Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, Tennessee, Arkansas to Kansas by RV. How was it driving Arkansas Highway 23 through the Ozarks in our Class A motorhome? Where did we find cheap diesel? Don’t have time to read this now? Pin it for later!

Leg 1: New Orleans, LA to Memphis, TN Route

• Read our Quick Visit to Biloxi Mississippi article for things to do when you only have a few hours

• Great cheap campground Chickasabogue Park in Eight Mile, Alabama with Passport America ($9.36/day)

  • Check out our photos in our Awesome Passport America Deal in Alabama article

• Two fun Boondockers Welcome hosts. One in Atmore, AL and the other in Prattville, AL

• We share 3 Free Things to Do in Birmingham AL on Sunday

• At the last minute, we decided to go to Tims Ford State Park before our Jack Daniels Distillery tour so we took a different route after Huntsville. That detailed route can be found here.

• Nashville, TN

  • We share money-saving hacks, and parking tips for the Musicians Hall of Fame and Honky Tonk Highway in our Nashville and the Musicians Hall of Fame article

• FREE overnight parking in Jackson, TN at Walmart\Sam's Club. Beware of the height restricting bars on the Walmart entrances

• Memphis, TN: T.O. Fuller State Park

  • The campground had an ice machine where you could get FREE ice which was really nice since it was hot and sunny.

  • Public pool nearby that you can use for $2.50/person and good laundry prices.

  • Too many bugs! Jeri had 50 bug bites after one evening outside

Leg 2: Memphis, TN to Independence, KS Route

• Hot Springs, AR

  • Get details on hiking in our Hot Springs Mountain Tower at Hot Springs National Park article, and then treat yourself to a mineral bath the next day. Get our comparison of Buckstaff Bathhouse and Quapaw Bathhouse in our Hot Springs Arkansas Bath Houses article.

• Morrilton, AR: FREE overnight parking at the Walmart

• Arkansas Highway 23:

  • Morrilton, AR through the Ozarks to Eureka Springs, AR:

  • The road was steep and curvy, doable but a little stressful at times

  • We had to drive slow and look for turnouts to let people pass

  • We almost hit a baby deer and a fallen tree (two different incidents) but since we were driving slow and there was no oncoming traffic we were able to drive around them

  • Overall: Penguin would drive this route again

• Cheap Diesel

  • Walmart Fuel Station, 808 W Walnut St, Rogers, AR 72756

  • The cheapest diesel we have found during our entire trip! ($2.42/ga)

  • Diesel pumps were on the end, fairly easy to get to even though this is not a truck stop sized gas station

  • We got gas around 1 pm on a Sunday and only had to wait a few minutes for the cars to clear so we could pull in our 37’ Class A Motorhome and tow car

• Cherokee Turnpike: US-412 toll road

  • The free option is US-412 Alternate

  • We had to pay $6.25 since we have four axles (Motorhome has two plus tow dolly and Fiat rear wheels)

  • Overall: The Cherokee Turnpike was really smooth and a nice drive but we have never driven the US-412 Alternate route so we don’t know if it was worth the $6.25

    • Have you driven the US-412 Alternate route instead of taking the Cherokee Turnpike? What was your experience?

Where did we go? What did we do?

Looking for places to visit or things to do from New Orleans to Kansas? Click on one of these to get information to plan your next adventure!