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Planning a trip to Arkansas with family, need advice from a local
Posted on 6/15/17 at 5:12 pm
Posted on 6/15/17 at 5:12 pm
I cover Arkansas for work (along with 5 other states) and planning to bring the whole family with me and stay a week.
Looking for area with:
-possibly cooler temps
-hiking and activities
-population areas nearby for work
Can any Hog fans help us out?
Looking for area with:
-possibly cooler temps
-hiking and activities
-population areas nearby for work
Can any Hog fans help us out?
11
Posted on 6/15/17 at 6:44 pm to AtlantaLSUfan
Go west young man
Posted on 6/15/17 at 7:44 pm to AtlantaLSUfan
Many choices for activities in the northwest.
Posted on 6/15/17 at 8:10 pm to Sody Cracker
Like Fayetteville? That's 8.5hr drive from Baton Rouge. Anything to do in Fort Smith? Hot Springs maybe.
Posted on 6/15/17 at 8:41 pm to AtlantaLSUfan
Don't make eye contact with the locals. They take that as a sign of affection.
Posted on 6/15/17 at 8:46 pm to AtlantaLSUfan
I'm not too familiar with Ft. Smith. Fayetteville is only an hour north of Ft. Smith. Hot Springs most likely has more to offer than Ft. Smith, such as hiking, fishing, a national park.
Posted on 6/15/17 at 8:50 pm to AtlantaLSUfan
Hot springs has a lot of trails in the area. It also has a low grade theme park with a nice water park.
Posted on 6/15/17 at 11:16 pm to AtlantaLSUfan
Northwest is best.
If your choices are Hot Springs vs Fort Smith, I'd probably take Hot Springs for family stuff. If you're coming all the way to Fort Smith, Fayetteville is less than an hour north so you might as well come on up.
Hot Springs won't have the cooler temps, though. It has some cool older buildings, but the condition of some of them pisses me off.
There's a theme park and water park there for the kids, as the above poster said.
The Little Rock area gets a bad rap, but the west side is fine. There's hiking there (pinnacle mtn), a water park, and downtown is cool on the riverfront with the bike paths, etc. A lot of it is ghetto tho, but not really as horrible as some people think. LR is miles ahead of Jackson.
If your choices are Hot Springs vs Fort Smith, I'd probably take Hot Springs for family stuff. If you're coming all the way to Fort Smith, Fayetteville is less than an hour north so you might as well come on up.
Hot Springs won't have the cooler temps, though. It has some cool older buildings, but the condition of some of them pisses me off.
There's a theme park and water park there for the kids, as the above poster said.
The Little Rock area gets a bad rap, but the west side is fine. There's hiking there (pinnacle mtn), a water park, and downtown is cool on the riverfront with the bike paths, etc. A lot of it is ghetto tho, but not really as horrible as some people think. LR is miles ahead of Jackson.
This post was edited on 6/15/17 at 11:19 pm
Posted on 6/16/17 at 7:37 am to AtlantaLSUfan
I'm no Hog fan but I've been living in Arkansas for the past 7 years. Whatever you do don't go to Ft Smith, that place sucks. My wife is from there and that place is so depressing. I don't know what it is but as soon as you drive into town it's like a cloud of depression hangs over the city. As far as Fayetteville, I've been once or twice so I don't know very much about it. All I know is people from up there always talk about how it is so much better than Central Arkansas (I'm not saying they're wrong, I really don't know). I live in Conway and love it here. There are lots of places to go for outdoor activities. Arkansas as a whole has a lot to offer in terms of outdoor activities. What kind of activities are you looking for? Do you like disc golf, swimming holes, kayaking, rock climbing? What do you mean by populated areas for work?
Posted on 6/16/17 at 1:11 pm to AtlantaLSUfan
If you're coming for a week, come on up to NWA.
The family can enjoy hiking, kayaking, lakes, and also everything a metro of 500K+ has to offer, plus a lot you will find exceptional to a metro this small.
Crystal Bridges Museum of American art is worth a trip, if only to stroll the grounds. It's fantastic. It is also totally FREE.
