There is something fun about discovering a new and unique place together with your kids. Big cities usually get a lot of press, but sometimes, the small towns have the most fun of all. Arkansas may not be on your bucket list yet, but it should be! Executive Team member Nichole Holze recently took a summer vacation trip to Eureka Springs, Arkansas. She and her kids had a blast exploring this charming northwest Arkansas town. Keep reading to hear about the “wild” adventures they had.
**Sponsored post. Nichole worked with Eureka Springs tourism and local businesses for a hosted stay in exchange for the content shared. All views and opinions expressed belong to the author. **
Why plan a trip to Eureka Springs, Arkansas?
Many years ago, when my husband and I were just dating, we took a road trip to Arkansas. At the time, we lived in Iowa and made the trip down south to go backpacking. During our Arkansas adventure, we stumbled into a little hidden gem of a town called Eureka Springs and then onto an incredible place called Turpentine Creek.
Turpentine Creek is a 450-acre refuge for neglected, abused, and abandoned big cats. My husband and I toured the facitiy and were moved and saddened to hear the stories of the animals. However, the animals’ stories didn’t stop there and they are all given a happy ending at Turpentine Creek.
Fast forward just a few years, and a few kids later. I recently learned that the Turpentine Creek refuge offers summer camps for kids! I jumped on the chance to sign my son (an aspiring wildlife biologist) up for camp, and we started planning our adventure to Eureka Springs!
A little more about Turpentine Creek
Turpentine Creek was founded in 1991, and its story is worth reading. Over the years, they have rescued countless tigers, lions, servals, mountain lions, plus a few bears. (A real-life “lions, and tigers, and bears, oh my!”) They are a true animal sanctuary – meaning the sanctuary is a non-profit, does not breed their animals, and they do not engage in any “hands-on” activities such as photo opportunities or cub petting. Those hands-on experiences are detrimental to the health of animals.
However, that doesn’t mean that you can’t get up close and personal with the animals. You can visit Turpentine Creek and go on a tour and meet them in a safe, non-invasive environment. The stories you’ll hear on the tour will both break your heart and bring you joy. Animals that make their way to Eureka Springs and Turpentine Creek will find a forever home and they can live out the rest of their lives in peace and comfort.
How you can help the animals
Turpentine Creek is a non-profit entity, but there are many ways that you can help. In fact, Turpentine Creek relies on public support for all of the funding to help these animals fed and cared for. You can visit in person and go on a tour or schedule a virtual tour with an animal interpreter. You can schedule a “big cat callout” where you can customize some enrichment for an animal of your choice.
But if you’re looking for the most amazing and immersive experience, I highly recommend staying onsite. Lodging accommodations at Turpentine Creek consist of the following options: (1) two cabins, (2) an adults-only safari tent village, and (3) family-friendly safari tents. When you stay on-site you get to go on a tour, have access to viewing the animals before the gates open to the public each morning, and get to hear the big cats “caroling” in the evening and early morning. It’s quite the experience!
A floating adventure on Beaver Lake
During the day, while my son attended camp at Turpentine Creek, my daughter and I got to go on some local adventures. On the first day, we went to Float Eureka, on the historic Eureka Springs loop. We rented inflatable stand-up paddleboards for the day and spent time together on the water. Float Eureka supplied us with everything we needed, the boards, the pumps, the skeg, paddles, and life jackets. My daughter and I had so much fun exploring a remote corner of Beaver Lake; the water was so clear! Float Eureka also offers kayak rentals and float trips with shuttles.
Pro tip: Bring some watercolors and a nature journal with you in your dry-bag. Painting while relaxing on a stand-up paddleboard is perfection.
A historic train ride and dinner date
Eureka Springs is also home to a historic railroad! For dinner on our second night, I booked us a reservation for the dinner train experience on the Eureka Springs and Northern Arkansas Railway. Talk about a unique adventure!
The railroad offers three ride options: a scenic route, a lunch train, and the more formal dinner train. They have a menu to choose from when you book your ticket, but they will also adjust for food allergies or dietary restrictions if you email ahead of time. They were more than accommodating for my Celiac Disease and food allergies and even made me a fruit plate in place of the desert!
My kids were delighted when they realized we got to eat dinner on a moving train. The conductor rolled out the red carpet, and we boarded for a delightful two-and-a-half-hour ride. Be sure to watch out the windows the whole way for some railroad history! Check out a video of our ride on this Reel.
Pro tip: The dinner train may not be best for very small children (you have to be able to sit still for a while as you’re contained to a train car). Also, be sure to book ahead of time, especially in the autumn months as it fills up quickly!
Exploring downtown Eureka Springs
After our train ride, we decided to walk around downtown to explore the area and snap some fun photos. The historic downtown of Eureka Springs seems to be carved right into the side of a mountain and it’s so picturesque! There are some iconic photo ops that are especially fun without the crowds.
We spent way too much time playing on the colorful murals on the stairs (there are two!). Just outside of the Basin Park Hotel is another fun spot for pictures. When you’re exploring Eureka Springs, make sure you have your walking shoes on! The cute shops, art galleries, and restaurants wind all the way up the mountainside. A few of our favorite shops downtown were: Tee Rex Toys, Secret Garden, Gazebo Books, and GameMakers.
