In the '80s and '90s, Arkansas, as with many states, had lots of good 4WD trails. There were many old farm and logging roads in the Ozark National Forest in the northwest part of the state, while in the Quachita Mountains of southwestern Arkansas, huge tracks of private land were open to recreational four-wheelers. Unfortunately, the Forest Service closed most of the challenging public trails in the Ozarks, while the timber and mining companies closed most of the Quachita trails. In both places, local four-wheelers decided to invest their time and money in preserving and developing great places to 'wheel.
The Ozark Mountains
In northwest Arkansas, the Rock Crawlers 4x4 Club worked diligently to keep public lands open, but the Forest Service continued to close many of the club's favorite (difficult) trails. But what could have been a disaster for the four-wheelers actually brought about unexpected growth and developed a stronger partnership with the owners of Byrd's Adventure Center. The adventure-center campground is surrounded by the Ozark National Forest and Ozark Highlands Hiking Trail and is the traditional base camp for Rock Crawler events. The camp, nestled beside the Mulberry River, caters to canoers, kayakers, rockclimbers, mountain bikers, dirt bikers, ATV enthusiasts, and four-wheelers. However, the Rock Crawler's Roctoberfest is one of the adventure center's biggest and most profitable events. Naturally, the owners didn't want to lose the hard-core four-wheelers' business for lack of challenging trails. So Ma Byrd asked the Rock Crawlers to develop an obstacle course on the center's spacious property.
The Rock Crawlers worked many weekends, designing and building a challenging obstacle course that includes a huge rock garden, hill climbs, a mud course, a log crawl, and a forest maze. Each year, the 4x4 club expands the course. Now, many OHV organizations, including major national 4x4 competitions, such as Ramsey's National Off Road Challenge and Sports in the Rough's 4x4 Wars, use the Adventure Center year-round for 4x4 competition events. The events quickly outgrew the center's restrooms and showers, so the club provided the labor to build larger facilities. The club has a topnotch obstacle course, which brings in hundreds of four-wheelers and even more observers. Now the campground owners have so much business, they had to give up their hay field for overflow parking.
The Quachita Mountains
Off-roaders have been 'wheeling the logging roads, power-line right-of-ways, and mining areas around Hot Springs since the late-'70s. Over the years, local 4WD clubs and larger groups, such as Jeepers Jamboree and Super Lift's 4xAdventure, developed an unofficial trail system on nonposted private land. Unfortunately, in 1999, the major landowner closed access to the trails and put the property up for sale.
In 2001, a group of four-wheel-drive enthusiasts purchased a large tract of the land and formed the Superlift Off-Road-Vehicle (ORV) Park. The property encompasses many of the favorite 4x4 challenges, including Concrete Hill, Quicksand Hill, White Rock, and Rock and Hard Spot, plus miles and miles of logging roads. The new owners have invested plenty of time and money into developing the 1,254-acre ORV park, and they now sell annual memberships and weekend passes. Corporations, OHV clubs, and competition organizers rent the park for their events.
The property is located near scenic Hot Springs National Park and Panther Valley Guest Ranch. To preserve the park's natural beauty, the owners have kept unsightly bulldozer work to a minimum by merely thinning the trees to extend the old logging roads. The way the trails loop and crisscross, there are more miles of scenic and moderately challenging trails than a typical 'wheeler can cover in a weekend. It would actually take several weekends to work through all the tough trails. The investors keep the brush trimmed out of the trails and away from the mountaintop overlooks, so the vistas are stunning, especially in the spring and fall.
Recently, we went to one of the O'Reilly Auto Parts/BFGoodrich Rock-N-Roll Challenges at Superlift ORV Park. When we registered, we received arm bands and trail maps. The trails are marked at intersections, with signs depicting Jeeps, dirt bikes, and ATVs. Below each symbol, a scale of one to five diamonds was found, with one diamond indicating an easy trail and five diamonds being very difficult. The diamond ratings helped drivers determine which trails matched their off-road driving skills and vehicles' capabilities. The Superlift Park has a variety of trail types: easy/scenic, hill climbs (both finesse and horsepower), mud pits, and rock gardens. Some trails are shared, while other trails restrict one or more types of vehicle. The trails loop and interconnect; some trails are easy in one direction and challenging in the opposite direction. The competition rockcrawling courses are difficult, even for competition rigs.
It's easy for novice drivers and people in stock 4x4s to detour around challenging routes. Most of the challenging obstacles are only a short walk from easy trails, so it's common for crowds to gather at the high-challenge obstacles to watch the tough trucks play, especially during competition events.
The O'Reilly/BFGoodrich Rock-N-Roll Challenge, a four-event series, is a typical rockcrawling and wood-racing competition at the Superlift Park. Each event offers two courses: one for 4x4s with tires smaller than 36 inches, and another for rigs with tires larger than 37 inches. Competitors race against the clock through marked courses, zigzagging through the trees, up hills, and through rock gardens. The competitions are close to parking, a concession tailor, and the port-a-potties.
Today, Arkansas has two fine private OHV areas. Byrd's Adventure Center is remote and rustic, with a world-class obstacle course. There are also scenic and moderately challenging trails in the surrounding Ozark National Forest. Superlift's OHV Park is just minutes from Hot Springs, Arkansas' favorite family vacation destination. The area features motels and restaurants, amusement venues, several large lakes, RV parks, and once again, great 'wheeling.