Ozark Mountain Mountain Back Roads

Exploring the Back Roads of Carroll and Newton Counties

Bill King

An amazing abundance of history, adventure, wildlife, Ozark culture and natural beauty can be found on the backroads of Carroll County and in the deeper valleys of Newton County.

As tour guide Ernie Kilman is quick to tell you, these aren't hills or mountains we live in, they are valleys formed by water and eons of erosion.

Kilman knows. He knows a lot about these parts ­ he spends much of his time out there exploring, and he really knows his way around. "You can travel hundreds of miles around Carroll County on dirt roads," Ernie said, as he proceeded to set out proving it in his 1995 Suburban. He had the Citizen crew in tow.

After exploring at least 50 of those hundreds of miles, with stops at the Shady Grove church and cemetery ­ where generations of Ciscos lie, several of them Confederate soldiers who perished in the War Between the States ­ Lover's Leap over the Osage and the stone church at Possum Trot, we headed down the bootlegger's route to Ponca and the Buffalo River.

Kilman knew the short trail to Hawksbill Crag (that overlook one always sees in the Arkansas advertisements) so instead of a two-hour hike we had the 20-minute round trip.

After lunch overlooking "Arkansas' Grand Canyon" outside Jasper, we headed back down to the Buffalo, forded the river at Erbie (after exploring the Parker-Hickman homestead) and Kilman showed us just what a Suburban can do on the rocky vertical climb to the valley ridge.

We were a week early to see the Elk herds, and an unfortunate prior commitment prevented us from exploring Lost Valley Cave (Kilman had the headlights ready), so we headed back home on the bootlegger route, shaving a half hour off the normal 90 minute drive.

Anyone can spend the day, or several, exploring the back roads and sights with Kilman. His company, Kings River Outfitters, has teamed up with the Crescent and Basin Park Hotels to offer Arkansas Outdoor Adventures.

Tours are individually catered to the interests and skill levels of the client. To see the county like you've never seen it before, call (479) 253-7837 and set a date with Kilman.

This article originally appeared in the "Lovely County Citizen". Used with permission.