Buffalo National River

Few major rivers in the Lower 48 US flow completely free and undammed from source to end. Not so the Buffalo, the nation's first national river, which rolls for 135 glorious miles through the heart of northern Arkansas. Along the way, the rushing waters pass by ochre cliffs and granite outcroppings, while lapping at small sandy beaches that fringe deep tracts of Ozark forest. Some 300 species of fish, shellfish and aquatic plants call the river home; for thousands of human visitors, it is simply a terrestrial paradise.