The Buffalo River was designated by Congress as America's first National River in 1972, on the centennial anniversary of the declaration of Yellowstone as America's first National Park. The Buffalo River is the destination for just over a million visitors annually, the state's fourth largest tourist attraction.
Visitors come primarily to canoe, hunt, fish, hike, or camp.
The National Park Service runs the Buffalo National River as a protected park, but their jurisdiction extends only to the 95,000 acres immediately adjacent to the river.