Editorial
The guides
Curated, dated, and refreshed — the lists worth saving and the places worth the drive. Curation is never sold.
Things to do, town by town
The 2026 guide · 12 places
Things to do in Bella Vista
Bella Vista got its name in 1915 and started as a summer resort in 1917. It became a POA-run retirement village in the 1960s and was incorporated as a city in 2007. Today the city counts about 100 miles of purpose-built trail inside its limits, across the Back 40, Little Sugar and Blowing Springs systems, all open to the public daily from 5 a.m. to 10 p.m. Arkansas's first chairlift-served bike park, OZ Trails, sits on Highway 71 where Bella Vista meets Bentonville.
The 2026 guide · 15 places
Things to do in Bentonville
Bentonville has two free art museums: Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art, on 134 acres of Ozark forest, and the Momentary, its contemporary-art satellite in a 1947 Kraft cheese factory. The Walmart Museum on the downtown Square is also free and open until 9 or 10 p.m. most nights. Visit Bentonville says you can park downtown and reach beginner-to-expert trailheads within one block of the square, and Coler Mountain Bike Preserve's 20-plus miles of trail are free from sunrise to 11 p.m.
The 2026 guide · 12 places
Things to do in Berryville
Berryville is the Carroll County seat, incorporated in 1876 and marking 150 years in 2026. Its public square is built around the 1880 courthouse, now the Carroll County Heritage Museum, and just off the square the Saunders Museum shows a collection of nearly 400 guns that a local collector left to the city. Outside the square there are free city trails on Pension Mountain and Saunders Heights, a stocked fishing pond, and Cosmic Cavern, a show cave on Highway 21.
The 2026 guide · 9 places
Things to do in Centerton
Centerton, named for its spot at the center of Benton County, began as a railroad stop and apple-processing town and is now one of the fastest-growing cities in the region. Most of what there is to do here is outdoors and free: a splash pad at McKissic Station Park, an all-inclusive playground and BMX trail at Cornerwoods Park, a pump track, and the state fish hatchery on Fish Hatchery Road. On North Main Street, HGTV's Dave and Jenny Marrs run a shop in the town's 1905 bank building.
The 2026 guide · 14 places
Things to do in Eureka Springs
Eureka Springs is an Ozark Mountains town built around its water: the city parks department counts more than 60 natural cold springs, and the town grew into a Victorian-era health resort around them. Today it's known for the 1886 Crescent Hotel's ghost tours, Thorncrown Chapel's 425 windows, the 67-foot Christ of the Ozarks statue, and a downtown you can cover on foot or by trolley.
The 2026 guide · 14 places
Things to do in Fayetteville
Fayetteville is home to the University of Arkansas and is Mile 0 of the 40-mile Razorback Regional Greenway, which starts at Kessler Mountain Regional Park. Most of the town's stage shows and live music sit on or near Dickson Street (Walton Arts Center, TheatreSquared, and George's Majestic Lounge, serving since 1927), a short walk from the Downtown Square, where the Fayetteville Farmers' Market sets up and where Lights of the Ozarks runs each holiday season.
The 2026 guide · 9 places
Things to do in Gentry
Gentry is a western Benton County town of about 3,800 people. It started in 1894 as a fruit-shipping stop on the rail line that became the Kansas City Southern, and for a short time it was even called Orchard. In one day you can watch wintering bald eagles from SWEPCO's Eagle Watch Nature Trail, walk the city's Flint Creek Nature Area, let the kids loose at the City Park splash pad, and look up at the carved front of the 1904 Bank of Gentry on Main Street. Then stop at The Wooden Spoon for pie.
The 2026 guide · 12 places
Things to do in Gravette
Gravette calls itself the "Heart of Hometown America." It's a western Benton County town of about 3,500 people where State Highways 59 and 72 meet. Most of what there is to see sits within a few blocks: the Gravette Historical Museum in the Kindley House, the T-33 jet in Kindley Park, a Saturday farmers market and disc golf at Old Town Park, and a summer pool and splash park. The Old Spanish Treasure Cave is just north of the city limits.
The 2026 guide · 8 places
Things to do in Holiday Island
Holiday Island is a lakeside community on Table Rock Lake at the Arkansas-Missouri line, five miles north of Eureka Springs. Its improvement district was formed in 1970, and it became a city of the second class in 2021. The Holiday Island Suburban Improvement District (HISID) still runs the amenities. Visitors can use the marina, the campground, both golf courses and a set of volunteer-built hiking trails. The swimming pools are not open to the public.
