Erbie Campground/Access

[Mike_P]

I'm planning a father-son group trip around the mid-Buffalo in May (approx 6-12 folks) & a couple of the guys have RVs. We stayed at Tyler Bend last year & are looking for something further upstream. At this point thinking Erbie campground is our best option, but I've never been there or paddled that section. Any advice on these questions would be appreciated.

1. Is the campground on the North (river left) or South (river right) of the river?

2. Is there a ford/low water bridge there? Is the river crossable during the paddling season by car? If not I assume you drive in from the same side of the river as the campground is...from Hwy 7?

3. How is the gravel access road to the campground? How does it compare to the road down to Kyle's?

4. How is the campground itself compared to Kyles or Tyler Bend? Is there risk of flooding during high water?

5. Is the Erbie access easy to see from the river?

6. Does it tend to fill up in April/May? We'd be arriving late Thursday or early Friday so I assume we'll be OK with first come/first serve.

Thanks in advance for the advice!

Mike P.
Rogers

[Louiscov]

Some quick initial info on Erbie: you'll probably hear from some with more details later.

1. Erbie is on river RIGHT, the south side of the Buffalo.

2. There is a ford/low water bridge upstream a short ways from the Erbie Campground & I would not consider it driveable in paddling season. Access is from Hwy 7 south of the river between Jasper and Pruitt, well marked.

3. Access road was fine early this summer. Much, much more level and straighter than the Kyles road. No comparison. I don't know about RV access. Probably not recommended.

4. Campground reminds me more of Tyler Bend in appearance, with facilities more like Kyles. Very, very high.

5. Easy, easy, easy to see from the river. There is a high, steep bank with a wide, cobble-type bank "paving/covering" (as I remember), a little ways downstream from the Erbie ford/low water bridge. There's a nice series of shoals just above Erbie (within sight) that can have some fun waves, maybe surf some, and very squirrely at ligher levels.

There's much more paddling "action" and current from Ponca down to Erbie, where the river valley begins to level out. I like splitting the upper river trip into Ponca to Kyles; Kyles to Erbie; but that requires an overnight at Kyles or a longer double shuttle. Good luck with your planning!! I may be there with a church group (8th grade guys) that weekend. Maybe we'll run into one another.

[Richard]

Unless you want to visit the Parker-Hickman Homestead, I would not suggest Erbie because of the distance to Hwy 7. Ozark would be much more to your liking (my opinion)

[Mike_P]

Thanks for the info. As far as I could tell from the NPS Buffalo map & info Erbie is the only campground above Tyler Bend that allows RVs. If anyone knows of any others in the general area of Erbie/Pruitt/Carver please let me know. I'm sure there are probably some private campgrounds further off the river but haven't really looked in to those yet.

Mike

[Jim Krueger]

Mike,

I'd like to comment also. Five years ago, Marlo and I bought a brand new 26 ft. Airstream Safari trailer, very well-built, nice rig, but as heavy and bulky as any in that class range. Our first trip of hauling it from Benton up to the Buffalo was an 'acid test' I thought, both for my driving skills and nerve(s), as well as how well my truck would handle it. It was thunderstorming and pouring all the way.
In planning for this trip, I had to decide on both my route up there and which campground I'd use versus my unknowns... I usually travel Hwy 7 up to Jasper but the thought of those steep grades spooked me and I chose to travel Hwy 65, then do some doubleing-back to get to the Pruitt area. As it turned out, the rig handled very well. With both axles on the trailer being 'brake-axles', I actually had more braking power than my truck alone, and have since taken it up and down Hwy 7.
For our first outing, I really wanted to go to Ozark since it is co close to the highway but I just didn't think I could make that first steep hill coming off the highway. I had been into Erbie running shuttle a couple of times before and thought this would be my best shot. Since we would be living on battery power and our own water, I stopped in Marshall and filled the water tank, adding the additional weight of thirty gallons of water, on now to Erbie... By this time the rain had quit but the roads were saturated.Once I turned on the Erbie road, I realized I was commited as there are few places to turn around short of Erbie campground. After the first few hills, and not even spinning a tire, I was confident :) It also helps greatly not to meet , or dodge, other vehicles.
We had just a super weekend there, staging fishing floats downstream.
The morning we left, it again began strong thunderstorms all the way back out, but no problems.
I like Erbie due to it's isolation and beauty, but it is a long way in there.
Erbie has individual camps you can back RV into, and they even have the infra structure partially for water and electric hook ups but they must have curtailed those plans sometime in the past. In a later trip, I chose to camp at Ozark, and as it turned out, I was able to drive in there with no trouble. RVs are allowed at Ozark but there are no drive in spots, we simply drove around the circle and pulled up on the side of the road to park. That worked very well, just having to block up the wheels on one side of the trailer.
I hope your trip goes well!


