[title subtitle=”WORDS Dwain Hebda
IMAGES courtesy Visit Hot Springs & Arkansas State Parks and Tourism”][/title]
Anyone will tell you that the best part about spring break and summer vacation is the places families get to visit, as told by the souvenirs they bring home with them. T-shirts, drink cups, and a million other tchotchkes remind us of our adventures, sparking the old line, “Remember when…”
Arkansas has its share of unique attractions with mementos to match. Herein lies a mere sample of what can be experienced in The Natural State and what to bring back from your adventures.
Janet Huckabee Arkansas River Valley Nature Center
Fort Smith, Arkansas
agfc.com
The Janet Huckabee Arkansas River Valley Nature Center is the perfect diversion for getting the family some sunshine and fresh air. Built on 170 acres of land that was part of Fort Chaffee, the center includes wooded grounds that offer nature trails and Wells Lake, a popular spot for fishing and watching birds and other wildlife.
Inside the main building at the center, visitors find a variety of exhibits demonstrating the local ecosystem. Included are representations of the Ouachita and Ozark mountains, a life-sized oak tree exhibit crawling with game and nongame animal displays, and a 1,200-gallon aquarium with native Arkansas fish.
River Valley is one of five nature centers operated by the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission statewide, along with three education centers. Together, the structures educate and enlighten visitors as to the diverse habitat and geography of a given area as well as local species. These centers are free to the public, paid for by the one-eighth-cent Conservation Sales Tax, passed in 1996.
SOUVENIR: The public is welcome to fish Wells Lake (valid Arkansas fishing license required) and, whatever you catch you can take home for dinner. There is also a variety of programming at the Janet Huckabee Nature Center such as classes on how to make a turkey call. And if all else fails, be sure to visit the gift shop. Proceeds help maintain the nature centers and keep them free to visit.
Crater of Diamonds State Park
Murfreesboro, Arkansas
arkansasstateparks.com
If you’ve ever wondered why there’s a diamond on many Arkansas license plates, it’s because diamond mining was once a booming business here. In fact, for a time, Arkansas was known as The Diamond State, thanks to what started as one man’s treasure in Pike County. There, farmer John Wesley Huddleston first found the gems on his property, and when his neighbor did the same, word got out that there were diamonds in them thar hills.
Within a few years, Arkansas Diamond Company and Ozark Diamond Mines Corporation owned almost all of the land in the area and competed fiercely for four decades. During this period, a workman for ADC found the Uncle Sam diamond, a forty-carat monster that still holds the record as the largest diamond ever found in the United States.
The two companies joined forces in 1952 to open Crater of Diamonds, a tourist attraction that charged visitors a fee, allowing them to search for diamonds and keep what they found. Buoyed by publicity over sporadic spectacular finds – including the fifteen-carat Star of Arkansas (1956), the six-carat Gary Moore diamond (1960), and the thirty-four-carat Star of Murfreesboro (1964) – the attraction provided ample motivation for amateur prospectors.
Now a state park, the tradition continues for the only diamond mine open to the public, with open field digging and additional amenities, including a hiking path and wildlife viewing area.
SOUVENIR: Well, a diamond, of course! The park averages two gems found per day, but even if fortune doesn’t smile on you to that degree, you might stumble over other semi-precious stones such as amethyst, agate, jasper, quartz, calcite and barite to name a few. And if all that fails you, the park’s gift shop ensures that no one has to know.
Arkansas Alligator Farm & Petting Zoo
Hot Springs, Arkansas
alligatorfarmzoo.com
With live alligators in the cement pond and wild and domesticated animals around every corner, this place screams one-of-a-kind. Where else can you hold a baby gator and witness its older kinfolk and live to tell the tale?
The Arkansas Alligator Farm is one of those curiosities that used to lie around every bend of old state highways but have become harder to find in the era of the Interstate. The Hot Springs attraction has weathered these changes by providing a one-of-a-kind experience for tourists and natives alike. Live adult alligator feeding shows are every Thursday, Saturday, and Sunday at noon, May through mid-October, and yes, you can hold and even stick-feed a baby gator during feeding season.
