Galveston to Eureka Springs

[GCAT9110]

Taking my 2015 Seneca (6.7/340hp) up to Eureka Springs from Galveston in October. Plan to overnight in Texarkana then next day to ES. I noticed some 1600 foot elevations in route to ES on the final trip leg. I have yet to put this Seneca in any real hilly terrain, any concerns going into ES?

[Old and soft]

I was hoping for some other responces. We pulled into the koa yesterday. We came in from Branson over the 2 lane country roads. I will be hopping west to a major hghwy heading to hot springs. It was a workout. You will be holding up the local traffic. With what I have seen in the cg, you will be fine.

[GCAT9110]

Originally Posted by Old and soft

I was hoping for some other responces. We pulled into the koa yesterday. We came in from Branson over the 2 lane country roads. I will be hopping west to a major hghwy heading to hot springs. It was a workout. You will be holding up the local traffic. With what I have seen in the cg, you will be fine.

I was hoping for more input as well. We are coming up from the Dallas area on 69N. It appears to be all good interstate roadway 69to40to49to62 then "country roads" CR107,CR118 and last leg CR187 to our finale destination KOA Eureka Springs. I am assuming 107,118 & 187 are the roads you are referring to?

[Mnwelsh]

I drove my 2015 Seneca from Minnesota to Tucson and on over to San Diego and had absolutely no problems keeping up with traffic. Sure, going up the really steep hills I was in the truck lane, but overall, she did will towing my Jeep. Ive since purchased a 2019 Seneca and it does a little better, but they are all good road machines.

[GCAT9110]

Originally Posted by GCAT9110

I was hoping for more input as well. We are coming up from the Dallas area on 69N. It appears to be all good interstate roadway 69to40to49to62 then "country roads" CR107,CR118 and last leg CR187 to our finale destination KOA Eureka Springs. I am assuming 107,118 & 187 are the roads you are referring to?

After a second look, maybe Hwy62 to 187South is the better route

[TxLoser]

I used to ride this area often on my motorcycle. I’d do major highway as much as possible headed up there. If not, the only one I’d avoid is 23 between I40 and Eureka Springs. It’s called the pigs tail. Lots of tight turns and would be a pia with a larger vehicle. Those are just hills out there so from a power perspective, I’d think any vehicle could handle NW Arkansa just fine.

If you get out with a toad, I’d drive 23 down south and find your way to Oark to the General Store for a pice of pie and some lunch. Pretty drive.

[Old and soft]

No truck lane, no shoulder, 15 mph curve at the bottom of the 50 mph hill. Seemed to go on forever. I would rather do Kansas. Did I mention the short, steep, curvy roads?
I followed my GPS, think we came in on 23. And a couple of fr's I don't care to use again. Guess I should get one of those rv route apps.

[KCSA75]

Originally Posted by GCAT9110

I was hoping for more input as well. We are coming up from the Dallas area on 69N. It appears to be all good interstate roadway 69to40to49to62 then "country roads" CR107,CR118 and last leg CR187 to our finale destination KOA Eureka Springs. I am assuming 107,118 & 187 are the roads you are referring to?

You should be OK. U.S. 62 has some hills but nothing you should need to worry about. We're I you, I would stay on 62 almost to Eureka Spring, then make a right turn on 187. If memory serves me correctly, it's less than a mile to the KOA.

Tip: While in ES, be sure to check out the Local Flavor Cafe.

[TxLoser]

On a side note, how is that KOA? Usually, state parks are more my flavor up there, but that’s a town I’d like to check out.

[Old and soft]

Koa is ok, try to set up away from 187, it's a little busy. Seems everybody else here says inside their rig. Got down to 32* Monday night.

[TxLoser]

Thanks for the feedback. Temp sounds nice.

[GCAT9110]

Originally Posted by TxLoser

I used to ride this area often on my motorcycle. I’d do major highway as much as possible headed up there. If not, the only one I’d avoid is 23 between I40 and Eureka Springs. It’s called the pigs tail. Lots of tight turns and would be a pia with a larger vehicle. Those are just hills out there so from a power perspective, I’d think any vehicle could handle NW Arkansa just fine.

If you get out with a toad, I’d drive 23 down south and find your way to Oark to the General Store for a pice of pie and some lunch. Pretty drive.

Attachment 64281

Looks like we are coming in on 49N to 62E all the way to 187. I will steer clear of 23. Thanks for the feedback

[GCAT9110]

Originally Posted by KCSA75

You should be OK. U.S. 62 has some hills but nothing you should need to worry about. We're I you, I would stay on 62 almost to Eureka Spring, then make a right turn on 187. If memory serves me correctly, it's less than a mile to the KOA.

Tip: While in ES, be sure to check out the Local Flavor Cafe.

Looks like we are coming in on 49N to 62E all the way to 187. I will steer clear of 23. Thanks for the feedback

[Old and soft]

187 makes a loop and intersects 62 twice. Koa is near the east intersection. The worst part of 62 is between 187 and eureka springs. This area must be the worst terrain in the Ozarks to build on.
If you have the cajones(my dw doesn't), the look out tower is a must do. We did the trolley tour first so we could see what we wanted to come back to. There is also a trolley service that makes loops all day for 6$ a head, would not want to try to fit my f250 into the old town area.

[gregowens1]

The Seneca should not have a problem. We drove our 2006 Seneca all over Northwest Arkansas and down to Little Rock and back home to Arizona. Wonderful trip and absolutely beautiful.

[whporwil]

Don't be afraid to down shift your truck manually instead of waiting for the transmission to drop down, makes a big difference. If you haven't heard your clutch fan kick in before don't be alarmed at least you know it's working.

[Dancingqueen]

Come on you guys. My Dad taught me to anticipate a hill or in my case in Colorado the mountains. Gun it before you get there, help your girl a bit and then “drive” the hill or mountain. Downshift the other side. Piece of cake. Just loving to drive my Seneca through the mountains. A month ago I Left Yellowstone , crossEd Continental Divide at 8300 and headed to SouthbDakota. Left there on Tuesday for Az. More hills and mountains. Lovely drive. She handled like the queen she is thanks for listening.

[HawkRanger]

The Pig Trail is steep and full of tight curves, but it's beautiful in the fall. No problems on several trips in a Greyhawk 31SS flat towing a Jeep.

[Kiwimg]

Originally Posted by Old and soft

No truck lane, no shoulder, 15 mph curve at the bottom of the 50 mph hill. Seemed to go on forever. I would rather do Kansas. Did I mention the short, steep, curvy roads?
I followed my GPS, think we came in on 23. And a couple of fr's I don't care to use again. Guess I should get one of those rv route apps.

I have a campground app called RV life. It’s a free app to look up campgrounds and offers RV friendly directions with a subscription. You put in the year, make, model of your rig and it has all the specs for it including height, width, length etc. The gps maps are constantly updated so you are always aware of any changes including road construction.
It’s well worth the subscription fee, but the free app is also full of great information on campgrounds, and local knowledge.

[Gunslinger]

I double pull a 5th wheel with either my sand rail or my side by side on 23 (Pig Trail) a lot, behind a 04 Chevy 2500 HD, Duramax and Allison. The only issue I ever had was trans temp getting high because I forgot enter tow mode. Otherwise, easy peasy. Beautiful drive. Don't bypass Pig Trail.