# Road trips in Arkansas > 6 road trips and 17 hand-picked places in Arkansas, with routes, stops and practical tips for driving and camping. Source: https://camping-spirit.com/roadtrips/arkansas/ 6 road trips and 17 hand-picked places in Arkansas, with routes, stops and practical tips for driving and camping. ## Road trips through Arkansas - [Arkansas Ozarks](https://camping-spirit.com/guides/ozarks/): Victorian Eureka Springs, the bluffs of the Buffalo River and the bathhouses of Hot Springs. - [Arkansas crystals and diamonds](https://camping-spirit.com/guides/b9-arkansas-crystals/): Hot Springs’ bathhouses, clear Ouachita lakes, quartz-crystal digging near Mount Ida and a diamond field where you keep what you find. - [Arkansas River Valley: Petit Jean, Mount Nebo and Mount Magazine](https://camping-spirit.com/guides/b19-arkansas-river-valley/): Three mountain state parks above the Arkansas River between Little Rock and Fort Smith, with waterfalls, CCC lodges and the highest point in Arkansas. - [Arkansas folk music, caverns and the Buffalo River](https://camping-spirit.com/guides/b19-ozark-folk-blanchard/): Mountain music in Mountain View, Blanchard Springs Caverns and the lower Buffalo River, from Little Rock to the Ozark village of Jasper. - [Ozark loop: Branson, Eureka Springs and Crystal Bridges](https://camping-spirit.com/guides/b19-branson-bentonville/): Civil War battlefields, trout springs, the glass Thorncrown Chapel and a major art museum between Springfield, Branson and Bentonville. - [The Talimena Scenic Drive, Oklahoma to Arkansas](https://camping-spirit.com/guides/b9-talimena/): An outlaw cave, then 54 miles of ridge-top road through the Ouachita Mountains to Mena and on to Hot Springs. ## Places worth the detour in Arkansas - [Bathhouse Row](https://camping-spirit.com/places/b9-bathhouse-row/): A row of grand early-1900s bathhouses at the heart of Hot Springs National Park. Fill a bottle at a thermal fountain and walk the Grand Promenade behind them. - [Crater of Diamonds State Park](https://camping-spirit.com/places/b9-crater-of-diamonds/): A plowed field on an old volcanic pipe where anyone can dig for diamonds and keep what they find. Go after a rain, when stones are easier to spot on the surface; rent or bring a sieve. - [Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art](https://camping-spirit.com/places/b19-crystal-bridges/): A museum of American art from colonial portraits to today, built over a spring-fed creek in a wooded ravine by Moshe Safdie. Entry to the permanent collection is free, and the grounds include a Frank Lloyd Wright house. - [Petit Jean State Park](https://camping-spirit.com/places/b19-petit-jean/): Arkansas’s first state park, with the 29 m Cedar Falls in a canyon below a CCC stone lodge. The Cedar Falls Trail is 3.2 km round trip with a steep climb back, and the lodge overlooks the valley. - [Mount Magazine State Park](https://camping-spirit.com/places/b19-mount-magazine/): The highest point in Arkansas (839 m), with a short trail to Signal Hill, hang-gliding cliffs and wide views over the Petit Jean River valley. It is reached on the Mount Magazine Scenic Byway, AR-309. - [Blanchard Springs Caverns](https://camping-spirit.com/places/b19-blanchard-springs/): A living cave in the Ozark National Forest, now run with Arkansas State Parks, with huge rooms of flowstone and columns on the paved Dripstone Trail. Tours run from about May to October; book ahead. - [Buffalo National River](https://camping-spirit.com/places/buffalo-river/): America’s first national river, with bluffs, canoeing and elk at Boxley Valley. - [Queen Wilhelmina State Park](https://camping-spirit.com/places/b9-queen-wilhelmina-sp/): A stone lodge atop Rich Mountain, one of the highest points in Arkansas, first built by Dutch-backed railroad investors in the 1890s. Stop for the view even if you are not staying. - [Garvan Woodland Gardens](https://camping-spirit.com/places/b9-garvan-gardens/): A woodland botanical garden on a peninsula in Lake Hamilton, with a striking wood-and-glass chapel. Spring azaleas and the winter holiday lights are the busiest times. - [Lake Ouachita State Park](https://camping-spirit.com/places/b9-lake-ouachita-sp/): Campsites and swimming on the largest lake entirely within Arkansas, known for very clear water. A calm base between Hot Springs and the crystal country. - [Thorncrown Chapel](https://camping-spirit.com/places/b19-thorncrown-chapel/): A glass and timber chapel in the woods designed by E. Fay Jones in 1980, often ranked among the best American buildings of its time. Open to visitors most days from March to December; donation. - [Pea Ridge National Military Park](https://camping-spirit.com/places/b19-pea-ridge/): A 1862 Civil War battle that kept Missouri in the Union, toured on an 11 km one-way road with overlooks and the restored Elkhorn Tavern. The road is fine for RVs. - [Pinnacle Mountain State Park](https://camping-spirit.com/places/b19-pinnacle-mountain/): A cone-shaped peak just west of Little Rock with steep rocky trails to the summit and views over the Arkansas River valley. The west summit trail is easier; an arboretum loop at the base is flat. - [Mount Nebo State Park](https://camping-spirit.com/places/b19-mount-nebo/): A flat-topped mountain with overlooks at Sunset Point and Sunrise Point over the Arkansas River valley and Lake Dardanelle. The access road AR-155 climbs with hairpin turns and is not recommended for long trailers or big motorhomes. - [Fort Smith National Historic Site](https://camping-spirit.com/places/b19-fort-smith-nhs/): Ruins of two frontier forts and the courtroom and gallows of Judge Isaac Parker, the hanging judge of Indian Territory, on the Arkansas River. Also a stop on the Trail of Tears. - [Ozark Folk Center State Park](https://camping-spirit.com/places/b19-ozark-folk-center/): A living museum of Ozark crafts and music with blacksmiths, potters and weavers, and evening concerts of acoustic mountain music. Open mainly from April to November; check the schedule. - [Buffalo Point](https://camping-spirit.com/places/b19-buffalo-point/): The lower district of the Buffalo National River, with high bluffs, gravel bars for swimming and floating, and trails to Indian Rockhouse cave. Reached off AR-14 south of Yellville. ## FAQs **What are the best road trips in Arkansas?** Popular routes include Arkansas Ozarks, Arkansas crystals and diamonds, Arkansas River Valley: Petit Jean, Mount Nebo and Mount Magazine and Arkansas folk music, caverns and the Buffalo River. CampingSpirit has 6 trip guides that pass through Arkansas, each with a stop-by-stop itinerary and a route map. **Which places in Arkansas are worth a detour?** Our editors recommend Bathhouse Row, Crater of Diamonds State Park, Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art, Petit Jean State Park, Mount Magazine State Park and Blanchard Springs Caverns.