Last year I realized Arkansas was the only state I had not yet visited. It was also clear that if I hadn’t been there yet, it was not going to just happen without a plan. It took a while for me to get it together, but I finally planned a weekend trip to Little Rock.
Spoiler alert – this was a great way to spend a weekend and I’m glad I made the effort to go.
Downtown little rock is small, charming city and can easily fill one full day. We started with breakfast at @ the Corner. This is a small diner with outstanding food. I ordered way too much and loved it all – the avocado toast, the blueberry and orange pancakes, and my first taste of grits.
Our first stop of the day, and one of the primary reasons for our visit, was the Clinton Presidential Library. The library is along the river and just on the edge of downtown. It was an easy walk but also had ample parking. The library was great. I’d plan 1 ½ – 2 hours to explore the exhibits. It is a great reminder of world events through the 1990’s and it was startling to see how similar many of the “hot topics” then mirror those today. The museum has a replica of the cabinet room and the oval office as well as a short movie narrated by Bill Clinton.
After seeing a sign, we spontaneously decided to head to the USS Razorback next. This was a surprise since Arkansas is land locked, and you don’t expect a US submarine to be named after a sports team. It’s not!! The submarine is named after a species of whale, and it is the longest-servicing submarine. The USS Razorback was commissioned for 56 years in the US and Turkish Navies before being bought by the city of Little Rock. This is a well-done tour and an unexpected fun way to spend an hour. There is also a small museum onsite and the USS Hoga tugboat that was the first on scene after the attack at Pearl Harbor.
The city also has a wonderful Streetcar (Rock Region METRO Streetcar) which we took back across the river to downtown. The Streetcar is free and covers 3.4 miles of Little Rock and North Little Rock.
Our next stop was Central High School which was the site of the “Little Rock 9” school integration in 1957. If you don’t have a rental car, you’ll want to get an Uber or Lyft, but it is worth it. While it is still a functioning high school today, the National Park Center has a wonderful museum and gives a fantastic free tour. This is a wonderful look at a singular historic event that represents the larger context of the decade.
The MacArthur Museum was our final stop in Little Rock. This was not on my original list but ended up being a fantastic stop and we were there almost two hours. The museum is located in the pre-Civil War arsenal where MacArthur was born. But not only does the museum highlight his career and life, it has several other unique exhibits that provide perspective on Arkansas’ history and other war events. There was a special Ukraine exhibit, a magnificent exhibit of Vietnam photos taken by two locals, a JEEP display, and a medal of honor exhibit. Even if you aren’t a huge military history buff, if you have time, this is worth a quick stop just for the local perspective and tributes they provide to local citizens. And did I mention it is free?
The Capitol Hotel was outside my price range but I wanted to visit this 150-year-old Gilded Age historic hotel where it is rumored Ulysses S. Grant took his horse in the elevator. It is a beautiful hotel with original tile and stained glass, and we had a wonderful dinner at the Capitol Grille.
For those who prefer to explore a city on a bicycle, the city has hundreds of miles of trails.
We spent our second day at Hot Springs. This is an easy hour drive from Little Rock. The entire town is a National Park – the second smallest in the US and one of the oldest. The first bathhouses were built in 1830 and the area was established as Hot Springs Reservation in 1932. I really wanted to try one of the 19th century traditional bathhouses. There are two still operating, Buckstaff provides “traditional” baths while Quapaw is more of a public open pool. Buckstaff opens at 8 am and doesn’t take reservations. We were up early and in town a little after 8 but there was already a line down the block. Instead, we visited Fordyce which is the Park Headquarters but allows you to see the baths as they were and provides an outstanding free tour. I would have preferred to actually do the baths, but this let me get a sense of the experience.
It turns out, at the turn of the century, Hot Springs was a Gangster resort haven and where they came on vacation. Today, Hot Springs hosts the Gangster Museum of America. You can only visit the museum on a guided tour and while we are glad we did it, this is a long hour. The best way to describe it is visiting your drunk uncle’s basement and watching his home movies. We almost tried to leave a couple of times but thought it had to get better – it didn’t.
Arkansas is the Natural State and Hot Springs is a great place to get outside and enjoy nature. There are dozens of trails for all fitness levels and a lake. While in the area, I highly recommend getting out into the woods. The National Park Center would be happy to provide trail recommendations, or you can drive up to the Mountain Tower in order to see the views.
Since we had a rental car, I wanted to see the Old Mill which is a few miles from downtown Little Rock. The Old Mill was used in the 1930’s classic, one of my favorite movies, Gone with the Wind. I expected to find an old rundown building in the middle of a field, but instead it is a beautiful property filled with families. We only stayed a few minutes, but it is the kind of place you could spend a few hours just relaxing or taking photos.
Dinner on the patio at Samantha’s Tap Room & Wood Grill is a perfect way to top off the evening. They have a wonderful menu with wine on tap.
It is interesting to note that most hotels cater to business travelers, and the city thins out considerably during the weekend. Locals head to “the lake”. Hot Springs on the other hand is packed with tourists and locals over the weekends.
The airport only has 12 gates and is only four miles from town. It is an easy Uber or rental car drive away. Most of the hotels in town charge for parking so we caught an Uber into town and then went back to the airport when we wanted to rent a car. Our return fight was early and one of our Uber drivers told us she never leaves for the airport more than 45 minutes prior to departure. She was right, from our hotel room to the gate took less than 30 minutes.
Shout out to Nancy for a great weekend and joining me to visit my 50th state!
Life Kinetic Travel Research 