Huckleberry Ridge Cabins

06/24/2026

Come stay with us and go exploring! Just a short beautiful drive! 870-448-2000

In Arkansas, the Mirror Lake Trail is one of the most stunning and historic streamside hikes you’ll find in the Ozarks! Tucked inside the beautiful Blanchard Springs Recreation Area, this easy 1-mile walk gives you a little bit of everything without needing a long or difficult hike. The route follows a mix of paved paths, wooden boardwalks, and short wooded trail sections, making it a peaceful place to take in the scenery at a relaxed pace. Along the way, you’ll pass the bright blue-green water of Mirror Lake, where the reflections of the surrounding bluffs and trees make the whole area look almost unreal on a clear day.

The lake sits below Blanchard Springs Caverns and is fed by the same mountain spring system that helped shape the cave over time. Mirror Lake is also known as a trout-fishing spot, adding another reason people love stopping here. One of the biggest highlights is the old stone dam, built in the 1930s, where water spills over into a beautiful little waterfall beside the lake. You’ll also see the historic ruins of Mitchell Mill, a stone bridge, rocky bluffs, and quiet creekside views all packed into one short trail. Afterward, you can keep exploring nearby trails, visit Blanchard Springs itself, or take one of the cavern tours in the same recreation area.

06/05/2026

We still have some availability for the 4th! Call 870-448-2000

06/05/2026

Come stay with us! 1 cabin left for the weekend! The Springhouse and Crocketts Crockett's Canoe Rental is just minutes away!

05/28/2026

Book 2 nights and get a third for 50% in the next 7 days! Call to check cabin availability! 870-448-2000

Come enjoy the heart of the Ozarks and the Buffalo River!

05/28/2026

It's not too late to book for the weekend! We have some availability! Close to hiking and multiple Bufflao River entrances for kayaking and Canoeing! Or just get away and relax! 870-448-2000

05/18/2026

Memorial Day Weekend availability! Come stay and float! Crocketts is less than 1 mile down the road 8704482000

05/16/2026

Come stay and relax on our deck and have breakfast around the corner at Dogwood Hills! 870-448-2000

05/14/2026

A little history.....

Ever wonder how the Buffalo National River got its name?

Long before it became America’s first National River in 1972, it was already known simply as the Buffalo River. Early maps from the late 1700s and early 1800s referred to it as the “Buffaloe Fork of the White River.” Historians generally agree the river was named after the American bison — commonly called buffalo by early settlers — that once roamed the Ozarks and river valleys of northern Arkansas.

And yes… actual buffalo really did roam these hills.

Historians believe the buffalo that once roamed the Ozarks were primarily woodland bison — adapted to the forests, open glades, cane bottoms, and river valleys of the eastern United States — rather than the massive plains herds most people picture from the American West. Early settlers and Native tribes alike documented buffalo traces, salt licks, and hunting grounds throughout the region.

Over time, settlements, hunting, livestock, and changes to the landscape caused the buffalo to disappear from Arkansas by the early 1800s… but the name stayed behind.

Like most Ozark history, the Buffalo River comes with its share of folklore too. Old mountain stories spoke of buffalo trails worn deep into the hills, lone bulls hidden away in remote hollows, and “the last buffalo” still wandering somewhere along the river — calling out through the hills searching for its herd.

Now, can every old mountain story be proven? Probably not. But around the Buffalo, history and folklore have always flowed together.

Today, the buffalo are gone, but the river still carries the same wild character that gave it its name centuries ago. Fog rolling through the valleys, towering bluffs, elk in the fields, and generations of stories passed around campfires — some things in the Ozarks never really change.

The Buffalo isn’t just a river. It’s a piece of Arkansas history still flowing through the hills.

Old Ozark folklore often spoke of the river almost as if it were alive — calm and welcoming one day, powerful and unforgiving the next. Maybe that’s why generations of people have respected it, feared it, and loved it all at the same time.

Happy Adventures...