Other than the hot mineral springs themselves, the alligator farm bills itself as the oldest attraction in the Spa City. Opened in 1902, it featured 1,500 gators as well as a small curiosities museum. The venue changed ownership hands several times since, with subsequent proprietors adding monkeys, raccoons, and loggerhead turtles to the mix. Today, you can also experience wild animals (primates and Arkansas mountain lions) and tamer species (pygmy goats and sheep in the petting area).
SOUVENIR: With alligators being the headliners here, one could say coming home with all fingers and appendages intact is a souvenir in itself. But as with any tourist attraction worth its salt, the Arkansas Alligator Farm has a gift shop stocked with all the gator-themed merchandise you didn’t know you needed. Spring for a t-shirt, a shot glass, or even a plush critter to remind you of your prehistoric adventure.
Ozark Folk Center
Mountain View, Arkansas
arkansasstateparks.com
Nestled into the picturesque Ozark Mountains lies the Ozark Folk Center State Park, a celebration of the unique environment and people that settled the area. From herbal remedies and mountain gardening to crafts and music handed down through the generations, visitors are given a fascinating, first-hand look at Ozark culture.
Artisans are everywhere in Mountain View, both at the center and spilling throughout the historic downtown. Whatever you’re into – pottery, basket-weaving, broom-making, blacksmithing, or handmade jewelry – you’ll find it among the twenty Ozark craft artisans who produce and sell their creations within the state park’s craft village.
Plan your stay around the scheduled classes throughout the season and learn how to make items on your own. Check the park website for a full roster of classes as well as restrictions or limitations due to covid-19 precautions.
Also within the park, experience performances headlined by folk music with seasonal festivals honoring bluegrass and other genres also being held here. The park’s large auditorium is a familiar stop for national touring musicians and special events such as the Arkansas State Old Time Fiddle Contest and American Roots Music Concert Series.
SOUVENIR: If you take a class, you come away with a unique piece of your own handiwork that far surpasses any t-shirt or bumper sticker. If you don’t have the time or inclination to learn it yourself, the park’s artisans are only too happy to sell you one of their creations to remind you of your visit.
Fayetteville Ale Trail
Northwest Arkansas
fayettevillealetrail.com
Founded in 2013, this glorious tour has turned thousands of people onto Arkansas’ thriving craft beer industry. The Ale Trail is a product of Experience Fayetteville and includes breweries throughout the bustling Northwest Arkansas corridor.
The concept is simple – you pick up a passport at the Fayetteville Visitors Center downtown on the square and start your journey from one brewery or taproom to the next. At each stop, be sure to get a stamp for your passport as you enjoy the many different brewers’ styles and engage locals in friendly conversation.
Now obviously, common sense quickly comes into play here. I last made the trail – on assignment, no less – in less than a day and a half in 2016, back when it contained just ten stops. My designated driver and I hit two locations upon arriving around the supper hour and eight the next day. Since then, the Ale Trail has ballooned to seventeen stops, including one in Eureka Springs and one in Siloam Springs. Given that, don’t try to do the whole trail in less than a weekend. Start on Friday or split it up among multiple visits.
Another word to the wise is to stick to flights and tasters, smaller drams that give you enough of a beer to get the idea without having to knock back a full pint at each stop. Even then, you have to be mindful of your sea legs and build in some chow stops while you make the tour. Not all of the breweries serve food, so advance planning is a must. And while it shouldn’t have to be said, be sure you have a non-drinker behind the wheel at all times.
SOUVENIR: Completed passports can be taken back to the Visitor’s Center to redeem for a free prize, but I still have mine. It still makes me smile to remember how much fun it was to fill it up. And there’s swag for sale at most of the stops if you really fall in love with a particular brewery. A pro tip: Ask for a couple of logo-adorned cardboard coasters to take with you, and every time you enjoy a cool one at home, you’ll be reminded of your adventure.
