Fun Things To Do in Northwest Arkansas

Ozark Towns are Home of Walmart, Beaver Lake and Razorback Football

Aug 20, 2008
Pamela Watson

Walmart Visitors Center in Bentonville, Arkansas - Pamela Watson

From the healing waters of Eureka Springs to the shouts of "Woo Pig!" at the University of Arkansas, the northwest corner of Arkansas is a unique and exciting place.

Nestled in the Ozark Mountains are the towns and cities that hold the history and heritage of the Ozark people. Civil War battles raged here, Native Americans hunted here and a little retail company established its corporate headquarters here. That company would be Walmart.

Northwest Arkansas has lots to see and do for visitors looking to spend a couple of days or a couple of weeks. From the arts to outdoor recreation and from Civil War soldiers to Walmartians, the towns of the Ozarks have a lot to offer. The following is a sampling.

Bentonville, Arkansas – Home of Walmart

Walmart Visitor’s Center, 105 North Main Street, (479) 273-1329 - original Walton 5 & 10 store houses photographs and memorabilia of Sam Walton and the beginnings of Walmart
Peel Mansion Museum and Gardens, 400 South Walton Boulevard, (479) 273-9664 - 1875 Italianate-style home of Colonel Samuel Peel furnished with period pieces with a garden and out buildings
Museum of Native American Artifacts, 202 SW 'O' Street, (479) 273-2456 - artifacts dating from 12,000 BC to the present

Rogers, Arkansas – Railroad Town

War Eagle Cavern, 21494 Cavern Drive (about 12 miles east of Rogers), (479) 789-2909 – guided tour and tales of cave with large rooms and natural formations
Pea Ridge National Military Park, 15930 U. S. Highway 62 Garfield, Arkansas (about 10 miles east of Rogers) (479) 451-8122 - Site of one of the most important battles of the Civil War, battlefield, cannons, and remaining farmhouse
Beaver Lake/Hobbs State Management Area, 21392 E. Arkansas Highway 12 between Rogers and Eureka Springs, (479) 789-2380 – 28,000-acre man-made lake for boating, fishing and swimming and 11,646-acre state park with primitive camping 17 miles of hiking trails

Eureka Springs, Arkansas – Victorian Town of Natural Spring-fed Spas

1882 Crescent Hotel and Spa, 75 Prospect Avenue, (479) 253-9766 – historic hotel and spa said to be haunted
The Great Passion Play, 935 Passion Play Road, 1-866-566-3565 – Outdoor drama of the story of Christ’s crucifixion
Thorncrown Chapel, 12968 U. S. Highway 62 West, (479) 253-4701 – Award winning glass and wood beam chapel in the woods designed by architect E. Fay Jones

Fayetteville, Arkansas – Home of the University of Arkansas Razorbacks

University of Arkansas, West Dickson Street, (479) 575-2000, campus sights include Reynolds Razorback Stadium & Hall of Champions, Chi Omega Greek Theater and Sen. J. William Fulbright sculpture
Clinton House Museum, 930 California Boulevard, (479) 444-0066 - on U of A campus, home of Bill and Hilary Clinton while Bill taught law at the University of Arkansas
Headquarters House, 118 East Dickson Street, (479) 521-2970 – 1853 house served as headquarters for both the Union and the Confederate armies during the Civil War

For more information on things to do in Arkansas and specifically Northwest Arkansas, contact the Northwest Arkansas Tourism Association 1-888-398-3444

Pamela Watson - I first hit the road at the tender age of three weeks when my career-Army dad packed up my mom and me and moved us from Indiana to New ...