Uploaded February 2025 | Updated September 2026, 6 hours ago
The Gray Spring Recreation Area is a lovely picnic spot with stunning views in the Ozark-St. Francis National Forest. It’s situated on northern Franklin County, along Forest Road 1003. You’ll find a picnic shelter, comfortable facilities, an outdoor barbecue pit, and picnic tables. The picnic area and Forest Road 1003 were created in 1934 by a team from the Civilian Conservation Corps. They were even listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1995. The road, which winds around Black Mountain, still has some cool CCC-built features, like a bridge and many stone culverts.
The Civilian Conservation Corps was one of Roosevelt’s New Deal programs enacted within his first 100 days in office back in 1933. The country was in the throes of the Great Depression with 25% of the workforce unemployed. At the same time, farmland and forests across the nation were deteriorating from a combination of poor farming practices and deforestation. President Roosevelt seized the opportunity to implement conservation methods and employ thousands of young men through the CCC.
Not every trip is epic. The news media taught us if it bleeds it leads and that has found its way into the overland space. Now look, I get it. Crazy recoveries and the “we almost died” thumbnail captions tend to earn the clicks. But that’s just not what got me into this space. I’m after the thing behind the thing. The heart that drives the action. And this one is exactly that. A dad and his 4 year old daughter doing some exploring.
Become a member: youtube.com/bakeroverland/join
Check out our website: bakeroverland.com
Chapters 📖
00:00 Intro
00:43 Ozark Sight Seeing
03:24 General History of Gray Springs Recreation Area (GSRA)
04:00 Arriving At GSRA
04:50 History of The Civilian Conservation Corps
06:15 Lunch - Mamoo's Camp Kitchen - mamooscampkitchen.com/shop/?ref=y2zmnda use code: BKOLD10
07:53 Meet Bop
12:00 Teach Them The Way
12:58 Back On The Trail
15:13 Final Thoughts
Content referenced in this video:
youtube.com/watch?v=x4F5gIWS_Is&t=348s
youtube.com/watch?v=YKQls33ipcw&t=4s
onlyinark.com/arkansas-women-bloggers/ccc-arkansas
tinyurl.com/yeyk5cn4
#ccc #overland #history #offroad #youtubenewwave #toyota #toyota4x4
Shoutout to our sponsors:
Natural State Overland: geni.us/bo-nso
ANKER: geni.us/boanker
OnX Offroad: tinyurl.com/bakeronx
Outback RV: geni.us/outbackrv
Midwest Adventure Outfitters: geni.us/BOMAO
All Roads Taken: geni.us/allroadstaken (Save 10% with code: BAKEROVERLAND)
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⚙️ Overland Gear (hitting the high points - affiliate)
📡 Starlink - Get one month free: geni.us/bostarlink
☕️ Outin Espresso Maker - geni.us/outin
Code: BAKEROVERLAND
🧊 Save 12% on ICECO products: geni.us/iceco
Use code: BAKEROVERLAND at checkout
❄️ Setpower Fridge - geni.us/bosetpower
☃️ Zero Breeze AC - geni.us/bozerobreeze
🔪 Camp Knife - geni.us/bopkv
🎽 Conqueror UEV-490 - geni.us/uev490
𐃏 Fittipaldi Wheels - geni.us/fittipaldi
🥩 Falcon Tires - geni.us/falken
💧Water Port Weekender - amzn.to/3UnQAkL
⛑ Outer Limit Supply - geni.us/waterport
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📸 Sony A7 IV - geni.us/bosonya7iv
📸 Sony A7 CII - geni.us/bosonya7cii
🔭 Sony 24-70mm f2.8 - geni.us/bosony2470
🔭 Sony 70-100mm f2.8 - geni.us/bosony70100
🔭 Sony 50mm f1.4 - geni.us/bosony50
🔭 Peak Design Tripod - geni.us/peakdesigntri
🕶️ PolarPro VND - geni.us/bopolar
💡 PolarPro Blue/Gold morphic Filter - geni.us/bopolarfx
📸 GoPro 10 - geni.us/bogopro
🚁 DJI Air 2S - geni.us/bodjiair2s
🎙 DJI Mic - geni.us/bodjimic1
🎙 DJI Mic Mini - geni.us/bodjimic2
🎙 UA SD-1 - geni.us/bosd1
🔌 UA Volt Preamp - geni.us/bovolt
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instagram.com/bakeroverland
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Remember the more you camp the less 🦌 the 👽 abduct 🤘🏻
Disclaimer: Caleb Baker (Baker Overland) is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to amazon.com
All opinions are my own; sponsors are acknowledged. Links in the description are typically affiliate links that if you click on one of the product links, I'll receive a small commission. This helps support my channel and allows me to continue making awesome videos like this. Thank you for the support!
