the dramatic Ozark Highlands with the 22,600-acre St. Francis National Forest on ancient Crowley's Ridge, this administratively combined unit protects two remarkably different landscapes in Arkansas. The Ozark section features towering limestone and sandstone bluffs along clear-flowing streams, Blanchard Springs Caverns -- one of the most spectacular show caves in America -- and the 165-mile Ozark Highlands Trail traversing rugged ridges and hollows. Five wilderness areas within the Ozark division, including the Upper Buffalo, Hurricane Creek, and Richland Creek wildernesses, protect some of the most pristine headwater streams in the Ozarks, with swimming holes, waterfalls, and world-class smallmouth bass fishing. The forest's mixed hardwood and shortleaf pine stands explode with vibrant fall color each autumn, drawing visitors to scenic drives along the Pig Trail and Sylamore Creek. The St. Francis division, perched on the unique geological formation of Crowley's Ridge -- a narrow, wind-deposited loess ridge rising from the Mississippi Delta floodplain -- preserves remnant hardwood forests and provides critical habitat for migratory songbirds along the Mississippi Flyway. Together, the two forests offer hiking, horseback riding, mountain biking, canoeing, rock climbing, and some of the finest wild turkey and white-tailed deer hunting in the mid-South.