[Capt. Dan]

Originally Posted by Anna777

I am hoping to keep under a 5 hour drive to ozarks from birmingham or memphis.

Google "Dawt Mills Missouri." Beautiful place and truly representative of life in the Ozarks from 100 years ago. About a 5 hour drive from Memphis. Sorry Arkansas.

[Luvvarkansas]

Well, if you're into touristy stuff, there's always the Ozark Folk Center in Mountain View. You can just google it and see what you think.

Otherwise, I'm with the others who said the Buffalo River area in the NW corner. Kind of a long drive from Memphis, though, and most of that would be on I40. But think about going to Hwy. 7 on I40 at Russellville and going north to Jasper, then over to Ponca on 74, then to Kingston on 21, to Hwy. 23 via 74, then down 23 back to I40. Beautiful, beautiful country, and about as Ozarks as you can get. You'll also get to see the Mulberry River area on 23. Hwys. 7 and 23 are both designated scenic drives.

[Lily0fthevalley]

I once did a road trip from Fort Smith AR to Memphis (which is a really great city - and the best road trip radio anywhere in America). Then I drove up to the Land Between the Lakes recreation area - go see The Homeplace. Then back around to the Ozark Folk center in Mountain View, AR. I really LOVED the folk center - great gospel music in the evening, a really nice clean state park lodge room, and an interesting craft learning experience during the day. I still remember the spoon guy, and I still love a painting I bought there. So - DO go to Mountain View - then float down the Buffalo.

Now I want to go back!

(But if you head down to Hot Springs, detour down to Old Washington State Park - that's one of my very favorite places in the entire United States!)

[wonderlandntks1]

I had some shoppers in from Memphis the other day. They flew AirTran from Memphis into Branson (an hour from Eureka) round trip for $300. In my opinion, you'd be making a mistake by not visiting Eureka Springs, it is not only magically beautiful, there are a wide variety of eateries, music venues, drinking establishments, lodging, and unique shops to choose from. Here you can do everything from visiting "Snake World" to enjoying "Opera in the Ozarks".

[Marat]

Originally Posted by Anna777

I am hoping to keep under a 5 hour drive to ozarks from birmingham or memphis.

Why is Birmingham even in this? If you are driving, it would be four hours just to get to Arkansas (West Memphis) and after that it is more than an hour to any part of the Ozarks. If you want to see the Ozarks in under five hours, it will have to be out of Memphis.

Others have mentioned Mountain View, about three hours from Memphis. It is a lovely area with some touristy stuff but not overwhelmed by them as Eureka Springs has been. Blanchard Springs Caverns is there also and they are beautiful, and a welcome relief from the heat. Maybe hit Greers Ferry Lake area on the way back to see a little more. You'll only be skimming the closest parts of the Ozarks but it is still nice.

[CraigCreek]

Petit Jean State Park, atop Petit Jean Mountain, is a lot closer than any of the other places mentioned thus far. The older cabins and lodge were built from native stone and logs, back by the CCC (and the lodge has been undergoing restoration/renovation and may be closed still), and the park includes Cedar Falls, paleoindian sites,spectacular overlooks, and unique rock formations, as well as a small lake with paddleboats, hiking trails, beautiful woods and more. There are also private accommodations atop Petit Jean Mountain (which is pronounced "petty gene", not "patee zhahn"), varying from modest motels to rather swanky decorator-themed resort cabins. Petit Jean is about an hour and a half north of Little Rock, near Morrilton.

[krotzmc]

The drive from Fayetteville to Bentonville is pretty, but is on the west side of the state. I like the area north of Conway on 16 and up through Fairfield Bay and the Greers Lake area. Beautiful vista views and gorgeous lake...Pretty quiet through there so if you're looking for nightlife, shopping, etc. that might not be your best bet, but it is some of the prettiest scenery I've run across.

[mother mammal]

Originally Posted by bagelw

If you're looking for "Ozark" culture then just go to Harrison and hang out at the Walmart.

That's actually a good suggestion. When my family was deciding where to relocate to, we took a driving trip through the region. It wasn't part of our original strategy, but we wound up stopping at the Walmart in various locations, and it gave us a great feel for the place.

We had Heber Springs in mind when we set out, but I discovered that Harrison was what I was really looking for. It was visits to the Walmarts in both locations that made that apparent. True story.