Floating the BEST Stretch of the Buffalo National River - Ponca to Kyle's Landing

Join me as I floating the BEST stretch of the Buffalo National River, Ponca to Kyle's Landing.
This is without a doubt the BEST and most scenic stretch of the Buffalo National River.
I float 11 miles from the Ponca low water bridge to Kyle's Landing. This journey took me just over 4 hours to complete. I point out all the iconic features along the way! Big Bluff, Hemmed-In Hollow, Henderson Cabin, ORT, Jim Bluff, and several more you don't want to miss!
This is the full stretch! Very raw POV view of the river. Sorry for the wind noise! I just wanted to share as much footage as possible. POV Go pro footage does not due this stretch of river justice.
This is a very long video so if you want the highlights hit the timestamps below.
0:00 Ponca Low Water Bridge
2:30 First Bluff
6:10 .75 Miles
7:35 Special Interest Area
8:01 Top of Steel Creek
10:57 Halfway through Steel Creek
11:45 Steel Creek
12:58 Steel Creek Overlook
15:40 3.5 Miles
17:45 When to float Ponca to Kyle's
22:18 4.5 Miles - Big Bluff Goat Trail
23:36 Granny Henderson Cabin
27:21 Lunch by the Goat Trail
28:00 5.0 Miles
29:53 Horseback Riders on the ORT
34:39 6.0 Miles
38:02 6.24 Miles - 2 hours
40:02 Jim Bluff
42:01 Down Tree near Jim Bluff
48:08 Special Interest Area
50:20 7.5 Miles
52:00 Hemmed-in-Hollow Falls
55:00 Base of Hemmed-in-Hollow Falls
56:38 Back on the River
58:01 4 Miles Left
1:03:00 8.5 Miles
1:08:49 9.6 Miles
1:14:05 BIG Rapid - Top of Kyle's Landing
1:15:22 Camp Site
1:17:28 Paddling through Kyle's Landing
1:20:41 Kyle's Landing
1:22:53 10.7 Miles
1:24:03 Take Out
1:24:26 Outro Thanks for Watching
@colby_rogers #float #kayaking #arkansas

[@neelsnprayer]

What a great video! I lead people down rivers in MN, IA and WI, we don't have LONG slabs of rock like that under the water up north here. It was fun to read the water and what those riffles and rapids look like. This is definitely on my bucket list now. That color of water is insane! ❤️ Thank for taking time to post this.

[@colby_rogers]

Thanks for watching!

[@blasterracer817]

What part of mn ia and wi? I’m originally from the driftless region and moved down here to Arkansas 2 years ago. The Buffalo is nothing like any of the rivers up there with the big slab rocks and the scenery. I would say the closest up there would be the yellow river in Iowa.

[@robbailey8086]

Thanks for sharing. We have an awesome river. Floated Ponca to Pruitt on an overnight. Plan to return

[@weshuber8055]

Damn i must've just missed you😂 we hit it on a sat just a 3ft about a month ago

[@wneinast]

Love the detail and mileage updates. Hoping to do a three nighter Ponca to Hasty next week. But if flows are like you hit we may need to add some distance. You were hauling at almost 4 mph from what I could tell. Perhaps rain tomorrow and Wednesday will get the flow back up to what you had.

[@colby_rogers]

I was moving at above average pace. Right around 4 mph. I did this intentionally for the video. I paddled a lot. If i just let the river carry me, it would have taken 5 hours, probably. I would typically stop a lot more and hang out. The buffalo is so rain dependent. If it's low you will paddle and walk a lot

[@greenridgeoutdooradventure3433]

Excellent video! Subscribed! What’s the best time of year to go on a multiple day kayak camping trip?

[@colby_rogers]

Thanks! I appreciate the support! Best time to float the buffalo is April - June. Any other time of the year the water levels are too low. The lower buffalo is floatable the majority of the year but I always recommend trying to hit the upper portion. So beautiful and worth it.

[@neelsnprayer]

Do know what the river level or CFS was and where the reading was from closest to this stretch?

[@colby_rogers]

2.5 ft to 5 ft is ideal. Look up buffalo outdoor center. Their website will have a guage. Or "ponca low water bridge water level" .

[@ryguyiskindofaflyguy]

I want to make it 1’day, camp at night, half a day trip on the buffalo, do you know any outfitters that will put you in closer than Ponca ?

[@colby_rogers]

Buffalo outdoor center has a variety of shuttles. I'm sure they would have a shuttle that fits your needs. You can put in and take out in a lot of different places. Ponca, steel creek, kyles, erbie, ozark, pruitt, hasty, carter, etc.... Just search the buffalo river map. You can download it from the BOC website.

[@buss34]

What was the water level for this float? The air space looked like about 10"....

[@colby_rogers]

It was around 4 ft at the ponca low water bridge. Good floating levels only last a couple of days after a good rain