Highway 7 (AR 7, Ark. 7, Hwy. 7, and partially Scenic 7 Byway) is a north–south

state highway A state highway, state road, or state route (and the equivalent provincial highway, provincial road, or provincial route) is usually a road that is either ''numbered'' or ''maintained'' by a sub-national state or province. A road numbered by a ...

that runs across the state of Arkansas. As Arkansas's longest state highway, the route runs from Louisiana Highway 558 at the

Louisiana Louisiana , group=pronunciation (French: ''La Louisiane'') is a state in the Deep South and South Central regions of the United States. It is the 20th-smallest by area and the 25th most populous of the 50 U.S. states. Louisiana is borde ...

state line north to

Bull Shoals Lake Bull Shoals Lake is an artificial lake or reservoir in the Ozark Mountains of northern Arkansas and southern Missouri. It has hundreds of miles of lake arms and coves, and common activities include boating, water sports, swimming, and fishing. Nin ...

at Diamond City near the

Missouri Missouri is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. Ranking List of U.S. states and territories by area, 21st in land area, it is bordered by eight states (tied for the most with Tennessee ...

state line. With the exception of the segment north of

Harrison Harrison may refer to: People * Harrison (name) * Harrison family of Virginia, United States Places In Australia: * Harrison, Australian Capital Territory, suburb in the Canberra district of Gungahlin In Canada: * Inukjuak, Quebec, or " ...

, Highway 7 has been designated as an

Arkansas Scenic Byway Arkansas ( ) is a landlocked state in the South Central United States. It is bordered by Missouri to the north, Tennessee and Mississippi to the east, Louisiana to the south, and Texas and Oklahoma to the west. Its name is from the Osage la ...

and a

National Forest Scenic Byway The National Forest Scenic Byways are roads that have been designated by the U.S. Forest Service as scenic byways. Many are also National Scenic Byways (NSB). The program was initiated in 1987. __TOC__ List The following roadways were listed by t ...

. The road passes through the heart of both the

Ozark Mountains The Ozarks, also known as the Ozark Mountains, Ozark Highlands or Ozark Plateau, is a physiographic region in the U.S. states of Missouri, Arkansas, Oklahoma and the extreme southeastern corner of Kansas. The Ozarks cover a significant portio ...

and the

Ouachita Mountains The Ouachita Mountains (), simply referred to as the Ouachitas, are a mountain range in western Arkansas and southeastern Oklahoma. They are formed by a thick succession of highly deformed Paleozoic strata constituting the Ouachita Fold and Thru ...

, and features scenic views. It's the route favored by motorcycle riders touring the region.

Route description

AR 7 begins at the

state line near Lockhart, Louisiana. It runs north and meets

US 63 U.S. Route 63 (US 63) is a , north–south United States Highway primarily in the Midwestern and Southern United States. The southern terminus of the route is at Interstate 20 (I-20) in Ruston, Louisiana; the northern terminus is at US&nbs ...

US 167 The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

, which it forms a concurrency with until El Dorado. North of El Dorado AR 7 shoots a

spur route A spur route is a short road forming a branch from a longer, more important road such as a freeway, Interstate Highway, or motorway. A bypass or beltway should not be considered a true spur route as it typically reconnects with another or the s ...

named the Calion Cutoff. The route continues north to cross AR 335 before entering Smackover. Arkansas Highway 7 Business goes through downtown Smackover, while the main route runs around the town meeting AR 172. AR 7 continues northwest to enter Ouachita County. AR 7 runs roughly parallel to AR 376 until meeting the route south of Cullendale. The route continues north to Camden, when it intersects

US 79 U.S. Route 79 (US 79) is a United States highway in the Southern United States. The route is officially considered and labeled as a north-south highway, but its path is actually more of a diagonal northeast-southwest highway. The highway's nort ...

US 278 U.S. Route 278 (US 278) is a parallel route of US 78. It currently runs for from Hilton Head Island, South Carolina, to Wickes, Arkansas at US 71/ US 59, passing through five states in the process. Landmarks along its route includ ...

(formerly AR 4). AR 7 continues north through downtown and heads northwest to enter

Dallas County Dallas County may refer to: Places in the USA: * Dallas County, Alabama, founded in 1818, the first county in the United States by that name * Dallas County, Arkansas * Dallas County, Iowa * Dallas County, Missouri * Dallas County, Texas, the nin ...

. AR 7 enters Dallas County near Ouachita and continues north to meet AR 208 in Sparkman. The route continues north to AR 8/ Dalark. AR 7 runs west after meeting AR 8, leading into Clark County. AR 7/AR 8 runs to meet AR 51/ AR 128 east of

Arkadelphia Arkadelphia is a city in Clark County, Arkansas, United States. As of the 2010 census, the population was 10,714. The city is the county seat of Clark County. It is situated at the foothills of the Ouachita Mountains. Two universities, Henderso ...

. In Arkadelphia, AR 7 meets

US 67 U.S. Route 67 is a major north–south U.S. highway which extends for 1,560 miles (2,511 km) in the Central United States. The southern terminus of the route is at the United States-Mexico border in Presidio, Texas, where it continues ...

, which it follows north to Caddo Valley and

Interstate 30 Interstate 30 (I-30) is a Interstate Highway in the southern states of Texas and Arkansas in the United States. I-30 travels from I-20 west of Fort Worth, Texas, northeast via Dallas, and Texarkana, Texas, to I-40 in North Little Rock, A ...

. After crossing I-30, AR continues north through

DeGray Lake Resort State Park DeGray Lake Resort State Park is a Arkansas state park in Clark and Hot Spring counties, Arkansas in the United States. Situated in the Ouachita Mountains, the park features the DeGray Lake, the park features a championship rated 18 hole golf ...