Best Regards
Jim

[Richard]

When you refer to RV are you asking if there is a dump station. The only dump stations within the park are at Tyler Bend and Buffalo Point. Of the upper Buffalo camping areas, all allow RVs but I would highly suggest Ozark simply because of accessability and convenience to Jasper and Harrison. Lost Valley is hard to get enough campsites for a group. Steel Creek will be busy but doable. Driving to Kyles is bad. Erbie is 7 miles of gravel to the campground. Ozark and Steel Creek would be my choice with Ozark edging out Steel Creek. I would suggest calling 870-446-5373 Pruitt Ranger Station. They could tell you what to expect. Or PM me.

[fryingsquirrel]

I've seen RVs and pull behind campers at Lost valley before, and I know for a fact that Ozark allows RVs, and its pretty good sized. No hook ups at either. I'd advise at least visiting Lost Valley, if you get there in the early morning, there is great elk spotting from Hwy 43. Also, the cave at Lost Valley is definitely worth a visit, it is one of my favorite caves in AR. If you hike into the cave, stay to the right once in the cave, it's a lot easier way to get to the falls, and requires less crawling. The falls and pools outside the cave are also a destination themselves. I really hope that you all have fun and stay safe.
BTW, watch for snakes on the trail at Lost Valley, last time I was in there, I dodged a cottonmouth.
Jon Ellwood

[Jim Krueger]

Mike,

I agree with Richard, Ozark is probably the best. I haven't tried getting into Steel Creek yet but am confident if the horse-campers can routinely pull their heavily-laden rigs in there, I could probably do so as well. For myself though, even if I were paddling upper trips at Ponca, I think I'd still choose Ozark to camp just to head off any problems and to be so handy to the nice restaurants and so fourth in Jasper.
If you go in May, the water should be activated for the season in all the camps so you can omit having to haul that extra weight in. Richard is also correct in that there are no dump stations except in the camps more RV-friendly; Tyler Bend and Buffalo Point. However with judicious use of your storage capacity it's easy to camp several days then empty at a facility outside of the park. Additionally, I RV-camped at Tyler bend several years ago, and while being RV-friendly and having really great roads, and a dump station, they did not have individual water and electrical hook-ups. Also, the dump station they did have at Tyler bend is located not at the camp, but rather out near the highway.
BTW, I noticed at both Ozark and Tyler Bend, the camp ground hosts had full hook-ups for their rigs... Might be nice to be a camp ground host someday :)

Best Regards
Jim

[Mike_P]

Thanks for all the great info!! I was assuming if they didn't have a "drive-in site" for RVs then the campgrounds wouldn't allow RVs. Sounds like Ozark is our best bet.

BTW, what IS up with the snakes in Lost Valley? The only time I've seen a venomous while hiking or paddling in Arkansas (knock on wood) was hiking the Lost Valley trail.

Also was reading about the Kyles to Erbie run in Tom Kennon's book. In the springtime with adequate water do most folks paddle over Erbie's Ford or portage it?

