Scenic Fall Drives Around Central Arkansas

Fall was made for scenic drives and Arkansas’ roads deliver the color.

Drive to Lake Maumelle

From Little Rock, driving toward Lake Maumelle on Ark. 10 is worth the trip any time of year, but it's a standout experience in the fall. Rolling terrain and forested slopes carry you through the Ouachita foothills for most of the route. Ark. 10 ends at Ark. 9, and if you head north from here, you’ll come to the town of Perryville.

Drive to Perryville 

About 45 miles from Little Rock, Perryville packs a surprising amount of history into a small footprint. The Camp Ouachita Girl Scout Camp District, built between 1936 and 1941, is the only surviving Girl Scout facility in the country constructed by the WPA and CCC. It's on the National Register of Historic Places. From here, you can also reach the Lake Sylvia Recreation Area. In town, the Perry County Historical Museum houses its own history in a former American Legion hut built in the 1930s and has its own National Register listing.  

Drive to Scott and Keo

U.S. 165 southeast out of Little Rock takes you through the farmlands of Scott and Keo. You’re in the flatlands, so it’s a different type of scenic drive. The crops take on a color all their own and the fields stretch out before you. At Scott, you can stop at the Plantation Agriculture Museum, Plum Bayou Mounds Archeological State Park, formerly Toltec Mounds Archeological State Park, and Scott Plantation Settlement to get in some history, along with the beautiful scenery.

Drive Interstate 530

This southbound route between Little Rock and Pine Bluff goes through the rich timberlands of South Arkansas.  Bottomland hardwoods provide brilliant color in spring and fall and bright greens in summer, while towering pines stand out in winter.