Get here. It is ON!
Eureka Springs flourished in the 1800s when visitors flocked to drink from the town's mineral springs.
Today, Gingerbread-trimmed houses dot the hills like wildflowers from the Ozark bluffs, and hotels accommodate the crowds. Eureka Springs has emerged as an artists' colony, an LGBTQ+ destination, a biker and antique car destination and a wedding destination -- and, when the summer heat mellows, we're also lovely end to a stunning fall drive through these here hills.
With no stoplights anywhere in town and amidst a maze of impossibly steep streets, hills and staircases, our world is lined with quaint homes and inns -- and a whole lot of joy.
Spring Street, in particular, packs galleries, gift shops and restaurants. Tiny parks protect natural springs, and spas echo our town's history as a haven for healing. There is even the old-timey photo studio and a store that sells saltwater taffy downtown with every bit of it giving Eureka an air of legitimacy.
We Do What We Love
Eureka Springs is like a university town but without the students. Everybody's very passionate about what they're doing here, and most of us are not originally from here although the one's that are originally from here are (in my personal opinion) quite interesting to engage in discussion with. I truly adore meeting a true Freakin' Eurekan.
All around Eureka Springs, visitors will encounter many "settlers" making a go of it doing what they absolutely love to do, often to the benefit of the annual 800,000+ visitors who visit this town of 2,500 residents.
Thrilling Color This Time Of Year
Winter is Winter. Spring is gorgeous. Summer is tolerable. Fall, ahhhhh ... well, fall is our favorite time as it offer us some thrilling color. Petunias still bloom on the porch, but the leaves that surround our town have begun to turn.
Fall is familiar. Everyone knows fall, loves fall and everyone falls in love with fall, at some point in life.
For years, Moms and Dads brought their kids here for apple and sorghum harvests and they've come back to Eureka Springs at every stage of their lives ever since with kids, grand-kids and great grand-kids.
While the shopping here is exceptional, maybe, more than shopping is what brings them and so many others back. Here in Eureka there is the sense that in this funny little town deep in the mountains, you can stop the clock for a few days and just ... well, BE!
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Just Be!
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Here Is Your Two-Day Fall Fling Agenda!
Day One
Eureka Springs unfolds along Spring Street.
That said, please ride the trolley to the top of the hill and shop your way down, (479) 253-7333; http://eurekatrolley.org/ it will NOT disappoint.
The mother-daughter team at Wilson and Wilson Folk Art Company paint colorful collectibles, (479) 253-5105; wilsonandwilsonfolkart.com. You'll find more local art at Zarks Gallery, (877) 540-9805; zarksgallery.com.
For lunch, experience Local Flavor, (479) 253-9522; localflavorcafe.net. Later, relax on a tram tour, (479) 253-9572; eurekatrolley.org. Jovial guides dish local lore, and you'll get a great view of the Christ of the Ozarks statue rising above the trees, (800) 882-7529; www.greatpassionplay.com.
Enjoy a glass of wine on the patio at The Stone House. Also, Italian food at Ermilio's is a must, (479) 253-8806; ermilios.com.
Heartstone Inn Bed and Breakfast is truly a gem. Buy their cookbook to make the recipes at home. (800) 494-4921; heartstoneinn.com.
Heart of the Hills Inn
Heart of the hills Inn is a delight. This circa 1883, award winning, Eureka Springs Bed and Breakfast Inn & Cottage has been serving guests for over 30 years. You will experience luxury bed & breakfast lodging with an emphasis on relaxation, refreshment and with romance in mind. The Inn’s historic charm has been carefully preserved yet all the interior spaces are renovated to current standards that guests expect. Exemplary personalized hospitality and some of the most fabulous gourmet breakfasts await you at Heart of the Hills Inn in Eureka Springs, Arkansas. (pssssst ... tell Randy that Kirby sent ya!)
Soak in Eureka Springs' history (literally!) at the Palace Hotel Bath House, (866) 946-0572; palacehotelbathhouse.com. Visitors love The Works, a sort of living history spa treatment including a soak in a claw-foot bath. Do it, just do it!
Day Two
Mornings are absolutely peaceful at Thorncrown Chapel, (479) 253-7401; thorncrown.com. Commissioned by a retired local teacher in the 1970s, the glass-walled church sits in the woods a couple of miles west of Eureka Springs, Arkansas. As you walk to the door, you can see right through to the trees beyond.
Soaring gray beams evoke a Gothic cathedral; it's a modern riff on the medieval notion of columns leading eyes up to God. The architecture seems to melt away, leaving you in a gold-dappled glade with the tingly sense that heaven and earth merge when a breeze flutters the foliage.
A pretty 28-mile drive from town, the War Eagle Mill sells stone-ground baking mixes in cute calico bags. (479) 789-5343; wareaglemill.com
In neighboring Hobbs State Park, the paved Van Winkle Trail loops past an old sawmill, (479) 789-5000; arkansasstateparks.com. On the way back to town, stop in at Turpentine Creek Wildlife Refuge, a sanctuary for rescued big cats, (479) 253-5841; turpentinecreek.org.
For a delicious wine-paired dinner, the Cottage Inn Restaurant ONLY provides exclusive wine (paired) dinner experiences and serves Mediterranean-inspired dishes such as Filet Dijonnaise-thin slices of beef filet, sautéed & topped with a tarragon mushroom & Dijon mustard cream sauce, served with mashed potatoes. It'll truly leave you craving one more day in Eureka Springs. Hopefully, while you are in town, there will be a wine dinner experience happening. Book here >> (479) 253-5282; www.cottageinneureka.com