My guess is we'll camp at Ozark & then do 2 day-paddling trips over 2 days: Erbie's to Ozark (or Pruitt) & Pruitt to Hasty.

Mike

[Jim Krueger]

Mike,

I've never floated over the concrete low-water bridge at Erbie Ford. I have crossed it in low water conditions several years ago, just to take Mike Coogan and a paddler he was escorting downriver to the other side of the river to put-in. Later (same time I was RV-Camping at the Erbie Campground)
I ventured down to the ford and the water level was much too high for me to consider crossing. I too would be interested in what floaters have done here at different levels. Too low, and it's pretty well a portage, much hgher, and it's probably just a bump in the current, in between, it looks like there is a fairly uniform hydrolic to negotiate ,and broaching possibility.


Best Regards
Jim

[Louiscov]

Anytime I've had water to paddle from Ponca to Pruitt there's always been enough water to paddle over it. Sometimes the stern of a boat will scrape/bang as you drop over. Its a simple drop, but you might tell newbies to plant the bow (or solo) paddle in the water below as soon as you can and give a strong forward stroke. There's some irregularities in the lower side of the ford so you can aim at the streams of water that shoot on over. Aluminum might snag at lower levels. Portage would be easy if you needed to. Enjoy your trip!!

[Richard]

Which weekend in May? I will also be on a Father & Son in May. But It will be in the Dallas area. Make sure you have a copy of Ken Smith's The Buffalo River Handbook with you. Since you plan to put in at Erbie on one of the days, I would allow enough time to visit the Parker-Hickman homestead and I would put in just below the low water bridge and take out at Ozark. Then on the other day I would put in at Pruitt (unless you have your own boats then it would be Ozark) and take out at Hasty. Hasty is not my favorite takeout because you have a hill to climb but it is still OK. There are some very interesting geological features in that area. Again, make sure you have at least one copy of The Buffalo River Handbook with you. And read it before getting on the river.

[Stephanie]

The only camp trailer they allow at Ozark campground is the one for the seasonal host, which will be campsite 1.
I dont beleive you can take an RV to ozark. I've never seen it. You really need to call prior to going to make sure there is a camp ground you can go to. you may have to find a private one.
also as a side note - those campgrounds fill up really fast (especially the time of year you are planning on going). and they are strict about how many tents they allow on a site. i have seen many tickets written to those who broke the rules - whether they knew it or not.

many many years ago my dad finally got tired of trying to find a campground. he found a local who let him keep the trailer on their place so he could come down every weekend (its a 5 hr or more drive). plus they would take his blazer back after he got on the buffy and picked him up at the end of his run wherever he made his destination. no hasstle, no crowds, just a nice local from the jasper area. he loved it.

[Mike_P]

Thanks again. The NPS info I've seen (i.e. website) & the Arkansas Adventure Guide definitely mention "RV" when describing Tyler Bend & Erbie but don't mention that with regard to Ozark.

We'll see what shakes out & I will give them a call well ahead of time.

We are planning a trip the weekend of May 15th.

[Jim Krueger]

Stephanie,

You may indeed take an RV to the Ozark campground, I asked before I ever went there. The campground there is primarily a walk-in tent camping area, but they do allow RVs to park either along the road, or in the overflow parking/camping area. Folks tent camping, or in recreational vehicles, are both held to one main standard; that they may not drive past the barriers erected to bar vehicles within given areas of the campground. RVers do need to keep in mind that they may camp there, but they may not use the picnic table, lantern hanger, or fire ring that go with each of the tent campers sites (unless they have a friend who is concurrently tent-camping at one of these spots and so permits.) It has been several years since I was there but if you should find out differently, please let me know, I would certainly appreciate any updates in the policy.
Ozark Campground, and many others along the Buffalo are classed as 'primitive' camp grounds. I certainly feel like your Dad in preferring some hook-ups for my rig to make camp life a little more enjoyable, but willingly camp without them, as those in tents choose to do, just to enjoy the place.


Best Regards

Jim Moose