One segment begins in Clarksville in the Arkansas River Valley and runs north to the Ozark National Forest.

A second route runs through a sparsely populated segment of the Ozark Mountains between the Buffalo National River and Highway 21 near the Missouri state line.

[10] Highway 103 begins at the intersection of Lakeview Drive as Marina Road in Clarksville near the Spadra Creek Use Area along the Arkansas River.

[11] Now forming a 0.42 miles (0.68 km) concurrency westbound with US 64, the highways pass the Dunlap House and Johnson County Courthouse, both listed on the National Register of Historic Places (NRHP).

[12] Following the university, Highway 103 exits Clarksville and heads northwest to Harmony through sparsely populated forested land.

[14] The highway runs north into Carroll County to Osage and passes Stamps Store before forming a concurrency with US 412 to the west.

[2][3] In 1937, the segment between Lurton and Western Grove switched numbers with Highway 123, which ran between Clarksville to the Ozark National Forest boundary south of Oark.

[22] In response to the act, the Arkansas State Highway Commission extended the AR 103 designation south from Green Forest to Rule on July 10, 1957.