Pig Trail Scenic Byway - Ozark National Forest, Arkansas

Pig Trail Scenic Byway

With college football back in play, weekend traffic is once again heavy on the Natural State's famed Pig Trail Scenic Byway.

The beautiful two-lane highway cuts through the Ozarks, providing a short cut from Interstate 40 at Ozark to Fayetteville, home of the state's beloved University of Arkansas Razorbacks (affectionally known as the Hogs or Pigs). Because of the large number of fans decked out in Razorback Red and the University of Arkansas banners, flags and decals that adorn the lines of cars that pass up and down the highway on football weekends, it has been affectionately (and officially) dubbed the Pig Trail.

Pig Trail Falls

Part of State Highway 22, the Pig Trail actually has a long and colorful history. It originated as an Indian trail that wound its way down out of the mountains to the present site of Ozark on the Arkansas River. Early French trappers and fur traders likely gave the region its Ozarks name (corrupted from the French expression Aux Arcs, which is thought to have referred to the great bend of the river at Ozark). They likely followed this same route up into the mountains as long ago as the 1600s.

It later became an important trail and then road for early settlers of the region and during the Civil War was used by both Union and Confederate troops.

Now part of the Ozark National Forest, the Pig Trail is one of the most beautiful fall drives in the state and is known for its stunning scenery, waterfalls and as an access route to the famed Mulberry River.

To learn more, please visit www.exploresouthernhistory.com/pigtrail.

Scenic Highway 7 Named one of Nation's Best Fall Drives

Scenic Highway 7, which leads from Louisiana all the way up through Arkansas to near the Missouri line, was listed in a report on Yahoo this week as one of the best drives in America for seeing fall colors.

Sometimes I agree with these lists and sometimes I don't, but in this case they definitely hit the nail on the head. Scenic 7 is one of the most beautiful drives in America. It also passes numerous historic sites and sections of it figure prominently in the Civil War history of Arkansas.

The section of the highway that leads through Hot Springs, for example, follows the same route that General Thayer's troops followed in 1864 as they marched south from Fort Smith to join in the Red River Campaign. Soldiers taking part in this march described passing the famed Hot Springs of the Ouachita and noted how the area, already a popular resort by that time, had been abandoned due to the war.

The drive crosses the Arkansas River at Dardanelle, scene of heavy fighting during the war. From there it leads north into the Ozarks, which were the domain of the guerrilla bands and "mountain Feds." The drive provides a great chance to see the scenery where these groups hid out and operated during the Civil War.

To learn more about the drive itself, please visit www.exploresouthernhistory.com/scenic7.

Pig Trail Scenic Byway - Arkansas

This 19 mile scenic highway passes through the Ozark National Forest in western Arkansas and provides an outstanding chance to see the mountain country of the Ozarks as it appeared to Union and Confederate soldiers that passed along the same route.

Call the Pig Trail because it has long been popular with fans of the University of Arkansas Razorbacks as they travel to and from games in Fayetteville, the scenic highway follows a route that has been used since the earliest days of settlement in Arkansas.

Brigadier General W.L. Cabell passed along this route with 900 men in 1863 on an expedition that ended at the Battle of Fayetteville. The road was used throughout the war by both regular forces and the guerrilla bands that hid deep in the mountains and emerged to strike at both regular forces and citizens holding viewpoints opposite their own.

Today the Pig Trail is one of the most beautiful roadways in Arkansas. It winds through picturesque mountain valleys and passes waterfalls, running streams, rock formations and the rolling hills of the Ozarks. To learn more, please visit www.exploresouthernhistory.com/pigtrail.