U.S. Route 62 (US 62) is a U.S. highway running from

El Paso, Texas El Paso (; "the pass") is a city in and the county seat, seat of El Paso County, Texas, El Paso County in the western corner of the U.S. state of Texas. The 2020 population of the city from the United States Census Bureau, U.S. Census Bureau w ...

northeast to Niagara Falls, New York. In the

U.S. state In the United States, a state is a constituent political entity, of which there are 50. Bound together in a political union, each state holds governmental jurisdiction over a separate and defined geographic territory where it shares its sove ...

Arkansas 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 O ...

, the route runs 329.9 miles from the Oklahoma border near Summers east to the

Missouri Missouri is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. Ranking 21st in land area, it is bordered by eight states (tied for the most with Tennessee): Iowa to the north, Illinois, Kentucky and Tennessee to the east, Arkansas t ...

border in St. Francis, serving the northern portion of the state. The route passes through several cities and towns, including Fayetteville, Springdale, Bentonville,

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 " ...

, Mountain Home,

Pocahontas Pocahontas (, ; born Amonute, known as Matoaka, 1596 – March 1617) was a Native American woman, belonging to the Powhatan people, notable for her association with the colonial settlement at Jamestown, Virginia. She was the daughter of ...

, and also

Piggott Pigot, Pigott or Piggott may refer to: People * Pigot (surname), including a list of people with this name * Pigott (surname), including a list of people with the surname Pigott or Piggott Places * Piggott, Arkansas, United States, a city * ...

. US 62 runs concurrent with several highways in Arkansas including

Interstate 49 Interstate 49 (I-49) is a north–south Interstate Highway that exists in multiple segments: the original portion entirely within the state of Louisiana with an additional signed portion extending from I-220 in Shreveport to the Arkansas st ...

and

U.S. Route 71 U.S. Route 71 or U.S. Highway 71 (US 71) is a major north–south United States highway that extends for over 1500 miles (2500 km) in the central United States. This original 1926 route has remained largely unchanged by encroaching Interstat ...

between Fayetteville and Bentonville, U.S. Route 412 through much of the state, U.S. Route 65 in the Harrison area, and with U.S. Route 63 and

U.S. Route 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 ...

(Future

Interstate 57 Interstate 57 (I-57) is a north–south Interstate Highway in Missouri and Illinois that parallels the old Illinois Central Railroad for much of its route. It runs from Sikeston, Missouri, at I-55 to Chicago, Illinois, at I-94. I-57 ess ...

) in northeast Arkansas.

Route description

Northwest Arkansas

US 62 west of Highway 59 junction, Washington County, AR

U.S. Route 62 enters Arkansas from Oklahoma and runs by the Bean Cemetery near

Lincoln Lincoln most commonly refers to: * Abraham Lincoln (1809–1865), the sixteenth president of the United States * Lincoln, England, cathedral city and county town of Lincolnshire, England * Lincoln, Nebraska, the capital of Nebraska, U.S. * Lincol ...

and the Borden House and

Prairie Grove Battlefield Park The Prairie Grove Battlefield State Park is an Arkansas state park located in Prairie Grove. It commemorates the Battle of Prairie Grove, fought December 7, 1862, during the American Civil War. The battle secured northwestern Arkansas for t ...

in Prairie Grove. The route then enters the Northwest Arkansas metro area, including the cities of Fayetteville,

Rogers Rogers may refer to: Places Canada *Rogers Pass (British Columbia) * Rogers Island (Nunavut) United States * Rogers, Arkansas, a city * Rogers, alternate name of Muroc, California, a former settlement * Rogers, Indiana, an unincorporated communit ...

, and Bentonville. The route concurs with I-49/

US 71 U.S. Route 71 or U.S. Highway 71 (US 71) is a major north–south United States highway that extends for over 1500 miles (2500 km) in the central United States. This original 1926 route has remained largely unchanged by encroaching Intersta ...

through these communities. In Benton County, the route passes Garfield Elementary School near the junction with Arkansas Highway 127 in

Garfield ''Garfield'' is an American comic strip created by Jim Davis. Originally published locally as ''Jon'' in 1976, then in nationwide syndication from 1978 as ''Garfield'', it chronicles the life of the title character Garfield the cat, his hum ...

before exiting Rogers. The route continues east near the

Pea Ridge National Military Park Pea Ridge National Military Park is a United States National Military Park located in northwest Arkansas near the Missouri border. The park protects the site of the Battle of Pea Ridge, fought March 7 and 8, 1862. The battle was a victory for th ...

and the

state line before entering Carroll County. US 62 near Busch, Arkansas

The Ozark Mountains

US 62 winds through

the Ozarks 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 porti ...

