The Buffalo National River

The Buffalo National River begins as a trickle in the Boston Mountains, where it flows north and then eastward through the Ozark Mountains until it merges 150 miles later with the White River at Buffalo City.

View over the Buffalo National River on a foggy morning.

The upper Buffalo National River, where Ponca is located, is home to Arkansas’s most beautiful scenery, as well as some of the finest in America.  It’s why Congress designated the Buffalo as America’s First National River in 1972!

As our founder Mike Mills says, you don’t get to be a national river because you aren’t special.  With its massive towering bluffs, countless waterfalls, watchable wildlife, ties to both historic and prehistoric cultures, and remote unspoiled location, the upper Buffalo National River wilderness is surely mid-America’s finest outdoor destination.

Plan Your Trip

Looking to canoe, kayak or raft the Buffalo and need a rental?  Visit our Boat Rental & Shuttle Rates page for helpful information. Access a full-length Buffalo National River map, plus, printable PDFs of river access sections between Ponca and Pruitt.


Buffalo Outdoor Center is authorized within Buffalo National River to provide canoe rentals and transportation services.

Man kayaking on a river

Float the Buffalo

No one knows the Buffalo River like BOC, and we'd love to share our 40+ years of experience with you. Get in touch!

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