The forest includes the highest point in Arkansas, Mount Magazine, and Blanchard Springs Caverns.

The southern section of the forest lies along the Arkansas River Valley south to the Ouachita Mountains.

The Ozark Highlands Trail, built and maintained by over 3,000 volunteers, is the longest hiking trail in the forest and extends for 165 miles (270 km) from the Buffalo National River to Lake Fort Smith State Park in the far western portion of the state.

In descending order of forestland they are Newton, Pope, Johnson, Franklin, Crawford, Logan, Baxter, Stone, Madison, Yell, Van Buren, Searcy, Washington, Benton, Conway, and Marion counties.

There are local ranger district offices located in Clarksville, Hector, Jasper, Mountain View, Ozark, and Paris.

It covers 22,600 acres (91 km2)[2] in eastern Arkansas along the Mississippi River, in Lee and Phillips counties, and is one of the smallest national forests in the United States.

The majority of the Forest is situated on Crowley's Ridge, but it extends into the low, flat lands along the Mississippi and St. Francis Rivers.