, passing through sparsely populated scenic country and small towns. US 62 passes the Thorncrown Chapel, the

Tall Pines Motor Inn The Tall Pines Inn is a historic log cabin resort located at the junction of Pivot Rock Road and United States Route 62 in Eureka Springs, Arkansas. Established in 1947, it features six rustic cabins built from surrounding forests and modernized ...

, and the historic U.S. 62 White River Bridge near

Eureka Springs Eureka Springs is a city in Carroll County, Arkansas, United States, and one of two county seats for the county. It is located in the Ozark Mountains of northwest Arkansas, near the border with Missouri. As of the 2020 census, the city populat ...

. The route begins a concurrency with U.S. Route 412 in Alpena that continues west to Imboden. Also, US 62/US 412 meet U.S. Route 65 in

. In Marion County, the route meets US 62S in Pyatt and the US 62 Bridge over Crooked Creek outside of town. During this stretch, US 62 crosses two of the nine

Arkansas Scenic Byways __NOTOC__ The Arkansas Scenic Byways Program is a list of highways, mainly state highways, that have been designated by the Arkansas Department of Transportation (ArDOT) as scenic highways. The Arkansas General Assembly designates routes for scenic ...

, the Pig Trail and Scenic Highway 7. Continuing east, the route passes a former alignment of US 62 before entering Yellville. East of Yellville, the route enters Mountain Home in Baxter County and crosses over Norfolk Lake to enter rural

Fulton County Fulton County is the name of eight counties in the United States of America. Most are named for Robert Fulton, inventor of the first practical steamboat: *Fulton County, Arkansas, named after Governor William Savin Fulton *Fulton County, Georgia *F ...

US 62 over Leatherwood Creek near Eureka Springs

After passing through Fulton County, US 62/US 412 enters Sharp County. In Ash Flat, US 62/US 412 serves as the northern terminus of U.S. Route 167. After passing around

Cherokee Village, Arkansas Cherokee Village is a city in Fulton and Sharp counties in the U.S. state of Arkansas. The population was 4,671 at the 2010 census, with an estimated population of 4,661 in 2019. Geography Cherokee Village is located at (36.293289, -91.572336). ...

, the route enters Hardy. In Hardy, US 62/US 412/ US 63 Business passes four properties on the National Register of Historic Places in Arkansas: the Carrie Tucker House, the Sherman Bates House, the Fred Graham House, and Web Long House and Motel. US 62/US 412 also meets U.S. Route 63, which is mostly a patchwork of concurrencies throughout the state. The routes continue together to Imboden, when US 63/US 412 break and continue south, where US 62/AR 115 continues over the St. Louis-San Francisco Overpass headed north into

Randolph County Randolph County is the name of eight counties in the United States: *Randolph County, Alabama *Randolph County, Arkansas *Randolph County, Georgia *Randolph County, Illinois *Randolph County, Indiana *Randolph County, Missouri *Randolph County, Nort ...

and

Crowley's Ridge Crowley's Ridge (also Crowleys Ridge) is a geological formation that rises 250 to above the alluvial plain of the Mississippi embayment in a line from southeastern Missouri to the Mississippi River near Helena, Arkansas. It is the most pro ...

Crowley's Ridge

In Randolph County, US 62 passes by cotton fields until

, when the route 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 ...

(Future

I-57 Interstate 57 (I-57) is a north–south Interstate Highway in Missouri and Illinois that parallels the old Illinois Central Railroad for much of its route. It runs from Sikeston, Missouri, at I-55 to Chicago, Illinois, at I-94. I-57 ess ...

).Arkansas State Highway and Transportation Department
AHTD Randolph County map
Retrieved on June 17, 2010. The route concurs with US 67 east until Corning in

Clay County Clay County is the name of 18 counties in the United States. Most are named for Henry Clay, U.S. Senator and statesman: * Clay County, Alabama * Clay County, Arkansas (named for John Clayton, and originally named Clayton County) * Clay County, Fl ...