Eureka Springs is a place you can spend most of a day just walking around killing time, browsing, about 1 hr east of NWA. Branson isn't too much further, if that's something you're interested in doing.
Devil's Den State Park, Hobbs State Park, Beaver Lake, the Buffalo National River area are all worth spending a day at.
Lake Fort Smith park gets overlooked, but if you wanted to rent a cabin, that's also a beautiful place, between Fort Smith and Fayetteville, in the Ozarks.
Fort Smith the city is boring, and located in the Arkansas River Valley, so it isn't really geographically interesting. They are working on improving their downtown, but it has a ways to go.
The family can enjoy hiking, kayaking, lakes, and also everything a metro of 500K+ has to offer, plus a lot you will find exceptional to a metro this small.
Crystal Bridges Museum of American art is worth a trip, if only to stroll the grounds. It's fantastic. It is also totally FREE.
Eureka Springs is a place you can spend most of a day just walking around killing time, browsing, about 1 hr east of NWA. Branson isn't too much further, if that's something you're interested in doing.
Devil's Den State Park, Hobbs State Park, Beaver Lake, the Buffalo National River area are all worth spending a day at.
Lake Fort Smith park gets overlooked, but if you wanted to rent a cabin, that's also a beautiful place, between Fort Smith and Fayetteville, in the Ozarks.
Fort Smith the city is boring, and located in the Arkansas River Valley, so it isn't really geographically interesting. They are working on improving their downtown, but it has a ways to go.
This post was edited on 6/16/17 at 1:14 pm
Posted on 6/16/17 at 1:46 pm to AtlantaLSUfan
Raised in Fort Smith. Don't go to Fort Smith
If you don't want to go to NWA, Hot Springs is your best choice. Lakes, hiking trails, Gangster Museum, bath houses, a smattering of decent restaurants.
In addition to the parks, there's the Mid America Science Museum. Haven't been in a while but it got a big renovation a few years back.
There's a couple of ziplines around and it's not too far from Crater of Diamonds state park (dig around in a field and any diamonds you find, you keep!).
If you don't want to go to NWA, Hot Springs is your best choice. Lakes, hiking trails, Gangster Museum, bath houses, a smattering of decent restaurants.
In addition to the parks, there's the Mid America Science Museum. Haven't been in a while but it got a big renovation a few years back.
There's a couple of ziplines around and it's not too far from Crater of Diamonds state park (dig around in a field and any diamonds you find, you keep!).
Posted on 6/16/17 at 1:55 pm to TizzyT4theUofA
quote:
Arkansas as a whole has a lot to offer in terms of outdoor activities. What kind of activities are you looking for? Do you like disc golf, swimming holes, kayaking, rock climbing? What do you mean by populated areas for work
My wife loves mountains and hiking. My son loves everything that's an actual activity - pretty much likes anything except sitting around.
For work, I travel weekly and miss family time. By bringing them on a big work trip, I can still hit all the major cities and be productive. Will see them at night and will join the activities during the weekend.
This post was edited on 6/16/17 at 1:58 pm
Posted on 6/16/17 at 1:59 pm to Miz Piggy
I really appreciate these replies. It was hard to narrow it down but we are all excited about the trip. Now we just to decide where we are actually going within NWA.
Maybe Hot Springs, if not, some town near Fayetteville....
Maybe Hot Springs, if not, some town near Fayetteville....
Posted on 6/16/17 at 2:21 pm to AtlantaLSUfan
What cities do you have to visit on your trip?
Posted on 6/16/17 at 2:28 pm to Numberwang
Just as many clinic's as possible. I sell medical equipment to veteriarny clinic's. So all of the higher populated areas.
Posted on 6/16/17 at 3:05 pm to AtlantaLSUfan
Ok.
While Hot Springs seems to be "centrally located" to the population centers, you more or less have to go thru Little Rock to get to NWA from there.
Fort Smith to Hot Springs can be done via smaller roads, but no freeway.
