GPS Kevin Arkansas Backways Adventure Trail (ARBAT) – Backcountry Riding in Arkansas

Updated: Nov 11

The ARBAT is a group ADV motorcycle ride planned by GPSkevinadventurerides.com.

The Arkansas Backways Adventure Trail (ARBAT) is a loop that covers five days of dual sport riding.

The route was planned by GPS Kevin to ride on the rural back roads of Northwest Arkansas, spanning the Ouachita and Ozark National Forests. Thirteen riders gathered for the adventure scheduled for October 19 to 24, 2025. We covered nearly 800 miles, and experienced the remote sections of the Ouachita, Ozark, and Boston Mountains.

GPS Kevin ARBAT — Rolling mountains of NW Arkansas

If you have driven the I40 or I30 freeways across Arkansas, you may think that the state is mostly rolling, densely wooded, and often swampy. But the Northwest quarter of Arkansas is unique and dominated by rocky mountain ranges, the remnants of ancient volcanoes. There is little flat ground and no straight roads – highways or back roads!

Northwest Arkansas is a “sleeper” area that has some of the best highway and dual sport motorcycle riding in the U.S.! During the course of our unpaved dual sport adventures, we also logged plenty of scenic miles on the connecting state and county highways where we waved to happy cruiser riders.

Kevin advised that the ARBAT was best on smaller adventure or dual sport bikes. I was riding my Royal Enfield Himalayan 450. Loren and Duane, my fellow Wisconsin riders, were riding a CF Moto Ibex 450 and Yamaha Tenere 700, respectively. Altogether, we had 12 motorcycles including another Tenere, a Honda and Suzuki 650's, BMW 800, and KTM 390 and 500’s. Kevin added that “good riders” on larger adventure bikes can choose options to also have a great ride – and Craig and Elena proved that to be the case by riding DOUBLE on a Ducati Multistrada!

The thirteen participants traveled to Hot Springs from Wisconsin, Michigan, California, and Colorado – plus Keith who had recently relocated to Arkansas. We all met on Sunday afternoon at the Gold Motel, a renovated property on the north end of the historic Hot Springs National Park (the first National Park in the U.S., dating back to 1921.)

The packet that each rider received from GPS Kevin included a guide, daily maps, and a GPS route to follow. Each day we followed the suggested “blue” route which prioritized rural back roads. There were a few optional “red” expert routes, as well as optional “green” highway bypasses each day. We never rode as one group but divided into several subgroups that leapfrogged each other during the course of the day, especially at gas stops, lunch, and scenic overlooks.

Kevin’s GPS routes included the qualifier that they were “99% perfect, sometimes 99.9% perfect - but occasionally only 95% perfect.” Within an hour on Day One, we ran into a locked gate on a forest road that crossed private timber lands. At the end of the day, two riders opted to take the red, “expert” option – but discovered that it dead ended, downhill, at the bottom of a miserable ATV track!

We also knew that “ADV” routes can change dramatically due to weather conditions. While I now live in my hometown in Wisconsin, I had previously lived for eight years in Hot Springs Village, Arkansas. During that time, I rode many dual sport miles in the Ouachita Mountains and can attest that heavy rain can turn the back roads into glue, make the low water crossings impassible, and create eroded ruts that will swallow a motorcycle.

The ARBAT was timed to take advantage of the cool weather and the changing Fall colors. It was our luck that the scenery was intensified by four days of perfect temperatures in the 70’s without a cloud in the sky. We only had to deal with rain on Day Five – when most of us were ready to ride the slab back to Hot Springs, then reload motorcycles into trucks and trailers for the rides back home.

After leaving Hot Springs, we stopped overnight in Dover, Flippin, Berryville, and Winslow before completing the loop back to Hot Springs. The first day took us from the Ouachita Mountains to the broad valley of the Arkansas River at Conway. We then climbed into rolling ranch lands with many miles or great gravel roads and scattered natural gas wells before we progressed into the Boston Mountains.

Day One ended after 189 miles at Mack's Pines, a campground with small rental cabins near Dover. My Himalayan covered the miles averaging over 72 miles per gallon! Mack’s included a diner, but they were normally closed during the week in the Fall. However, they reopened for our group, thanks to our “Yoda” Jake – who had made arrangements prior to our arrival - and they served us both dinner and breakfast the next morning.

(GPS Kevin’s group rides often include a “Yoda” who helps with ride logistics. Jake had made connections with the lodging and meal providers along the route in advance. I have included a few photos taken by Jake along the route.)

