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The Fire Tower Cottage is located in the Compton Township, but it's actually closer to Ponca, which is about 65 miles north of Clarksville. It sits on top of the mountain (hence the reason to locate a fire tower there) at 2,431 feet elevation with a 360 degree view, that's only 322 feet lower than the highest point in Arkansas, Mount Magazine. There are lots of trees, so from the ground the view is obstructed in areas when the leaves are on. The view to the east looks into the Buffalo River National Park and over the Steel Creek recreation area. You can't actually see the Buffalo River since the elevation change is about 1500 feet in about a mile or so. Yep, it is very steep!! Views to the northwest, west and south are as far as one can see. To the north is the shortest view and it's maybe 2-3 miles to the next mountain top.

The nearest town is Ponca, but there isn't a lot there other than the Ponca Elk Education Center (lots of my photos displayed there), Buffalo Outdoor Center (canoe rentals), a post office and a small convenience store.

Compton is about 4 miles away and it has Simm's One Stop - home of the world's worst pancakes (really, they're terrible - Ha!) but the make a mean burger and fries or excellent pizza.

Jasper (the county seat) is about 20 miles and there are a couple of good places to eat as well as the Arkansas Grand Canyon - a must see.

Harrison is 24 miles and a good sized town with a Wally World, a good collection of chain restaurants and Home Depot. FedEx has a huge regional office there that employs a ton of people. It's the nearest "big" town.

Eureka Springs is 45 minutes and Branson is an hour away.

Are there hiking trails close by?? Only a gazillion miles of them. (ha ha) You're right in the heart of the Upper Buffalo River area. Lost Valley is a good starting point. It has easy trails that are well defined and some excellent geological formations and if you're fortunate, Angel Falls will be running. It's a short drive of maybe 4 miles.

Another easy hike that is short - the Buffalo River Trail from Ponca to Steel Creek, it's a 1 on a scale of 5 in difficulty -very easy, but well worth the walk and it is closer than Lost Valley.

A half mile from my place there is the Center Point Trailhead. From there you can hike to Hemmed in Hollow, the Goat Trail and to Big Bluff. Beware, these are steep trails and not for the unprepared.

Then there are miles and miles of established trails to take, all depending on the difficulty level you're looking for.

The Bat Cave at Boxley is what brought me to this area when I was a kid. It's VERY cool! You can spend hours spelunking in this undeveloped cave that was a salt peter mine during the civil war. Battles were fought over this cave as it yielded the key ingredient for making gunpowder. You'll have less than a ten mile drive to park near the entrance.

The list goes on and is way too large to cover - there are many books on the market that will tell you more about the attraction of the Upper Buffalo River Area. Tim Earnst book on Buffalo Hiking Trails is a great guide to the area.







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