Take a drive with us through the heart of central Arkansas as we travel north along Arkansas Highway 285, covering about 10 miles from Wooster to Martinville. This scenic segment provides more than just a rural commute—it’s a quiet, wooded ride past rolling hills, small communities, and creek crossings that showcase the laid-back charm of Faulkner County.
Our journey begins in Wooster, a growing bedroom community northwest of Conway. At the junction with Arkansas Highway 25, we pick up AR-285 heading northward. Almost immediately, we leave the more developed parts of town and begin to meander through gently curving roads surrounded by wooded lots, open fields, and the occasional farmhouse. This stretch has the classic feel of an Arkansas backroad—never too straight, never too fast, and always dotted with local flavor.
Just a few miles in, we reach Shady Grove, a small rural community where Arkansas Highway 225 intersects from the east. While the town is quiet, it’s worth noting the proximity to Cadron Creek and some old homesteads tucked just off the main road. This part of the drive is especially pleasant in the fall, when the trees lining the route start to blaze with color. North of Shady Grove, AR-285 takes a brief jog across Cadron Creek, a picturesque waterway that winds its way through much of central Arkansas and provides some nice views from the roadside.
Shortly after crossing the creek, the route skirts the edges of Twin Groves, a small incorporated town nestled in the hills. Twin Groves may be modest in size, but it has deep roots in Arkansas history as a community formed from two historically Black settlements—Solomon Grove and Zion Grove. It’s a great reminder of how these roads tie together not just places, but the stories of the people who live along them.
As we near the end of the route, the terrain flattens out again as we approach Martinville. AR-285 ends just east of town at its junction with Arkansas Highway 124, wrapping up our short, but pleasant northbound trek. While Martinville itself is a quiet rural area, it makes a good jumping-off point for further exploration of northern Faulkner County or even venturing into the Ozark foothills to the north.
Whether you’re a local heading home, a traveler enjoying the drive, or a road tripper mapping out Arkansas’s lesser-known routes, this segment of Highway 285 offers a peaceful ride with a touch of natural beauty and small-town character.
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