Day Two was a repeat of the pattern that we would follow each day. The route would cross a highway and turn onto a nice gravel side road with scattered houses and ranches. After a few miles, the road would fork onto a narrower, rougher dirt road with trees overhanging. Then we would wind downhill to a narrow section and a low water creek crossing.

On other routes we would make a few sharp switchback turns and climb up the side of the mountain on a one-lane road of loose rock. Coming down the mountain, the road would start to level out and get less rutted, wider, and smoother until we passed the first mailbox that marked an inhabited dwelling. Then we’d pass a few beef cattle, maybe a rancher in his truck, and often a small church and cemetery near a creek before crossing the next paved road.

Several of the small towns we passed through had no open businesses, stores, or gas pumps. In a few cases, we were given advance warning that there were no food stops along the route, so we needed to carry snacks for lunch and water. The GPS came in handy to gauge if we needed to leave the route for food or fuel.

I ended Day Two with 135 miles at the Cedar Wood Lodge, a beautiful fishing resort along the shore of the White River near Flippin, Arkansas.

On Day Three we crossed back over the Buffalo River gorge. We had crossed the Buffalo River heading north yesterday afternoon. Today we rode along the bluffs on the northside of the river, outside of the reserve area and too far back in the forest to take in the views from the bluffs that rise hundreds of feet along this National River, the first wild protected river in the U.S. We ended the day at a nice motel in Berryville after another 135 miles, with a great restaurant next door.

Day Four directed us south through more forested hills. Our Wisconsin riding crew stopped at a convenience store in Kingston for lunch. The gravel route continued south for 25 miles to Boston, but we elected to take the longer twisty, hilly paved route for 46 miles! Then we finished the day riding along a ridge overlooking endless valleys on both sides. At the end of the valley, our stop for the night was the Sky Vue Lodge. Our group was divided between several cabins that looked back towards the mountains we had crossed. My mileage for the day was 157 miles that covered some of the best and most remote roads of the ARBAT route.

The forecast was for rain to start early in the morning. The rain was heavy while we were enjoying breakfast. But we had already decided that today was going to be all highway riding. It would have taken extra time to ride the gravel sections, and some might have been impassible after hours of rain. We waited an extra hour for the rain to let up, then left for Hot Springs. I led the route down the highway to Alma, east to Ozark, and then over Mount Magazine, the highest point in the state. From there we wound down through Danville and Ola to reach Scenic Highway 7 – a motorcycling destination for all riders.

We arrived back in Hot Springs, loaded the three motorcycles, and were travelling north toward Wisconsin by 2:30 PM. The final day tallied 165 miles, with a total of 782 miles for the five-day adventure. My dash reported an average of 70.2 miles per gallon over nearly 800 miles of mixed dual sport riding.

This was the first organized group ride that I had participated in. I had organized several ADV motorcycle rides in the past, but those were all remote camping trips. On this trip, we carried only a change of clothes, snacks, and a few tools. I had never packed so light! This style of adventure motorcycling was fun and “casual” – the term I applied to the riding, pace, and group dynamics. While we certainly encountered numerous challenging sections, the overall route was less demanding than other BDR or TAT routes I had experienced.

Would I join a similar group on another ride? Yes, and I also plan to take advantage of other self-guided dual sport routes that GPS Kevin has compiled.

Here are more scenes from the October 2025 GPS Kevin ARBAT ride!

Advice for Riders on the GPS Kevin Arkansas Backways Adventure Trail (ARBAT):

Choosing the perfect motorcycle for the ARBAT adventure.

As noted, this route links together rural backroads. In Arkansas, these roads vary from perfectly graded gravel to rutted packed dirt. The route follows public-access roads, not ATV trails. The surface is often fine, crushed rock but can also include fist-sized rocks as well as packed dirt or sand. There are some stretches where you might reach 50 MPH, but others where you might be crawling uphill or engine braking downhill at 5 MPH. The tougher, steep sections would not be drivable in a standard auto and would require four-wheel drive.

All this is to say that the ARBAT route favors small to mid-size motorcycles. Expert riders can certainly complete the ride on large ADV motorcycles. Remember, regardless of how big and powerful the cycle, you are still limited to ONE-wheel drive! In my opinion, lighter bikes will be more fun.