The 2026 guide · 8 places
Things to do in Lowell
Lowell sits on I-49 at Exit 78 between Springdale and Rogers, and it still answers to its old nickname, Mudtown, from the stagecoach days on Old Wire Road. The Razorback Regional Greenway runs through town. Ward Nail Park has 72 acres with a splash pad, stage and public golf practice facility, and the newer Kathleen Johnson Memorial Park now hosts the Mudtown Days festival. A volunteer-run history museum opens two Saturdays a month.
The 2026 guide · 9 places
Things to do in Pea Ridge
Pea Ridge is a Benton County town whose name comes from the wild peas that once grew thick on its ridges, and the 1862 Civil War Battle of Pea Ridge carries its name. The battlefield is now Pea Ridge National Military Park, which is free to enter and carries a Garfield mailing address. In town you'll find a city park with a splash pad, a public library with a full weekly calendar, bike and gravel routes that start downtown, and the Pea Ridge Mule Jump each October.
The 2026 guide · 8 places
Things to do in Prairie Grove
Prairie Grove is the Washington County town that took its name from the Civil War battle fought there on December 7, 1862. The battle was named for Prairie Grove Church, and the town was set up in 1888. Most visits start at Prairie Grove Battlefield State Park, where the museum in Hindman Hall is free, a one-mile trail crosses ground where the heaviest fighting took place, and a self-guided drive covers the rest of the battlefield. Beyond the park are an AGFC fishing lake, a glass phone booth from about 1960 that is on the National Register, and the 19th-century buildings and trails of Historic Cane Hill off Highway 45.
The 2026 guide · 14 places
Things to do in Rogers
Rogers grew up around the railroad, founded in 1881, and its downtown still keeps the Rogers Historical Museum, the Daisy Airgun Museum, the 1927 Victory Theater and Railyard Park within a few blocks of each other. On the west side, the Walmart AMP sits across the highway from Pinnacle Hills Promenade. To the east, Highway 12 runs out toward Beaver Lake and Hobbs State Park-Conservation Area.
The 2026 guide · 12 places
Things to do in Siloam Springs
Siloam Springs is the Northwest Arkansas town on the Oklahoma line whose downtown was built along Sager Creek, where stone walls and walking bridges line the water. In one day you can see a free history museum, the splash pad and Chautauqua Amphitheater in Memorial Park, two engineered Class I-II rapids on the Illinois River, and John Brown University's Cathedral of the Ozarks, built in 1945.
The 2026 guide · 14 places
Things to do in Springdale
Springdale sits on the 40-mile Razorback Greenway, and its downtown along Emma Avenue holds the free Shiloh Museum of Ozark History, the Arkansas & Missouri Railroad depot, and a mural tour of more than 20 walls. A short drive away you'll find Double-A Naturals baseball at Arvest Ballpark, a free AGFC nature center on 61 acres, and Parsons Stadium, home of the Rodeo of the Ozarks since the 1940s.
The 2026 guide · 9 places
Things to do in Tontitown
Tontitown is the Washington County town founded in 1898 by Italian Catholic families who followed Father Pietro Bandini north from a south Arkansas plantation. They named it for Henri de Tonti, the Italian explorer who founded Arkansas Post. Grapes became the town's signature crop, and the Tontitown Grape Festival at St. Joseph's Church goes back more than a century; the 2026 festival was the 127th. The rest of the year, you can tour the historical museum, buy produce and pasta from a farm family that has grown grapes here since 1923, and taste wine made from Tontitown grapes.
Essential lists
Updated quarterly
Every Stage in NWA
Every room that books live music in the corridor, one list.
Fall 2026
Pumpkin Patches & Corn Mazes
Every farm running this season, with 2026 dates, hours and admission.
Holidays 2026
Christmas Lights in NWA
Lights of the Ozarks, Bentonville's square, drive-throughs and hotel lights.
Holidays 2026
Christmas Parades & Holidays in NWA
Every town's parade with date, time and route, plus pop-up bars, Nutcrackers and Santa.
Holidays 2026
Christmas in Eureka Springs
The tree lighting, the Parade of Lights, the Crescent's Christmas, Santa and the train.
Holidays 2026
New Year's Eve in NWA
Eureka's Bash with a Splash, Bentonville's downtown party, Dickson Street shows, a kids' countdown.
Halloween 2026
Haunted Houses & Ghost Tours
Opening nights, ticket prices and which ones are OK for kids.
