Author: Ken McClary

Compton Gardens & Arboretum is a peaceful 6.5-acre native woodland garden tucked right into downtown Bentonville — and a key link in the walking-and-biking trail that connects the downtown square to Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art. Free to visit, it's a lovely, shaded spot to slow down among native…

Osage Park is one of Bentonville's newest and most distinctive city parks — a beautifully designed green space built around a restored wetland with floating boardwalks, plus a dog park, pickleball courts, an archery range, and trails, all just southwest of downtown. It's a favorite for families, dog owners, birdwatchers,…

21c Museum Bentonville is a free contemporary-art museum that happens to be attached to a boutique hotel — and it's open 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. With thousands of square feet of rotating exhibitions by living artists (and the museum's signature roving green penguin sculptures turning up…

Only in Bentonville — the Ledger is billed as the world's first "bikeable building," a six-story downtown landmark you can ride your bike all the way to the roof of. A switchback ramp climbs the entire east face of the building at an easy grade, making it a genuinely one-of-a-kind…

Onyx Cave Park is Arkansas's oldest show cave — toured since 1891 — and one of the easiest, most family-friendly caves to explore near Eureka Springs. A self-guided audio tour lets you wander the cool, well-lit passages at your own pace, taking in the flowstone, cave formations, and a constant…

Billed as "the Ozarks' Strangest Dwelling," Quigley's Castle is one of Eureka Springs' most beloved oddities — a whimsical hand-built home where trees grow up through the living room floor and nearly every exterior wall is covered in a mosaic of rocks, crystals, arrowheads, and fossils collected over a lifetime.…

Just west of Eureka Springs, the Blue Spring Heritage Center pairs beautiful botanical gardens with one of the largest natural springs in the Ozarks — a strikingly blue pool that pours out millions of gallons of water a day. Add a bluff shelter with thousands of years of Native American…

All aboard for a trip back in time. The Eureka Springs & North Arkansas Railway (ES&NA) runs restored early-1900s trains out of a beautifully preserved 1913 depot in downtown Eureka Springs, carrying passengers on scenic excursions — and popular lunch and dinner trains — through the wooded Ozark countryside. It's…

Turpentine Creek Wildlife Refuge is one of the largest big-cat sanctuaries in North America — a 450+ acre USDA-licensed nonprofit refuge just south of Eureka Springs, home to more than 120 rescued tigers, lions, leopards, cougars, and other exotic cats. A visit puts you within safe viewing distance of these…

Lake Leatherwood City Park is Eureka Springs' outdoor crown jewel — a 1,600-acre park wrapped around a spring-fed lake, with about 25 miles of hiking and mountain-biking trails, a dedicated downhill gravity bike park, boating and fishing, swimming, and cabins and camping. It's one of the premier riding destinations in…

Rising nearly seven stories above Magnetic Mountain, the Christ of the Ozarks statue is one of the most recognizable landmarks in the Ozarks — and it's the centerpiece of the Great Passion Play grounds, a sprawling attraction that also includes a 4,000-seat outdoor amphitheater, Bible-themed exhibits, and gardens just east…

Perched on the crest of West Mountain above the Victorian village, the 1886 Crescent Hotel & Spa is Eureka Springs' most storied landmark — a grand stone hotel famous both for its old-world elegance and for its reputation as "America's Most Haunted Hotel." Whether you come for the history, the…

Thorncrown Chapel is one of the most celebrated buildings in America — a breathtaking 48-foot glass chapel rising out of the Ozark woods just west of Eureka Springs. Designed by Arkansas architect E. Fay Jones (a protégé of Frank Lloyd Wright) and completed in 1980, it has welcomed more than…

Beyond its landmarks and downtown, Eureka Springs is packed with family attractions — a big-cat sanctuary, a vintage railway, spring-fed gardens, underground caverns, and quirky Ozark oddities. Here's what to add to your list, with a full guide to each. Turpentine Creek Wildlife Refuge One of the largest big-cat sanctuaries…

Surrounded by the Ozark Mountains, lakes, and rivers, Eureka Springs is a genuine outdoor playground — world-class mountain biking, a big clear lake, spring-fed creeks, and some of the best bass and trout waters in the country all sit within a short drive of downtown. Lake Leatherwood City Park Eureka…