Horse Trails

This is not a complete list of horseback riding trails. There are many more trails and tons of variations can be made when you start making loops. Please let me know if you are interested in other trails nearby.

Ponca to Erbie (13.9 miles)

From the west end of the Ponca low-water bridge, follow the Old River Horse Trail through Buffalo River bottomlands- past old rock walls, homestead sites, and towering bluffs. There are 20 river crossings between Ponca and ride’s end at Erbie horse camp.

This trip can be shortened to 11.5 miles (17 crossings) by starting from the Steel Creek horse camp instead of Ponca.

Riding is best from September through February. From March through May, canoe traffic on the river is heavy, and in June and July the Boy Scouts’ Camp Orr is in session; parts of the ORT may be closed to horse travel during these periods.

Steel Creek, Sneeds Creek, Erbie (12.3 miles)

From Steel Creek follow the Old River Trail 3.4 miles to the downriver end of Jim Bluff. Turn left up the hill 0.1 mile, then turn right on the Sneeds Creek Trail. Pass Granny Henderson’s farmstead. Follow Sneeds Creek upstream, and go up a mountain with a 900-foot elevation gain. Pass an old quarry on the left. A quarter mile beyond the quarry, turn right onto the Bench Trail traversing the mountainside above Hemmed-in Hollow. This old road continues to the Compton-Erbie road, which you follow downhill (800-foot elevation loss) to the spur road that leads to the Erbie horse camp.

Center Point, Sneeds Creek, Erbie (12.3 miles)

Instead of Steel Creek, begin this trip at the Center Point trailhead on Highway 43, 3.5 miles north of Ponca. From the trailhead, ride down the Center Point Trail (with a 1,150-foot elevation loss) to the Sneeds Creek Trail, then proceed as above.

Cecil Cove Loop (7.2 miles)

Beginning at the Erbie horse camp, ride to the trailhead 100 yards north of the Erbie church, then take the trail up Cecil Creek. At 2.2 miles from the trailhead, the trail -the old road- begins to go uphill. Up the mountain are Jones Cemetery and three homestead sites along the benches toward the Compton-Erbie road. Follow that road downhill to the horse camp. To stretch this trip to 8.4 miles, leave the Compton-Erbie road and ride down the Farmer Trail (this road is washed out) to the Old River Horse Trail, then follow the ORT toward the horse camp.

Erbie to Pruitt (8.6 miles)

From the Erbie horse camp, ride south to the first intersection north of the river, and turn left (east). Follow the road 0.6 miles, then turn right onto a wooded road. The trail follows this road, then goes cross-country. On the way to Pruitt, there are six river crossings. At three places the horse trail briefly follows the Buffalo River Hiking Trail.

**Caution: At times the horse trail crosses or follows traveled auto roads. Highway 7 is a hazardous crossing on a curve at the river bridge. It is better to park trucks and horse trailers and end your ride at the Pruitt river access area than along busy Highway 7 at the trail crossing.

*The Park Service and the Forest Service have free literature, as well as maps that describe Buffalo River’s geology, plants, animals, and activities such as canoeing.

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