Year-round
Eureka Springs Ghost Tours
The Crescent's four tours, the Basin Park ghost hunt, downtown walks: prices, times, ages.
Halloween 2026
Trick-or-Treat & Halloween
Downtown candy walks, trunk-or-treats, library parties and 21+ nights out.
Year-round
Caves Near NWA
War Eagle Cavern, Cosmic Cavern, Old Spanish Treasure Cave: tours, prices, what to wear.
Winter
Ice Skating in NWA
The Jones Center rink all year, Bentonville's outdoor rink from Nov 21: hours, prices, lessons.
Year-round
Bella Vista Golf Courses
All seven POA courses take non-members: green fees, tee-time numbers, plus public golf around NWA.
Fall 2026
Fall Colors & Scenic Drives
When Ozark leaves peak, the Pig Trail and other byways, and overlooks close to town.
Fall & winter
Farmers Markets in NWA
Last outdoor dates, winter markets, SNAP and dogs, for every market from Bentonville to Eureka Springs.
Year-round
State Parks Near NWA
Devil's Den, Hobbs, Withrow Springs, Prairie Grove and Lake Fort Smith, with current closures.
Year-round
Lakes Near Fayetteville & NWA
Who runs each lake, boat and motor rules, permits, and where swimming is (and isn't) allowed.
Fall & holidays
Craft Fairs & Holiday Markets
War Eagle weekend fairs (Oct 15–18) and the holiday markets, with 2026 dates from each host.
Year-round
Camping Near NWA
Beaver Lake Corps parks, state parks, Buffalo River and city campgrounds: rates, hookups and which stay open in winter.
Year-round
Public Pools & Splash Pads
Indoor pools open now, Wilson Park and the city outdoor pools, splash pads, prices as posted.
Year-round
Stargazing & Meteor Showers
Buffalo River dark-sky park, 2026–27 meteor shower dates, northern lights odds and public star nights.
Holidays 2026
Santa Photos in NWA
Mall Santa sets, free visits, the Santa train, and which ones need a reservation.
2026-27 school year
School Break Camps
Thanksgiving, winter and spring break day camps: ages, dates, prices and when sign-up opens.
Holidays
Christmas tree farms
Cut-your-own farms near NWA for 2026: opening days, tag prices, saws and what each farm adds.
Holidays
Thanksgiving in NWA
Turkey trots, what's open on Thanksgiving Day, Black Friday museum hours and the long weekend, for 2026.
Year-round
Museums in NWA
Crystal Bridges to Shiloh: hours, prices and which ones are free, town by town.
Rainy day
Indoor Things to Do
Bowling, skating, trampolines, climbing, arcades, kids' play spaces and free art.
Outdoors
Buffalo National River
Campgrounds, river-level gauges, Boxley Valley elk, visitor centers and the rules.
Outdoors
Waterfall Hikes
Hawksbill Crag, Lost Valley, Hemmed-in Hollow, Glory Hole: lengths, rules and when they run.
Outdoors
Beaver Lake
Corps parks and swim beaches, marinas and rentals, camping seasons, hikes and the lake level.
Outdoors
Float Trips Near NWA
Buffalo, Kings, Mulberry, Elk and Illinois: levels, permits and every outfitter.
Eat & drink
Brunch in NWA
Brunch hours from each restaurant, who takes reservations, and the mimosa deals.
Eat & drink
Happy Hours in NWA
Days, times and deals from each bar's own menu, by town, with a by-day list for weekends.
Eat & drink
Late-Night Food in NWA
Who's still cooking after 10, from each kitchen's own hours, plus the 24-hour spots.
Eat & drink
Breweries & Taprooms
Every open taproom with hours, food, dog and kid rules, and what's on this week.
Outdoors
Bike Trails & Rentals
The Razorback Greenway, paved trails by town, first dirt, e-bike rules and rentals.
Outdoors
Fishing & Trout
Beaver Tailwater, city lakes, stocked family ponds and 2026–27 license fees.
Outdoors
Hunting: Public Land
WMAs near NWA, who manages each, and where AGFC posts seasons and rules.
Rules from the source
Dog Parks & Dog-Friendly NWA
Off-leash parks by town, leashed trails, and the patios and stores that say yes in writing.
Next edition
25 Essential NWA Patios
One map a month — this one's in the works.
Hidden gems of the Ozarks
The signature series
Permanent pages for the institutions — always showing the next date.