Arkansas Highway 286: Saltillo to Conway

Join us as we drive six scenic miles westward along Arkansas Highway 286, from the quiet community of Saltillo to the bustling city of Conway. This brief but engaging stretch of road offers a surprising mix of rural tranquility and urban transition, making it a great example of how quickly the Arkansas landscape can shift. The drive starts at the eastern terminus of AR-286 in Saltillo, at the junction with Clinton Road. From here, the highway winds gently northwest, threading its way through dense woods and rolling terrain as part of the broader Palarm Creek watershed. It’s a peaceful area, full of natural beauty, where glimpses of small ponds and trickling creeks occasionally peek through the trees. The route is mostly free of development at this point, giving travelers a calm and shaded journey for the first few miles.

As we make our way toward Conway, the scenery slowly begins to change. The woodlands give way to scattered homes and residential subdivisions as AR-286 approaches the outskirts of the city. Just past German Road, we officially enter Conway city limits, and the highway adopts the name Dave Ward Drive — a well-known east-west corridor that plays a major role in local traffic flow. This part of the route reflects Conway’s growth in recent decades, with a mix of apartment complexes, shopping centers, and service businesses lining both sides of the road. If you’re making the drive around mealtime, you’ll find several local eateries and national chains conveniently located along this stretch. The once-rural highway now feels decidedly suburban as it feeds into the heart of Faulkner County’s largest city.

The final leg of our journey takes us west along Dave Ward Drive toward a modern dog-bone roundabout — a distinctive traffic design that improves flow at busy intersections. This one, in particular, serves as a gateway to Interstate 40, offering quick connections north toward Conway’s central business district and south toward Little Rock. The AR-286 designation ends at the I-40 interchange, but Dave Ward Drive continues further west, connecting to the University of Central Arkansas and numerous residential neighborhoods beyond. Whether you’re commuting into town, exploring Conway’s attractions, or heading toward destinations along the interstate, this short segment of AR-286 is a useful and scenic connector through central Arkansas.

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