The eats in Eureka Springs
Eureka Springs has great restaurants everywhere! There’s a place to satisfy everyone in your family with a wide range of restaurants. My kids and I loved BaseCamp Eureka so much that we went there twice! This cute café and coffee shop is closer to the Great Passion Play area. P.S. – it’s worth a peek at the Christ of the Ozarks statue just to go see it.
My kids enjoyed alligator sausage pizza on our first visit (yes, they actually ate it!), and my daughter loved the English muffin toast. Another great coffee shop is Eureka Springs Coffee House. They have a big menu with options for kids, great coffee, and all kinds of card and board games to play. A few more restaurants that come highly recommended: Local Flavor, Three Bird Café, Red’s Pizza, and The Spring on Main.
Another unique dinner spot
On our last night in Eureka Springs, we went to check out one more dinner spot that I found on Instagram. The Frisco Sporting Club is an outdoor dining and hang-out spot located at the Crescent Hotel. The hotel is a neat place to stay if you’d like to experience a historic (and maybe haunted!) hotel. It also features a pool and spa.
The sporting club is behind the hotel pool and has all kinds of outdoor games, a food truck, and a bar. It rained on us a bit while we were there, but it was short-lived, and my kids loved playing shuffleboard, giant Jenga, giant chess, and trying out the swings (even in the rain). They also have axe-throwing and a variety of yard games. You can enjoy live music most nights from 7 to 9 pm.
My kids loved the giant cheeseburgers from the food truck, and the onsite bar can make just about anything! It’s worth a stop for a relaxed and fun evening outdoors.
A few favorite things about Eureka Springs
Eureka Springs, Arkansas is a little quirky and a whole lot of fun. Thanks to the wide range of activities, outdoor adventure, places to stay, and restaurants, we’re pleased to make it a Run Wild Recommends destination.
Here are a few of our favorite things about Eureka Springs:
- Turpentine Creek Wildlife Refuge – a MUST visit, even if you’re just passing through. They also have lots of information available online about their cats plus sponsorship opportunities. Be sure to follow their social media pages for videos of their animals.
- Beaver Lake – the East side of Beaver Lake is only a few minutes from downtown Eureka Springs and offers lots of aquatic recreation. We recommend doing a guided trip or renting gear from Float Eureka.
- The historic train – for a short and sweet (but still amazing) ride, go for the scenic route.
- Historic downtown Eureka Springs – wear your walking shoes to check out all of the shops and restaurants along the historic main street.
- Lake Leatherwood – for hiking and biking trails around a lake.
- Harmon Park – has a skate park, dog park, and the site for some Opera in the Ozarks.
- Ozark Mountain Ziplines
- Nearby Blue Spring Heritage Center
- Thorncrown Chapel
Add Eureka Springs, Arkansas to your bucket list
Eureka Springs is one of the many charming cities to be found in Arkansas. At its heart, it’s a community of artists and creatives who have happily moved counterculture for decades. It’s also home to a 4,000 amphitheater that puts on a production of The Passion Play, and its own giant Christ statue, Christ of the Ozarks. There are many natural springs flowing from the mountains, and some have a special history with tales of powers to magnetize metal objects.
It’s a city with folklore, legends, and haunted spaces. Eureka Springs is a place you’ll never forget, and the memories of your trip there will make you smile. Oh, and by the way, if you go to Turpentine Creek, please say hi to Bam Bam for us. He’s one special Grizzly.
One more note on Turpentine Creek
I’d like to encourage you to take some time to look around Turpentine Creek’s website. You can also follow them on Facebook and Instagram to see updates about their animals. If your family would like to help support the animals, you can sponsor or adopt an animal, purchase an enrichment activity for them, or even take an in-person or virtual field trip.
If you’re traveling through the area, I recommend staying on-site for at least one night. The big cats at Turpentine Creek also love to get surprises with boxes and special gifts made with old spices, herbs, and even old perfume or cologne! So, if you have any of those around you, box them up and send them to the animal care team! Or maybe, your kids would like to attend camp. Be sure to sign up for their email list because the camps sell out quickly!
If you want more info on Northwest Arkansas
If you just can’t get enough Arkansas or want some guidance planning a trip to Eureka Springs and the Northwest Arkansas area, be sure to check out our Bentonville Get Out Guide. Our Get Out Guides are the ultimate guide to outdoor, family-friendly, vacation destinations! The closest airport is Fayetteville, and the airlines that serve it are Allegiant, American, Breeze, Delta, Frontier, and United.
For even more shenanigans
For more adventures and shenanigans, in Arkansas and beyond, follow Nichole on Instagram at @coleyraeh. You can also subscribe to her once every few months (ish) newsletter, Field Notes. You can also purchase her Responsibly Brave e-book, a 12-week guide to getting out and solo adventuring with your kids. Check it out here.
About the author
Nichole is mama to two incredible adventurers, an older boy and a younger girl. They are in their seventh year of homeschooling. She’s married to her best friend, and they share a mutual love for the outdoors. An Iowan native now living in the south, she is happy to claim Arkansas as home. She is a wanderlust (and coffee) fueled, fearless road tripper who has been known to take off for epic adventures at a moment’s notice. Hiking, camping (of the backpacking variety), and crystal digging are some of their favorite family activities. You can find her in the woods somewhere, probably up a creek and jumping off waterfalls.
You can find more from Nichole online in the following locations:
Website: www.luckeywanderers.com
Instagram: @coleyraeh
RWMC posts: Nichole