Things to do in Gentry

The 2026 guide · checked October 9, 2026

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.

Downtown Main Street

Gentry grew up where State Highways 12 and 59 cross, after the railroad arrived in 1894. The library at 105 E. Main St., City Hall at 101 W. Main St. and the 1904 Bank of Gentry building all sit on Main Street.

Gentry City Park (W. Main St.)

The city's main park at 611 W. Main St. has five pavilions, the splash pad, a disc golf course, a skate park and walking trails. The park rules say pets are not allowed during the Independence Day and Fall Festival activities held there.

Flint Creek and SWEPCO Lake

Gentry's two nature stops are the city's Flint Creek Nature Area on Dawn Hill Road and SWEPCO's Eagle Watch Nature Trail at the Flint Creek Power Plant. The plant's 500-acre lake stays warm all year and draws bald eagles every winter.

1. 1

   Eagle Watch Nature Trail (SWEPCO Lake)

   Outdoors · Eagle watching, October-March; bird-watchers

   SWEPCO built this half-mile trail in 1999 on 65 acres of its Flint Creek Power Plant property, with help from Gentry Boy Scout Troop 34. It leads to two wildlife-viewing pavilions on SWEPCO Lake, the plant's 500-acre cooling reservoir, which stays warm all year. Bald eagles start arriving in October and stay through the winter, then head north in March. The site has also logged 144 bird species, plus foxes, deer and beaver.

   Free · Open year-round

   Official site

2. 2

   Flint Creek Nature Area

   Outdoors · Nature walks, school groups, creek fishing

   The City of Gentry owns this nature area on Dawn Hill West Road, half a mile west of Highway 59. It runs right down to Flint Creek, and the city's brochure counts more than 100 native species of trees, plants, pollinators, birds, mammals and fish. The city's education programs here are free. Fishing is rod and reel only with a three-fish limit, and swimming, boating and alcohol are not allowed.

   Free · Dawn to dusk

   20541 Dawn Hill Road, Gentry, AR 72734

   Official site

3. 3

   Gentry City Park and Splash Pad

   Family · Kids (splash pad, skate park), disc golf

   The city's main park has play areas, horseshoe pits, a disc golf course, a skate park, basketball courts, a softball field and walking and biking trails, plus five pavilions you can rent. The splash pad opens Memorial Day weekend. In fall 2026 the city posted its hours as 3:30-9 p.m. on weekdays and 11 a.m.-9 p.m. on weekends, open until the weather turns cool. Leashed pets are welcome, but glass, alcohol and open fires are not.

   Park 5 a.m.-11 p.m.

   611 W. Main St., Gentry, AR 72734

   Official site

4. 4

   Gentry Public Library

   Family · Families, local history

   Since 2007 the library has been in the old Carl Hardware building on Main Street. Brothers R.H. and T.M. Carl built it in 1912, hauling gravel from Flint Creek by wagon to fill the swampy lot, and the hardware store ran until 1992. Library cards are free and there are no late fines. Inside are a history room, public computers and the McKee Community Room.

   Mon-Wed 9 a.m.-6 p.m.; Thu 9 a.m.-5 p.m.; Fri 9 a.m.-4 p.m.; Sat 9 a.m.-noon

   105 E. Main St., Gentry, AR 72734

   What's on hereOfficial site

5. 5

   Bank of Gentry Building

   History

   The State Bank of Gentry was founded in 1901, and in 1904 it put up this building, whose arched brick front stands out on the central block of Main Street. The carved heads on the facade were made by the bank's president and founder, L.H. Moore, an amateur sculptor. The man and woman under the two small arches are the Arkansas Traveler and his wife. The building is on the National Register of Historic Places. Look at it from the sidewalk.

   Main Street, Gentry, AR 72734

6. 6

   Grand Army of the Republic Monument (Gentry Cemetery)

   History

   Union veteran David Kost put up this 18-foot granite monument with marble panels on his family plot in the northeast section of Gentry Cemetery. He dedicated it on Memorial Day 1918 to Gentry's Charles Harker Post of the GAR, the Union veterans' group, and both Union and Confederate veterans took part in the ceremony. It is one of only three known GAR memorials in Arkansas; the other two are in Judsonia and Siloam Springs. Kost is buried beside it, and the monument has been on the National Register since 2018.

   Gentry Cemetery (northeast section), Gentry, AR 72734

   Official site

7. 7

   The Wooden Spoon

   Food & drink · Pie, a sit-down lunch

   This Gentry restaurant has served pies, desserts and home cooking for more than 20 years. The signature dishes are made from scratch: chicken fried steak, meatloaf and pot roast, along with a daily blue-plate special and soups of the week. You can also order whole desserts and frozen meals to take home.

   Lunch Mon-Fri 10:30 a.m.-2 p.m.; dinner Fri-Sat 5-8 p.m.; closed Sunday

   1000 South Gentry Blvd., Gentry, AR 72734

   Official site

8. 8

   Taylor's Orchard

   Food & drink · Summer fruit picking

   Arkansas Tourism lists this Gentry orchard for its peaches, nectarines and thornless blackberries. It has a fruit stand, and you can pick your own from mid-June through August. The orchard doesn't have its own website, so plan your trip for the summer season.

   12801 Taylor Orchard Road, Gentry, AR 72734

9. 9

   Decatur Depot Museum (Decatur)

   Museum · Train fans, local history

   This museum is in Decatur, a separate town that also sits on Highway 59. Kansas City Southern built the depot in 1910. Inside are articles about the area's old fruit orchards and about the train master who worked the depot the longest. Outside are a cabin more than 100 years old that belonged to the Heaslets family, a KCS locomotive and a caboose. Members of the Decatur Historical Commission run it.

   Saturdays 10 a.m.-2 p.m., first Saturday in May through last Saturday in September; other times by appointment (479-422-0208)

   249 Main St., Decatur, AR 72722

   Official site

Hours and prices as each place posts them, checked October 9, 2026; they change, so confirm before you go. Curation is never sold.