It’s no exaggeration to call Arkansas the “Land of Opportunity.”
The state employed that promotional slogan from the 1950s through the ’80s to encourage industrial development, but today’s leisure tour operators will find it also describes a compact state filled with plenty of options for tour itineraries. Arkansas destinations offer beautiful art, therapeutic hot springs, Thoroughbred horse racing, train excursions into scenic mountains, hotels with ghost tours and enough places to stop for a piece of pie that
savvy marketers created the Arkansas Pie Trail.
Here are reminders of favorite destinations and ideas for new sights and experiences, including pie — lots and lots of pie.
Popular Demand
Bathhouse Row at Hot Springs
Nine bathhouses that once attracted the famous and the notorious are the central attraction at Hot Springs National Park. The Buckstaff and the Quapaw still operate as bathhouses while others have new uses. One is the park’s visitor center, one is a restaurant and brewery, one is a retail store and another is a fancy nine-suite hotel. Although Yellowstone was our first national park, Hot Springs has enjoyed federal protection much longer — since 1832, when Congress declared the thermal springs a federal reservation. It is the second smallest in the national park system.
Crystal Bridges
Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art in Bentonville is in its second decade, yet many are still surprised to find such an expansive institution in Northwest Arkansas. Of course, its benefactor is Alice Walton of the Walmart family, and once-quiet Bentonville is Walmart world headquarters. The museum’s light-filled galleries open to water and woods with huge wall-sized windows. Outside, sculptures mark 3.5 miles of trails through forests and next to wetlands. You can walk to Crystal Bridges from downtown Bentonville. The Momentary, a communal space downtown, has exhibits, concerts and other events.
Arkansas and Missouri Railroad
Although the Arkansas and Missouri Railroad still hauls a bit of freight, its real claim to fame is its excursions through the rugged Boston Mountains in Northwest Arkansas. Trips depart from depots in Springdale and Van Buren, and travelers ride in a collection of vintage coaches that date from the 1920s to the 1950s. One coach has some movie credits. Coach #104, named the “Biloxi Blues,” was used in the Neil Simon movie of the same name. Routes wind through valleys, across high trestles and through a quarter-mile tunnel.
Up and Coming
U.S. Marshals Museum
Among the newest big attractions in Arkansas is the United States Marshals Museum, which opened in Fort Smith in July 2023. The $50 million project is a private-sector salute to the federal agency that is the law enforcement arm of the federal courts. Federal marshals have served the nation since 1789 and have a storied history in westward expansion and in the Civil Rights era, the Oklahoma City bombing, the apprehension of notorious criminals and other events.
Arkansas Museum of Fine Arts
No, the Arkansas Museum of Fine Arts isn’t new — it got its start in 1914 when a group of women in Little Rock formed the Fine Arts Club, and its core structure opened in 1937–but its latest expansion and transformation in 2023 makes the institution feel reborn. It now is an even brighter star in Little Rock’s oldest green space, MacArthur Park. Its collection of 14,000 works of art, primarily from Europe and the Americas, includes a focus on art of the American South, with works by prominent photographers and self-taught artists. A growing collection of outdoor sculpture enliven the museum’s grounds.
Overnight Sensations
Capital Hotel
The history-laden Capital Hotel, with its impressive late 1800s cast iron façade, has a strong emotional appeal for anyone from Little Rock. The 93-room property is tied so tightly to the fabric of the community that its nickname is “the Front Porch of Little Rock.” Luminaries stay here, family and civic celebrations bring good vibes, and its restaurants draw high marks. Located near Riverfront Park and its 80-piece Vogel Schwartz Sculpture Garden, it is also within walking distance of the Clinton Presidential Library and Museum.
The Hotel at Oaklawn
The Thoroughbred racing season at Oaklawn racetrack in Hot Springs stretches from late January to early May, but the resort experience is year-round at the 198-room luxury hotel and spa. The formal name is the Hotel at Oaklawn, but its tagline could be “complete resort” because racing, gaming, lodging, spa therapy and fine dining are in one place. The hotel opened in 2021 along with a 1,500-seat event center that stages major concerts.
Crescent Hotel
The Crescent Hotel started building its reputation when Eureka Springs developed as a Victorian resort destination in the late 1800s, and the hotel remains a landmark in Arkansas hospitality. It’s also known as “America’s most haunted hotel.” Ghost tours at the hotel and elsewhere in this art-centric town are popular. Art galleries, studios and shops can be found around almost every bend of Eureka Springs’ winding streets. A modern addition to the Crescent Hotel is the unhaunted New Moon Spa and Salon, which offers pampering high in the Ozark Mountains.
Memorable Meals
Pie Trail
For decades, national food writers have said that pie in Arkansas is a thing. A state tourism article touts the Arkansas Pie Trail, which is a list of caloric destinations rather than a marked route. Somewhere along any Arkansas itinerary, you’ll need to pull over for pie. Among frequently mentioned places are Charlotte’s Eats and Sweets in Keo, Holly’s Country Kitchen in Conway, Big John’s Shake Shack in Marion, and Lindsey’s BBQ and Hospitality House in North Little Rock. Even though strawberry shortcake doesn’t qualify as pie, consider a stop at the Bulldog Restaurant, a classic 1960s-vintage establishment in Bald Knob, for the fresh fruit treat from springtime to early fall.
Skillet Restaurant at Ozark Folk Center
Music, crafts and mountain culture are the focus of the Ozark Folk Center in Mountain View, and the down-home theme continues at the Skillet Restaurant. Be prepared for full-on Southern country meals, and perhaps be surprised by an herbal event meal designed around recipes curated by guest culinary experts. The Skillet Restaurant takes advantage of its hilltop perch with large windows overlooking a butterfly garden, a water garden and wildlife feeding stations. Among the specialties is the Ozark Sampler with chicken-n-dumplings, ham-n-beans, turnip greens and fried okra. Garlic herb grilled salmon is on the fancy side of the menu.
Lost Forty Brewing
A 40-acre patch of virgin forest in south-central Arkansas is the namesake of Little Rock’s Lost Forty Brewing, a destination for brewed refreshments and bar food after a day of touring. The craft microbrewery’s extensive beer list ranges from the 2nd Rodeo, a light lager made with Arkansas rice, to several IPAs including Trash Panda IPA. If you don’t know what a real-life trash panda is, you’ll laugh when the bartender explains.