I think I chose the perfect model: the new Royal Enfield 450cc Himalayan. I never needed to exceed 65 MPH on the highway sections. I had plenty of low-end power to tractor up the steepest hills. The bike isn’t a featherweight, but I was easily able to negotiate rocky stream crossings and the few muddy patches we encountered. Plus, after days of mixed riding nearly 800 miles, I averaged 70 miles per gallon!

But – if I was to ride the ARBAT again, (and I probably will since the scenery and variety can’t be beat!) I will ride my smaller Kawasaki KLX300 dual sport. On the steepest hills (riding up and bouncing down) I repeatedly pictured the lighter KLX sprinting over the rocks.

Packing for the Five-day ARBAT group ride.

This was the first group ride I had participated in where lodging had been booked on my behalf. I have stayed in motels occasionally on other long adventures (to Alaska, BDRs TAT, etc.) But I also carried camping and cooking gear which necessitated spacious packs.

For the ARBAT, I bolted a medium waterproof box to the rear rack. This housed my tools, a tire inflator, tire plugs for my tubeless tires, a water bottle, snacks, waterproof gloves, and my maps. There was room left over for a fleece sweater that I shed each afternoon.

All I packed was two changes of clothes for the five days of riding. I had a third set of clothes and a pair of shoes for the ride to and from Arkansas. To this I added a small kit of toiletries and a Kindle for reading in the evening. ALL of this fit easily in a medium compression stuff sack – and it was secured with two ROK straps over the passenger seat.

Each night, I only carried the stuff sack into the lodging, along with my small tank bag that held charging cables, glasses, ear plugs, and other miscellaneous items. I didn’t need to touch the rest of the tools or gear in the top box which was secure and weatherproof.

This packing list – minus the camping gear (tent, pad, sleeping bag, cook kit, stove, and food) – is the same whether I am going on a 3-day or 3-week adventure. Packing light requires that you wash clothes occasionally, so I never pack cotton shirts or jeans that take forever to dry. On this trip, we had the luxury of a great lodge on the second night. Although I washed and rinsed my clothes in the sink, I was able to use the clothes dryer to complete the process!

Other tips for the ARBAT route.

Every rider was provided with both paper maps and the route for their GPS. On other remote routes, I typically download tracks to my smart phone (a designated waterproof phone that I use only for these routes.) But on “road trips” like the ARBAT, I prefer a conventional GPS, and my choice is the cheapest Garmin Zumo with the addition of a 12-volt cradle and RAM mount. I don’t use the standard 12-volt cable with the “cigarette lighter” plug or USB but wire the GPS directly to the battery so I can manually turn it on and off.

GPS Kevin supplies a micro-SD card with a new map for each day. That is, each day you select a new set of routes which are overlaid onto the base maps. The conventional GPS is perfect for routes based on public roads. It has the added advantage of providing searches for the nearest food, gas, or other points of interest.

For this Fall ride, I wore a set of outerwear that was waterproof, so I didn’t need to pack a separate set of rain gear. The pants and jacket both have zippered air vents for the warm afternoons. While the jacket has an insulated liner, I prefer to substitute a separate fleece layer that is easier to remove as the day warms up.

We had perfect weather conditions for the first four days – blue skies and temperatures in the 70’s. But we also had temperatures in the 40’s several mornings. That is when I appreciate the heated grips and protective handguards that I add to EVERY adventure motorcycle!

Likewise, we rode through light rain for several hours on Friday and I enjoyed warm hands. After trying many varieties of “waterproof” motorcycle gloves, I have finally settled on cheap rubber work gloves. You can find these at most farm stores or Harbor Freight and have a choice of flannel lined or oversized to allow a separate wool liner. I haven’t found any other glove that compares when riding through hours of rain.

I admit that my “waterproof” riding coat and pants always leak somewhere. The same is true of my riding boots – so on rainy days I wear waterproof socks! Instead of my usual wool-blend motorcycle socks, I wear these socks over liners. My boots repel 90% of the wind-driven rain, and the socks repel 100% and I never get cold feet! For extended trips in cooler weather, I will add a heated vest that connects to the 12-volt battery tender pigtail on the cycle.

Finally, I want to comment on protective gear. I am used to riding with only the foam pads that are supplied with my motorcycle coat and pants. These only provide minimal protection when skidding on the pavement. Several of my fellow riders (experienced dual sport riders!) wore additional protective gear for the GPS Kevin ARBAT: chest protectors, neck guards, and knee braces designed for protection in falls and collisions. The Arkansas Backways Adventure Trail certainly has many miles of very remote roads with little or no traffic that would justify this added insurance against personal injury.