Five Great RV-Friendly Vacation Destinations in Arkansas
Planning your next RV vacation? Arkansas is an amazing place to be a tourist, whether you’re a Natural State resident or a wanderer from afar. If you want charming mountain towns, outdoor adventure, urban culture—or all these things!—Arkansas’s got you covered. Arkansas also has dozens of RV campgrounds, so you’ll always have a comfy place to park your home on wheels.
Most of Arkansas’s RV parks have hook-ups, wifi, and separate bathroom facilities. Some of them have pools, hot tubs, and playgrounds. Many allow pets.
If you’re planning an RV trip through the Natural State, here are some destinations to incorporate into your route.
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Hot Springs, Arkansas
First up, why not take your spa treatments with a side of history? Hot Springs offers multiple RV parks and plenty to do. It’s the perfect mix of city, nature, and luxury. Downtown’s main thoroughfare, Central Avenue, is also known as Bathhouse Row, harkening back to when this city was a playground for the rich and famous—and the mafia! Some of these lovely buildings have been turned into the visitor center, breweries, and restaurants. One of them, Buckstaff Bathhouse, is still a functioning spa. You can schedule massages or soak in a public pool or private bath, full of the city’s naturally hot, mineral springs.
Hot Springs also has public spouts around town for residents and visitors to fill “to-go” containers of mineral water, and Hot Springs National Park is accessible from Bathhouse Row. Hikes wind up a mountain, offering views of downtown and beyond.
When you’re tired of hiking, explore the Gangster Museum, the Mid America Science Museum, Magic Springs Water Park, Garvan Woodland Gardens, and the Oaklawn horse-racing track. There are also plenty of restaurants, shops, and live music on offer.
Lake Ouachita and Lake Catherine State Park are a short drive away, and both offer trails and fishing. There are also places to dig your own crystals in the nearby towns of Mt. Ida and Jessieville.
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Little Rock and North Little Rock, Arkansas
For the culture lovers, it’s time to hit up Arkansas’s version of the “twin cities.” North Little Rock’s Downtown Riverside Park isn’t pleasantly wooded. It’s more of a parking-lot style RV park, but it has hook-ups, wifi, washers and dryers, and a boat ramp. And it offers excellent views of downtown Little Rock, just across the Arkansas River.
More importantly, RV-ers are within walking distance to downtown North Little Rock’s plethora of restaurants and downtown Little Rock’s Rivermarket District. The Rivermarket is a banquet of indoor food stalls along the downtown strip, which features nightlife, kids’ activities, live music, riverside walking and biking trails, the Museum of Discovery, Heifer Farm’s headquarters, and the Clinton Center and Presidential Library.
You’re within a bike ride (rent them here) of the Arkansas Arts Center and other museums, the SOMA historic district (with museums, restaurants, shops, and an old-fashioned ice cream parlor), and the Civil Rights landmark, Central High School. You’re within a 20-minute drive of Pinnacle Mountain, the Big Dam Bridge, the Little Rock Zoo, and the trails of Allsopp Park.
Plus, North Little Rock and Little Rock regularly host theater, baseball games, and other special events. Figure out what’s happening during your stay.
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Heber Springs, Arkansas
Keep heading north towards Heber Springs, where you’ll find plenty of nearby RV parks. Heber Springs is home to the over 40,000-acre Greers Ferry Lake—one of the cleanest and clearest lakes in the nation. It’s a prime place to hike, fish, boat, kayak, and scuba dive, plus there’s a sandy beach for lounging. There are also art galleries and antique shops to explore.
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Mountain Home, Arkansas
Winding your way upstate, you’ll soon hit Mountain Home (and many RV park options). There is plenty to do in this little corner of the Ozarks, from visiting the Norfork National Fish Hatchery, to taking in a stage-show at the Twin Lakes Playhouse. There are golf courses, an adorable town center, and there’s almost always live folk music and bluegrass happening somewhere nearby.
Nearby, you can hike in the Ozark National Forest, or boat, mountain-bike or trout-fish at Bull Shoals-White River State Park. You can explore the living caves at Bull Shoals Caverns or visit the Ozark Folk Center, a “living museum” that showcases woodworkers, blacksmiths, quilters, and pottery makers.
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Eureka Springs, Arkansas
You don’t want to miss Eureka Springs, in the Northwest corner of the state. (Check out the area RV parks here.) There is plenty to keep you occupied in this artists haven:
- Highly-walkable downtown that includes shops, galleries, restaurants, theaters, candy stores, and niche museums.
- Quigley’s Castle
- Thorncrown Chapel
- Christ of the Ozarks
- Turpentine Wildlife Refuge (if you love big cats)
- Take a tram tour
- Visit the gardens at the Blue Ridge Heritage Center
- Eat at the haunted Crescent Hotel or just take its ghost tour
- Explore Onyx Cave,
- Hike to nearby Pivot Rock and the Natural Bridge
- Scuba dive at Beaver Lake
- Faucets around town offer free public access to the mineral springs
If you plan to wander some locations that aren’t on our list (because, seriously, there are so many great places to wander!), browse this fairly comprehensive list of RV parks in the Natural State.
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