More info on affiliates, opinions, and copyright:
bakeroverland.com/legal
The Gray Spring Recreation Area is a lovely picnic spot with stunning views in the Ozark-St. Francis National Forest. It’s situated on northern Franklin County, along Forest Road 1003. You’ll find a picnic shelter, comfortable facilities, an outdoor barbecue pit, and picnic tables. The picnic area and Forest Road 1003 were created in 1934 by a team from the Civilian Conservation Corps. They were even listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1995. The road, which winds around Black Mountain, still has some cool CCC-built features, like a bridge and many stone culverts.
The Civilian Conservation Corps was one of Roosevelt’s New Deal programs enacted within his first 100 days in office back in 1933. The country was in the throes of the Great Depression with 25% of the workforce unemployed. At the same time, farmland and forests across the nation were deteriorating from a combination of poor farming practices and deforestation. President Roosevelt seized the opportunity to implement conservation methods and employ thousands of young men through the CCC.
Not every trip is epic. The news media taught us if it bleeds it leads and that has found its way into the overland space. Now look, I get it. Crazy recoveries and the “we almost died” thumbnail captions tend to earn the clicks. But that’s just not what got me into this space. I’m after the thing behind the thing. The heart that drives the action. And this one is exactly that. A dad and his 4 year old daughter doing some exploring.
Become a member: youtube.com/bakeroverland/join
Check out our website: bakeroverland.com
Chapters 📖
00:00 Intro
00:43 Ozark Sight Seeing
03:24 General History of Gray Springs Recreation Area (GSRA)
04:00 Arriving At GSRA
04:50 History of The Civilian Conservation Corps
06:15 Lunch - Mamoo's Camp Kitchen - mamooscampkitchen.com/shop/?ref=y2zmnda use code: BKOLD10
07:53 Meet Bop
12:00 Teach Them The Way
12:58 Back On The Trail
15:13 Final Thoughts
Content referenced in this video:
youtube.com/watch?v=x4F5gIWS_Is&t=348s
youtube.com/watch?v=YKQls33ipcw&t=4s
onlyinark.com/arkansas-women-bloggers/ccc-arkansas
tinyurl.com/yeyk5cn4
#ccc #overland #history #offroad #youtubenewwave #toyota #toyota4x4
Shoutout to our sponsors:
Natural State Overland: geni.us/bo-nso
ANKER: geni.us/boanker
OnX Offroad: tinyurl.com/bakeronx
Outback RV: geni.us/outbackrv
Midwest Adventure Outfitters: geni.us/BOMAO
All Roads Taken: geni.us/allroadstaken (Save 10% with code: BAKEROVERLAND)
_____________________________________________
⚙️ Overland Gear (hitting the high points - affiliate)
📡 Starlink - Get one month free: geni.us/bostarlink
☕️ Outin Espresso Maker - geni.us/outin
Code: BAKEROVERLAND
🧊 Save 12% on ICECO products: geni.us/iceco
Use code: BAKEROVERLAND at checkout
❄️ Setpower Fridge - geni.us/bosetpower
☃️ Zero Breeze AC - geni.us/bozerobreeze
🔪 Camp Knife - geni.us/bopkv
🎽 Conqueror UEV-490 - geni.us/uev490
𐃏 Fittipaldi Wheels - geni.us/fittipaldi
🥩 Falcon Tires - geni.us/falken
💧Water Port Weekender - amzn.to/3UnQAkL
⛑ Outer Limit Supply - geni.us/waterport
_____________________________________________
🎥 Video Gear (hitting the high points - affiliate)
📸 Sony A7 IV - geni.us/bosonya7iv
📸 Sony A7 CII - geni.us/bosonya7cii
🔭 Sony 24-70mm f2.8 - geni.us/bosony2470
🔭 Sony 70-100mm f2.8 - geni.us/bosony70100
🔭 Sony 50mm f1.4 - geni.us/bosony50
🔭 Peak Design Tripod - geni.us/peakdesigntri
🕶️ PolarPro VND - geni.us/bopolar
💡 PolarPro Blue/Gold morphic Filter - geni.us/bopolarfx
📸 GoPro 10 - geni.us/bogopro
🚁 DJI Air 2S - geni.us/bodjiair2s
🎙 DJI Mic - geni.us/bodjimic1
🎙 DJI Mic Mini - geni.us/bodjimic2
🎙 UA SD-1 - geni.us/bosd1
🔌 UA Volt Preamp - geni.us/bovolt
_____________________________________________
More Deets
🎥 For production help visit starshinemedia.co or email us at info@starshinemedia.co
instagram.com/bakeroverland
tiktok.com/@bakeroverland
Remember the more you camp the less 🦌 the 👽 abduct 🤘🏻
Disclaimer: Caleb Baker (Baker Overland) is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to amazon.com
All opinions are my own; sponsors are acknowledged. Links in the description are typically affiliate links that if you click on one of the product links, I'll receive a small commission. This helps support my channel and allows me to continue making awesome videos like this. Thank you for the support!
More info on affiliates, opinions, and copyright:
bakeroverland.com/legal