, now entering Hot Spring County, where it meets AR 84 in Bismarck. Highway 7 enters Garland County by crossing over Lake Hamilton and crossing through the community of Lake Hamilton. AR 7 continues into

Hot Springs A hot spring, hydrothermal spring, or geothermal spring is a spring produced by the emergence of geothermally heated groundwater onto the surface of the Earth. The groundwater is heated either by shallow bodies of magma (molten rock) or by circ ...

, crossing

US 70 U.S. Route 70 or U.S. Highway 70 (US 70) is an east–west United States highway that runs for from eastern North Carolina to east-central Arizona. It is a major east–west highway of the Southeastern, Southern and Southwestern United States. E ...

US 270 U.S. Route 270 (US 270) is a spur of US 70. It travels for from Liberal, Kansas at US 54 and US 83 to White Hall, Arkansas at Interstate 530 (I-530) and US 65. It travels through the states of Arkansas, Oklahom ...

. The route enters

Hot Springs National Park Hot Springs National Park is an American national park in central Garland County, Arkansas, adjacent to the city of Hot Springs, the county seat. Hot Springs Reservation was initially created by an act of the United States Congress on April 20, 1 ...

with AR 128. The route meets AR 298 north of Hot Springs Village, running with it until an area near the Perry County line. The route runs through the

Ouachita National Forest The Ouachita National Forest is a vast congressionally-designated National Forest that lies in the western portion of Arkansas and portions of extreme-eastern Oklahoma, USA. History The Ouachita National Forest is the oldest National Forest in t ...

until the Fourche Junction meeting with AR 60. The route continues in Yell County by running through Ola. The route meets AR 10 and AR 28 in Ola. AR 7 continues northeast to Centerville, meeting AR 154 and AR 247. AR 7 also meets AR 115 before Dardanelle. The route turns right at Union Street in Dardanelle, entering Pope County. The route continues through Russellville, meeting US 64 (Main Street) and O Street before leaving town. AR 7 also meets

I-40 Interstate 40 (I-40) is a major east–west Interstate Highway running through the south-central portion of the United States. At a length of , it is the third-longest Interstate Highway in the country, after I-90 and I-80. From west to ea ...

north of Russellville. Continuing north, AR 7 meets AR 164 in

Dover Dover () is a town and major ferry port in Kent, South East England. It faces France across the Strait of Dover, the narrowest part of the English Channel at from Cap Gris Nez in France. It lies south-east of Canterbury and east of Maidstone ...

. In the

Ozark National Forest The Ozarks, also known as the Ozark Mountains, Ozark Highlands or Ozark Plateau, is a physiographic region in the U.S. states of Missouri, Arkansas, Oklahoma and the extreme southeastern corner of Kansas. The Ozarks cover a significant port ...

, AR 7 meets AR 16 and AR 123 before entering Newton County. AR 7 breaks north from AR 16 towards AR 74/

Jasper Jasper, an aggregate of microgranular quartz and/or cryptocrystalline chalcedony and other mineral phases,Kostov, R. I. 2010. Review on the mineralogical systematics of jasper and related rocks. – Archaeometry Workshop, 7, 3, 209-213PDF/ref> ...

. AR 7 crosses AR 206 upon entering Boone County. AR 7 enters

, meeting AR 43, and having an

officially designated exception The Arkansas Highway System is made up of all the highways designated as Interstate highway, Interstates, U.S. Highway system, U.S. Highways and State Highways in the US state of Arkansas. The system is maintained by the Arkansas Department of Tran ...

over US 65 Business and

US 62 U.S. Route 62 or U.S. Highway 62 (US 62) runs from the Mexican border at El Paso, Texas, to Niagara Falls, New York, near the Canadian border. It is the only east-west United States Numbered Highway that connects Mexico and Canada ...

US 65 U.S. Route 65 (US 65) is a north–south United States highway in the southern and midwestern United States. The southern terminus of the route is at U.S. Route 425 in Clayton, Louisiana. The northern terminus is at Interstate 35 just south of ...

US 412 U.S. Route 412 is an east–west United States highway, first commissioned in 1982. U.S. 412 overlaps expressway-grade Cimarron Turnpike from Tulsa west to Interstate 35 and the Cherokee Turnpike from east of Chouteau, Oklahoma, to west of the ...

. It is after this point that the route is no longer designated scenic. The route continues to AR 14/ Lead Hill before Diamond City, where the route terminates.

History

The route now known as Highway 7 first appears as a state maintained road in 1924, when the Arkansas General Assembly first created a federal aid system. Two main routes, State Road B-14 and State Road A-5 form a rough trail similar to the present-day Highway 7. Upon creation of the U.S. Route system in 1925, the north and south portions of the highway were replaced by U.S. Route 65 to

and U.S. Route 167, respectively. Arkansas numbered its highways in 1926, and the route became Highway 7 (the north part of A-5 remains as

Arkansas Highway 5 Highway 5 (AR 5, Ark. 5, and Hwy. 5) is a designation for three state highways in Arkansas. The southern segment of runs from Highway 7 in Hot Springs north to US Highway 70 (US 70) in Little Rock. A northern segment of be ...

Major intersections

Mile markers reset at concurrencies.

Auxiliary routes

Arkansas Highway 7 has six total auxiliary routes. AR 7 business in Smackover runs into town while the city is bypassed by the parent route. El Dorado,

, and Russellville all have short spur routes serving as connectors. AR 7 Truck also serves as a bypass in Russellville, where AR 7S near Marble Falls serves former amusement park

Dogpatch USA Dogpatch USA was a theme park located in northwest Arkansas along State Highway 7 between the cities of Harrison and Jasper, an area known today as Marble Falls. It was based on the comic strip ''Li'l Abner'', created by cartoonist Al Capp ...

References