Timeline
1972: The Buffalo River is designated as the first national river in the United States.
1974: A Marine Corps veteran, Mike Mills moves to the Buffalo River to manage Lost Valley Lodge & Canoe Rental.
1976: “The fellow who owned [Lost Valley] tried to sell it to me for exactly twice what he’d paid for it,” Mills said. “I said no.” Instead, he opens Buffalo Outdoor Center in a former cafe in Ponca, starting with 66 aluminum canoes
1980: BOC builds its first log cabin, sticking a toe into the lodging industry, which now delivers the biggest piece of its revenue.
1982: Mills starts a four-year run as director of tourism for the Arkansas Department of Parks & Tourism.
1985: Mills continues BOC’s expansion with more cabins.
1996: He acquires the domain buffaloriver.com for $20, making BOC an early player in digital tourism.
2002: BOC opens its RiverWind Lodge, a wilderness venue for weddings, corporate retreats and get-togethers for families and friends.
2009: Mills is president of the America Outdoors Association.
2010: Ziplines are added to BOC, which initiates the first canopy tour in Arkansas. The course is updated three times over the years.
2011: Mills turns over day-to-day operations of the business to Austin Albers, his son-in-law.
2012: The company opens a new 5,000-SF retail center and office space, with an in-house deli and fuel services. The lodge reopens after reconstruction after a fire.
2013: Buffalo Outdoor Center is named Arkansas Business of the Year by this newspaper for enterprises with fewer than 25 employees.
2016: BOC opens its RV park.
2018: The company purchases the former Cedar Crest Lodge, rechristening it as Ponca Creek Lodge in 2019.
2019: BOC adds treetop cabins to its lodgings and opens its mountain bike trails and rental services.
2021: A backcountry aviation strip and hangar/cabin are installed above the bluff.
December 2022: Mills is named secretary of the Arkansas Department of Parks, Heritage & Tourism by Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders.
June 2023: Mills departs as secretary of the department after just six months. No reason is given.
2026: Buffalo Outdoor Center will celebrate its 50th anniversary.
Over the years, Mills spent 39 years on the Arkansas Travel Council and 40 years with the Tourism Development Foundation. He served on the Arkansas State Parks, Recreation & Travel Commission for 18 years, and Albers is now a member of the panel.
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