Buffalo
2) Boxley to Ponca (6.1 miles)
| Difficulty | II |
| Length | 6.1 mi |
| Avg Gradient | n/a |
| Gauge | Buffalo River Near Boxley, Ar |
| Flow Rate as of 48 minutes | 113 cfsbelow recommended |
| Reach Info Last Updated | May 22, 2025 |
River Description
Information may be found at the National Park Service website for Buffalo National River
Short Fun Class II/II+ Run. Only comes up after a large rain and only will remain runnable for a day or two. Top 1/3rd of the Run is willows, a couple of solid II+ rapids in the middle, followed by some wave trains at higher waters then a run out to the Ponca Low Water Bridge. Super short easy shuttle straight down the highway, big access points at put-in and take-out, what's not to love.
At low water (200cfs to 350cfs) it's a great run step up level if you feel like Ponca to Kyle's landing isn't exciting enough. Things will happen faster here than the Ponca run, and you need to be on your toes. This is not the Buffalo you're probably used too.
At Medium Runnable (350cfs to 1500cfs) hazards will come at you quite fast, and you need to have some whitewater skills and whitewater specific craft. This includes helmets, PFDs that are worn, and flotation in canoes. The waves are big enough at this level open boats *will* take on water and get swamped if they don't have flotation and bailing & pump setups.
With High water (1500+ CFS) the river run thru Boxley becomes a bullet train.. dodge the trees and ride the waves, most of the holes start to wash out and are replaced with big tall haystacks. You'll also be done in under an hour, so you can lap it over and over all afternoon while the big water is up. This is not a level for anyone except skilled whitewater boaters with proper craft.
If things go totally sideways on your run, get out river left and walk thru the fields or the many access roads to the nearby highway 21 and flag someone down to get help or a ride. Private property does exist alongside National Park Land thru this area which should be avoided if at all possible, but in a true emergency getting off the river thru here is quite easy.
River Features
Put In - Boxley Bridge
Park on either side of the highway, on the North of the Bridge. Make sure to leave room for vehicles to pass down Cave Mountain Road to the Southwest. Parking on the shoulder of Cave mountain is cleaner on the vehicles, but launching a boat is easier on the Northeast side. If you're launching a raft you pretty well have to be on the Northeast side.
Beech Creek
The Class V Beech Creek enters the Buffalo here, roughly half a mile downstream from the Boxley Bridge.
Cave Rapid
The first of 2 notable rapids: At 1.35 miles the river forks around an island into a clearer right channel, and a willow and wood choked left channel. Take the right channel. Go another .10 miles and you'll see a large boulder river right, easily go around it to the left, and you'll notice a large 'Cave' river right that most of the water goes into. Get into the flow and ride it down under the overhanging rock (Catch the eddy in the Cave for bonus point, then peel back out into the flow) then back to the left again as you exit the cave and miss all the rock piles at the bottom of the turn. Start turning back right again, ride the flow into a series of small fun holes as the left fork of the river comes back together with the right. With a slice boat, practice stern squirts on the well defined eddy lines where the 2 flows come together.
The Ledges
Second Rapid of Note: Just a nice series of riverwide (or near riverwide holes) followed by a wave train. All are surfable, and all will flip you if hit them sideways at medium water and up. Good gravel bar river left to pick up stuff. 1st hole is strong top river left, 2nd hole is the biggest, but as of Spring 2025 has a 'wedge' shape to it, so it's very hard to surf and nearly impossible to get kept in. After that a series of small green waves, almost all of which are surfable. Great practice and play spot, and easy drag up river left. Eddy service to the middle 'wedge' hole on river right, along the bank.
Take Out
Low Water Bridge at Ponca. If water is high enough to be running Boxley, there's a good chance the LWB will be covered. Make sure to get well to river left BEFORE you get to the bridge. On river left the bridge is more of a 'causeway' with no space to allow current to pass underneath it.
DO NOT UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCE GO RIGHT-MIDDLE as that's where the channel goes, and the bridge has a hole there to let the river thru at low water. It has been known to suck boaters underneath in this spot if they get too close. Don't be one of these boaters.