Five Rivers Rumble


motorcycling five rivers rumbleMotorcycling or driving the amazing 140 mile Five Rivers Rumble offers a beautiful mix of hills and curves, nature and history! The route takes about half a day, counting a meal stop, or a full day if you stop at some of the points of interest along the way.

  • Visit the site of the capture of a Civil War general.
  • Ride over five different rivers.
  • Travel a section of the Cherokee Trail of Tears.
  • Drive through the Mark Twain National Forest.
  • See the oldest residence in the state of Arkansas.
  • Visit Davidsonville Historic State Park, site of Arkansas’ first courthouse.

Five Rivers RumbleDownload Turn-By-Turn Directions, Maps, and GPS Coordinates

The Rumble begins in Pocahontas, Arkansas, population about 7,000 and home to Lesmeister Guesthouse and other lodging opportunities, restaurants, and historic sites of interest, such as the site of the capture of Civil War general Jeff Thompson. Proceeding north through the German immigrant community of Engelberg, the route winds through the Ozark hills through the town of Maynard and the original route of the Trail of Tears, then north into Missouri and the quaint town of Doniphan.

Crumpie’s Barbecue. Everything on the menu is delicious!

After circling through Doniphan the route enters the Mark Twain National Forest before passing the wonderful Crumpie’s Barbecue, an oasis for rest and good food near the town of Myrtle.

Turning south back into Arkansas, just outside the community of Dalton the route passes the fully restored Rice House, an 1828 log cabin that’s the oldest dwelling in Arkansas, before traveling to Ravenden Springs, home to the beautiful Hall’s Creek Canyon.

Before returning to Pocahontas the Rumble passes Davidsonville Historic State Park, location of the first courthouse in the whole state of Arkansas.

The route presents numerous places to eat and places to buy gasoline.

Restaurants
Locations with restaurants along the Rumble route. A star in the upper left corner of the map marks the location of Crumpie’s Barbecue, at about the half-way point of the route.
Locations with gasoline along the Rumble route.
Locations with gasoline along the Rumble route.

Points of Interest Along the Five Rivers Rumble

  1. Points of InterestAcross US 67 from downtown Pocahontas, stop into the visitor information center in the old train depot to learn about all the points of interest in Pocahontas and the northeast Arkansas/southeast Missouri area. Pick up a copy of the booklet “70+ Things To See and Do In and Around Pocahontas.” Downtown Pocahontas has a monument and a marker on the site of the capture of Civil War General Jeff Thompson. The downtown area is dominated by the beautifully restored 1872 courthouse, and a town square with shopping, restaurants, an art gallery, dance studio, and other points of interest.
  2. The town of Maynard features a wonderful old log cabin that houses a museum of pioneer life. The Cherokee Trail of Tears went right through Maynard.
  3. The Supply community was a  point where 5 roads came together in pioneer days. A store was there to sell supplies to the settlers, and there’s still a small store there today. There’s also a historical marker giving information about the Trail of Tears that passed through Supply.
  4. The Rumble route passes right by the 1828 Rice House log cabin, recently restored by the state of Arkansas and featuring numerous markers describing pioneer life at the old house in the early 19th century.
  5. At Ravenden Springs the route passes Hall’s Creek Canyon, with steep rock cliffs on either side of a good-sized creek. The rugged canyon has long been a hiking and camping area for the local people, and it includes a cave that was home to the first school in the state of Arkansas.
  6. Davidsonville Historic State Park features full-sized recreations of the outlines of Arkansas’ first courthouse and land office on their original sites in the old town of Davidsonville. Once county seat for a huge county that included all of what’s now northern Arkansas and southern Missouri, Davidsonville faded into history when major roads bypassed the town’s location in the 1820’s.

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