Drive America’s Highways for 11 miles west along Arkansas Highway 124 from Center Ridge to Cleveland, Arkansas — a peaceful stretch through the wooded uplands and open farm country of northern Conway County.
Take a peaceful drive through the heart of Conway County as we follow Arkansas Highway 124 westward from Center Ridge to Cleveland. This short but scenic journey traces just over ten miles of countryside that captures the charm of Arkansas’s small-town life — a ribbon of pavement winding through farmland, wooded slopes, and the quiet spaces between the hills.
We begin in Center Ridge, a modest community perched along Arkansas Highway 9, where grain silos and old barns frame the intersection. The road soon bends westward, slipping past a mix of hayfields and small pastures dotted with cattle. The highway’s shoulders are narrow, its pavement smooth, and traffic is nearly non-existent — the sort of place where we might wave to a farmer tending a fence or catch the scent of fresh-cut grass drifting through the open windows. The land rolls gently, framed by the subtle contours of the Ozark foothills that dominate this region of north-central Arkansas.
Not far from the start, we cross small creeks shaded by oak and sycamore, with mailboxes clustering at gravel lanes that lead to homesteads set well back from the road. Churches like Union Chapel Free Will Baptist and community landmarks such as the occasional old schoolhouse hint at the deep roots of the families who’ve called this area home for generations. At times, the landscape opens wide enough to reveal distant ridgelines, while in others, pine thickets close in, giving the road a cozy, enclosed feeling.
As we move farther west, the countryside begins to lean more toward woodland. The patchwork of pasture gives way to stands of loblolly pine and hardwood, where sunlight flickers through the canopy and roadside wildflowers line the ditches. Around gentle curves, we might spot deer grazing or hawks circling above the open fields. The pace of the road slows our thoughts — each rise and fall in the terrain marking a subtle rhythm between cultivated land and forested hollows.
Approaching Cleveland, the terrain begins to rise once again, signaling our entrance into the hillier western portion of the county. The highway ends quietly at its junction with Arkansas Highway 95, where the pavement straightens and a few modest houses cluster near the crossroads. It’s the kind of destination that doesn’t need a welcome sign — just the sight of children’s bicycles on a porch or a church steeple peeking through the trees tells us we’ve arrived somewhere that time moves a little slower.
This drive along Highway 124 reminds us that rural Arkansas isn’t just a place on the map — it’s a mood, a rhythm, and a connection to the land that endures through generations. Between Center Ridge and Cleveland, we’re not simply passing through the Ozarks; we’re gliding through a living landscape that still echoes with the sound of crickets, the hum of tractors, and the quiet heart of country life.
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