NWA, FSM, LR and HS and Jonesboro are areas I assume you want to hit, although Jonesboro might be worth saving until you are doing Memphis metro. It is a long way from the other areas. You could stay in Conway and be quicker to NWA, and still be able to hit the Buffalo River area, although not the most impressive parts. Conway is convenient to Little Rock and Petit Jean state park.
To notice any real temperature/humidity difference you'd need to be up in the Ozarks, further north, and with a bit of elevation. Even then, it's only going to be 3-5 degrees cooler than LR/Hot Springs most days. Buffalo River area today is in the upper 80s. Little Rock is in the low 90s.
While Hot Springs seems to be "centrally located" to the population centers, you more or less have to go thru Little Rock to get to NWA from there.
Fort Smith to Hot Springs can be done via smaller roads, but no freeway.
NWA, FSM, LR and HS and Jonesboro are areas I assume you want to hit, although Jonesboro might be worth saving until you are doing Memphis metro. It is a long way from the other areas. You could stay in Conway and be quicker to NWA, and still be able to hit the Buffalo River area, although not the most impressive parts. Conway is convenient to Little Rock and Petit Jean state park.
To notice any real temperature/humidity difference you'd need to be up in the Ozarks, further north, and with a bit of elevation. Even then, it's only going to be 3-5 degrees cooler than LR/Hot Springs most days. Buffalo River area today is in the upper 80s. Little Rock is in the low 90s.
Posted on 6/17/17 at 9:49 pm to AtlantaLSUfan
Hot Springs. You have hiking, horseback riding, large population, beautiful lakes, and a theme park with roller coasters.
I recommend going out to lake ouchita. Beautiful lake, real clear and mostly undeveloped. Over 300 islands you can camp on. Mountain Harbor resort has cabins you can stay at, and the marina does boat rentals if you don't own a boat
I recommend going out to lake ouchita. Beautiful lake, real clear and mostly undeveloped. Over 300 islands you can camp on. Mountain Harbor resort has cabins you can stay at, and the marina does boat rentals if you don't own a boat
Posted on 6/18/17 at 1:59 pm to deltaland
Pinnacle mountain area in west little rock
Posted on 6/18/17 at 4:49 pm to vengeanceofrain
Depending on kids ages in LR I'd do the following
Hike Pinnacle
Rent bikes and do the river trail
Clinton Library/Museum of Discovery/ Stephens Game and Fish Museum (all within a few blocks)
Eat at Capitol Grill/ Root Cafe
Hike Pinnacle
Rent bikes and do the river trail
Clinton Library/Museum of Discovery/ Stephens Game and Fish Museum (all within a few blocks)
Eat at Capitol Grill/ Root Cafe
Posted on 6/18/17 at 8:49 pm to AtlantaLSUfan
If your kid is into (or open to) mountain biking at all, then I'd probably just stay at the 21C hotel in downtown Bentonville. You can rent him a bike from Phat Tire (and a trail guide if he needs one), and he can spend the entire day every day riding the trails in the area. Can also walk (on trails) to Crystal Bridges, and the outside Chihuly installation there currently is awesome.
If you're traveling out every day, you'll actually be commuting away from traffic, as most people are heading north from Fayetteville to Bentonville during day then heading South in evening.
You all can hike at Hobbs State Park, Blowing Springs Park, as well as Devil's Den which are both within an hour of downtown Bentonville. If they want to lake it, there's plenty of places that will rent SUPs, Kayaks, or boats.
They'll have plenty of dining options in downtown Bentonville as well as a conveniently locate Neighborhood Market.
I love Fayetteville. I live there. That being said, downtown Bentonville is really hard to beat.
If you're traveling out every day, you'll actually be commuting away from traffic, as most people are heading north from Fayetteville to Bentonville during day then heading South in evening.
You all can hike at Hobbs State Park, Blowing Springs Park, as well as Devil's Den which are both within an hour of downtown Bentonville. If they want to lake it, there's plenty of places that will rent SUPs, Kayaks, or boats.
They'll have plenty of dining options in downtown Bentonville as well as a conveniently locate Neighborhood Market.
I love Fayetteville. I live there. That being said, downtown Bentonville is really hard to beat.
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