RV travel in Arkansas
Arkansas punches well above its weight for RV travel. Hot Springs National Park sits at the south end of the Ouachita Mountains; the Buffalo National River cuts through limestone bluffs in the Ozarks; the Ozark and Ouachita National Forests give you a million-plus acres of free dispersed camping; and the state-park system is one of the best-run in the country. Roads are generally good, fuel is cheap, and the Bill Clinton Birthplace, Little Rock Central High, Pea Ridge, and Fort Smith add a dense set of NPS day-use stops. The catch: the Ozarks have steep, twisty back roads where a 40-ft RV will struggle, spring brings flooding to the Ouachita and Buffalo river valleys, and Arkansas sits in the heart of Tornado Alley -- the Mar-May peak is intense and the autumn secondary season (Nov) is real.
Last verified: 14 May 2026
Free RV PDF guide to Arkansas
Driving rules, RV-friendly and RV-restricted highways, NPS reservation rules, BLM and NF boondocking, propane, dump stations, weather, and emergency contacts. Save it to your phone for offline use on the road.
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Driving rules
Interstate (cars)75 mph
Interstate (trucks + towing)70 mph
US/State highway (cars)65 mph
US/State highway (towing)55-65 mph (posted)
Built-up areas25-35 mph (posted)
Drive onRight
RV passenger seatbeltsRequired for all front-seat occupants
Cell phone use while drivingTexting banned statewide; hands-free required in school and work zones
RV-friendly and RV-restricted highways
RV-friendly
I-40East-west spine through Little Rock and Fort Smith. Coast to coast. Big rigs, easy.
I-30Little Rock down to Texarkana. Standard interstate.
I-49Western Arkansas from Fort Smith to Bentonville and on into Missouri. Mostly four-lane divided; recent construction has filled in old US-71 sections.
I-55Crittenden County across to Memphis. Short stretch but heavy truck traffic.
US-65Conway up through the Ozarks to Harrison and the Buffalo NR. Four-lane in stretches, two-lane in the scenic Ozark sections. Fine for any rig but slow.
US-67Little Rock to the Missouri line. Mostly four-lane divided.
AR-7Russellville to Harrison via Jasper. Scenic Byway. Two-lane mountain road with switchbacks and 8% grades -- one of the prettiest drives in the state but not for rigs over 35 ft.
RV-restricted
AR-23 (Pig Trail Scenic Byway)Famous motorcycle road through the Ozark NF. Switchbacks every few hundred yards. Do not attempt with a trailer or anything over 28 ft.
AR-21 north of BoxleyTight, twisty, narrow shoulders. Buffalo River access road but unkind to big rigs.
Talimena National Scenic Byway (AR-88 east end)Drives the spine of the Ouachita Mountains from Mena into Oklahoma. Beautiful but steep with sustained climbs; manageable for a 30-ft RV with engine braking.
Push Mountain Road (AR-341)Locally famous for hairpins. Cars and motorcycles only -- physically possible in a small RV but a genuinely bad idea.
Mount Magazine summit (AR-309)Highest point in Arkansas. The state-park road is paved and manageable to a point, but the final summit access has tight switchbacks; trailers should park at the lower lot.
National parks and monuments
Hot Springs NPFree entry. Gulpha Gorge Campground in the park has 40 sites with electric/water/sewer hookups, reservable Mar-Nov via recreation.gov, takes rigs to 60 ft. Books up months ahead in spring and fall.
Buffalo National RiverFree entry. Multiple NPS campgrounds along the river (Tyler Bend, Buffalo Point, Ozark, Steel Creek). Buffalo Point has electric hookups; the others are dry. Reservable via recreation.gov.
Pea Ridge NMP$10/vehicle (7 days). Day-use only. Nearest RV camping at Beaver Lake or Hobbs State Park.
Fort Smith NHS$10/person (7 days). Day-use only. Multiple commercial RV parks in Fort Smith proper.
Arkansas Post NMemFree entry. Day-use only. Wilbur D. Mills Park 20 miles east takes RVs.
Central High School NHS (Little Rock)Free entry. Day-use only. Stay at Maumelle Park (USACE) or Downtown Riverside RV Park.
President William Jefferson Clinton Birthplace Home NHSFree entry. Day-use only in Hope. Crater of Diamonds State Park 30 miles north has full hookups.
Trail of Tears NHTFree (auto tour route). Auto-tour driving route. No NPS camping; state-park and commercial RV options throughout.
Boondocking and dispersed camping
BLM: Very limited BLM presence in Arkansas -- a few small parcels in the south-central and western counties, not significant for dispersed camping. Focus on national forests instead.
National Forests: Ozark-St Francis NF (north Arkansas) and Ouachita NF (west/central Arkansas) together cover 2.6 million acres and permit free dispersed camping along forest roads with a 14-day stay limit. Popular areas: Richland Creek WMA (no RVs over 25 ft on the access road), Lake Sylvia, Albert Pike (rebuilt after the 2010 flood; flood-watch-aware now), Cossatot River. Many developed NF campgrounds take rigs to 40 ft but have no hookups.
Stay limit: typically 14 days per location.
Service stops
Propane: Plentiful in Little Rock, Fort Smith, Bentonville/Rogers, Hot Springs, and along I-40 and I-30. Tractor Supply and U-Haul are reliable. Sparse in the Ozark backcountry and along the southern timber-county highways; fill at Russellville or Harrison before heading deep into the Buffalo NR area.
Dump stations: Most Arkansas State Parks have free dumps for registered guests. Flying J / Pilot truck stops on I-40 and I-30 have fee dumps. USACE lakeshore campgrounds (Beaver Lake, Greers Ferry, DeGray, Ouachita) have free dumps for guests. Sparse in the deep Ozarks -- empty before heading up AR-7 or into the Buffalo NR.
Fuel: Diesel and gas widely available along all interstates. Rural Ozark stretches on AR-7 between Russellville and Jasper, and on AR-23 through the Pig Trail, can run 30-40 miles between stations. Top up at Russellville, Harrison, Mena, or Mountain View before heading into the backcountry. Fuel prices among the lowest in the South; Texarkana and Fort Smith reliably cheapest.
Weather windows
Best monthsApril through early June, and mid-September through early November. Daytime highs 65-80 F, nights cool, leaves spectacular in the Ozarks late October.
Avoid monthsJuly and August: 90-95 F with high humidity and near-daily afternoon thunderstorms. Spring (Mar-May) is severe-weather season with tornadoes and large hail; the Arkansas River valley and the I-40 corridor are particularly active. Winter (Dec-Feb) is mild but ice storms shut down the state every 2-3 years and the Ozarks see occasional snow.
Spring flash-flood risk is severe in the Ozark and Ouachita valleys -- the 2010 Albert Pike flood killed 20 campers in a single overnight rise. Never camp on a sandbar or in a low river bend if rain is forecast upstream, even if your immediate sky is clear.
Emergency and road conditions
State patrolDial *55 from a cell phone, or 501-618-8000 for Arkansas State Police main line