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

[@matthewmace3566]

much better than watching a movie. it took me there.

[@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

[@rootwad]

Ran Ponca to Kyles yesterday. It was too low, but i went for it. It was bumper boats, unfortunately. Gonna be obsessing over the gauges for the next few weeks, would love to get back out there with more water!

[@colby_rogers]

Sorry to hear it was too low
It makes for a long day when you drag. I did a portion of the Kings River yesterday, and it was a paddle fest. Too low.
That's pretty typical this time of year, unfortunately. I usually find spring fed rivers and fish the lakes during summer. I hope to get on the buffalo at least one more time this season. I will also be watching the guage!

[@rootwad]

@@colby_rogers I'm reading my comment this morning and i should have said "It was still worth it." Really great experience.
I'll keep my eyes peeled for you this summer, hope to see you on the water!

[@pdoggtheog]

Hey where do you park if you are self shuttling?

[@colby_rogers]

@@pdoggtheog To self shuttle... you have to drop a car at kyles landing . then drive to ponca low water bridge to put on. Kyles landing is a mad house on the weekends and parking can be really crazy. I suggest hitting it during weekdays or go really early in the morning.
also, if you are camping on the river. you can't park at ponca low water bridge. you will have to put on at Steel Creek. They allow overnight parking

[@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

[@DMTaber]

I like how you just shoot the scenery and no music or any of that shit. I'm from Arkansas and grew up on the Buffalo an a bunch of othe killers spots in Arkansas . New subscriber

[@colby_rogers]

Awesome, im glad you like the "raw" format! I try to keep it as natrual as possible. Thank you for the sub!

[@ronthomas7892]

Question.
How do you attach your gopro to your kayak?
Want to start filming this year and will take any input.

[@colby_rogers]

This video shows how i film 90 percent of the time. Im glad you asked this! I will make a video and show the different methods i use to film! Thanks for watching! Ill get a better how to film kayaking video up soon! th-cam.com/users/shortsyHjtX_kQiko?feature=share

[@cathyalvarado9629]

How experienced kayaking does one need to be for this river trip? I am experienced but some friends on mine want to do this. Thanks in advance 😊

[@colby_rogers]

It's not bad. I've taken someone who had never floated before and they did fine. Fairly easy, family-friendly float. Enjoy!

[@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" .

[@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

[@mackjenkins7721]

That was an awesome kayak trip man in your Crocs man. I like crocs i hear they are really really comfortable to wear for kayaking. The problem that I have with them is they are not wide enough for my feet 🦶. I have big very very Extremely wide feet sz15 6E wide ( which is very very extremely wide feet 🦶 ) with very very chubby fat wide toes that are Evenly straight across making my foot very very Extremely wide at 6 1/2 inches wide from my big toe to my lil toe. With footwear being made for toes that are at a 45° Degrees angle & my toes are Evenly straight across my 4/5 toes get crushed & hurt my toes really really bad so i can only wear open toes footwear like flip flops 🩴which barely and I mean barely fit on my feet 🦶 because my toes are wider than the flip flops 🩴 straps. One of my buddy said that i should get a Pair & cut a small Section out of the toes boxes area for my toes to hang out of the crocs comfortable. I am wondering if i should do that? Cuz I really do like crocs. I see a lot of people wearing them while kayaking. Your kayak trip was awesome & i would love to do that river with my family. Thanks you for sharing this video buddy.

[@colby_rogers]

Thanks for watching! I'd recommend giving Crocs a try. I think they might make slides? Or tevas have been good for me in the past. However, I don't suffer from the problem you describe, so I'm probably not much help, haha. Best of luck finding the right footwear to enjoy the river!

[@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.