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Twist and turn your way through Arkansas’ two major mountain ranges on this four-day road trip packed with natural beauty. Your drive starts in central Arkansas in the Ouachita Mountains, a range that runs east to west into Oklahoma, and it ends in northwest Arkansas in the Ozarks, the largest range between the Rockies and Appalachians, extending northward into four other states. These mountainous regions with peaks exceeding 2,000 feet charm with crystal-clear lakes, rivers teeming with fish, splendid mountain vistas, old-growth forests that give leaf peepers a brilliant color show in fall and outdoor activities aplenty (hiking, biking, fishing and more).
Adding to their appeal are small towns with surprising attractions, including a national park with ornate Victorian-era spas and a world-class art museum financed with Walmart money that showcases masterworks by the likes of O’Keeffe and Warhol. And for a bit of nostalgia, you’ll even flash back to the late 1950s and the King of Rock ’n’ Roll himself, Elvis Presley.
Day 1: Little Rock to Hot Springs (55 miles)
Fly into Little Rock, then drive 55 miles southwest on Interstate 30 to the small resort town of Hot Springs (population about 39,000) in central Arkansas. Native Americans first settled here thousands of years ago, drawn to the area by thermal springs believed to have healing properties. Fast-forward to the turn of the 20th century, and several Victorian bathhouses were built to attract visitors eager to get treatments in these waters. This bathing tradition eventually fell out of favor, but the structures remain — clustered together in a central downtown location — and are the nucleus of Hot Springs National Park, which extends out into the Ouachitas. Two of the bathhouses (Buckstaff and Quapaw) still offer treatments (mineral baths, massages), and another one (Fordyce) serves as the park’s visitor center, with interesting exhibits showing what the bathhouses were like during their heyday. Tip a brewski in Superior Bathhouse Brewery, a pub and restaurant serving beer made with the thermal water.
You can’t soak in the outdoor springs like the early inhabitants did, but you can go hiking on the plentiful trails. The easy Hot Springs Mountain Trail is a 1.7-mile path (with paved and unpaved sections) with scenic valley overlooks and an observation deck with an elevator.
Away from the park, roam the serene (and mostly accessible) paths of Garvan Woodland Gardens, a 210-acre lakeside botanical garden in the mountains 8 miles south of downtown. Its Anthony Chapel is a glass eye-catcher set amongst pine trees.
At day’s end, unwind at Arkansas’ oldest bar, The Ohio Club, which Al Capone reportedly frequented during Prohibition, when it had a front as a cigar shop. (The city’s secluded location made it a perfect hideout for mobsters, who could gamble at a casino and horse track.) Dine with locals at the old-school McClard’s Bar-B-Q Restaurant.
Where to stay: Hotel Hale, built as a bathhouse in 1892, was recently converted into a downtown boutique hotel with nightly rates typically north of $200. Its nine art-filled rooms have soaking tubs, just what you’d expect in this city of thermal baths. Book early because there’s only one ADA-compliant room (accessible for people with disabilities).