.Arkansas State Highway and Transportation Department
AHTD Clay County map
Retrieved on June 17, 2010. The route runs east through

, and enters Missouri near St. Francis.

History

The route was originally a trail known as the Ozark Trail, which was the main series of routes in the area prior to the construction of

U.S. Route 66 U.S. Route 66 or U.S. Highway 66 (US 66 or Route 66) was one of the original highways in the United States Numbered Highway System. It was established on November 11, 1926, with road signs erected the following year. The h ...

. The Ozark Trails Association was responsible for maintaining and marking the routes, with

William Hope Harvey William Hope "Coin" Harvey (August 16, 1851 – February 11, 1936) was an American lawyer, author, politician, and health resort owner best remembered as a prominent public intellectual advancing the idea of monetary bimetallism. His enthus ...

in charge. Harvey wanted an auto trail from Oklahoma to his resort town

Monte Ne Monte Ne was a community in the Ozark mountains of the White River valley east of Rogers, on the edge of Beaver Lake, in the US state of Arkansas. From 1901 until the mid-1930s the area was a health resort and ambitious planned community. It was ...

, which he established after retiring from the railroad business. He had grand visions of trails connecting Monte Ne with

St. Louis St. Louis () is the second-largest city in Missouri, United States. It sits near the confluence of the Mississippi and the Missouri Rivers. In 2020, the city proper had a population of 301,578, while the bi-state metropolitan area, which e ...

, Kansas City,

Wichita, Kansas Wichita ( ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Kansas and the county seat of Sedgwick County. As of the 2020 census, the population of the city was 397,532. The Wichita metro area had a population of 647,610 in 2020. It is located in ...

, and

Oklahoma City Oklahoma City (), officially the City of Oklahoma City, and often shortened to OKC, is the capital and largest city of the U.S. state of Oklahoma. The county seat of Oklahoma County, it ranks 20th among United States cities in population, a ...

, and points west. U.S. Route 62 from Gateway to

was also designated part of The

Jefferson Highway The Jefferson Highway was an automobile highway stretching through the central United States from New Orleans, Louisiana, to Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. The Jefferson Highway was replaced with the new numbered US Highway system in the late 1920s. ...

, although the highway was not really marked and frequently shifted. The highway was listed as a "Proposed Primary Federal Aid Road" on a state map in the first issue of "Arkansas Highways Magazine" (1924), but not numbered. The road brought much traffic through the hills of Arkansas, previously resistant to development.

was a popular stop on the route, with many

motor inn A motel, also known as a motor hotel, motor inn or motor lodge, is a hotel designed for motorists, usually having each room entered directly from the parking area for motor vehicles rather than through a central lobby. Entering dictionaries ...

s and a vibrant downtown. Nearby Arkansas Highway 23 (The Pig Trail) further added tourists to the community. Further east, cities of Mountain Home, Cotter, and Flippin grew significantly with US 62's traffic.Arkansas. (1981). "The Effects of ferry replacement and bypass construction on U.S. 62 in Baxter County. Little Rock, Ark." Arkansas State Highway and Transportation Department. Rough terrain interspersed with large waterways caused the need for large bridges, including the Cotter Bridge (which replaced a ferry system) and the St. Louis-San Francisco Overpass.Arkansas. (1981). A Corridor study U.S. 62 Harrison to Hardy. Little Rock, Ark: The ASHTD. A 1981 study indicated a need of 31

climbing lane Climbing lanes or crawler lanes are a roadway lane design. They allow slower travel for large vehicles, such as large trucks or semi-trailer trucks, ascending a steep grade. Since climbing uphill is difficult for these vehicles, they can travel in ...

s from

to Hardy (approx. ) necessary for safety purposes, indicative of the rough terrain. Some historic alignments of the old road still exist with original pavement. One section, built between 1932 and bypassed in 1952, is located between Busch and Eureka Springs on either side of the White River. On the north side of the river Carroll County Route 109 follows the alignment to the former river crossing, where only concrete bridge piers remain to be seen. On the south side County Route 107 continues southward, eventually rejoining the modern alignment. This section was listed on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic ...

in 2008.

Major intersections

References