The hot summer days will be drawing to a close sooner than we know (but not soon enough for those who are miserable in the summer heat!) There’s still time for Arkansas residents and travelers to get out and enjoy the rest of the summer days without completely blowing up their bank accounts – check out these family-friendly activities that won’t cost you an arm and a leg!
10. Legends of Arkansas at Riverfront Park
This all-day, family-friendly live music and art festival will be held Saturday, September 19, 2015. This will be the third annual all-Arkansas, grassroots, music and art festival at Riverfront Park in downtown Little Rock. Come and celebrate some of the best artists and musicians in Arkansas, as well as independent businesses from around the state. Admission is absolutely free!
9. Norfork Natural Fish Hatchery
Established in 1955, the Norfork National Fish Hatchery is a cold water hatchery primarily for the production of trout to restock the tailwaters below Norfork, Bull Shoals, and other dams. The hatchery is responsible for raising three kinds of trout: rainbow, brown, and cutthroat. In addition, Norfork National Fish Hatchery also provides trout to reservoirs and in cooperation with state game and fish agencies. These fish are distributed throughout Arkansas and other nearby states. Get your fishing license and get out to the lake!
8. Terra Studios
The home of the Original Bluebird of Happiness and the Pink Bird of Hope, Terra Studios is a popular Northwest Arkansas tourist attraction and a family friendly destination. Terra Studios is located in Fayetteville at 12103 Hazel Valley Road.
7. Peel Ferry
Peel Ferry is the last public ferryboat operating in the state and provides transportation across a section of Bull Shoals Lake.
6. Crystal Bridges Museum of Art
This Bentonville, Arkansas museum houses a permanent collection of American masterworks from the colonial era to modern day, and touring collections from national art institutions.
5. The Hemingway-Pfeiffer Museum
This educational center in Piggott, Arkansas includes the home and barn studio where Ernest Hemingway lived and wrote portions of "A Farewell to Arms."
4. Showdown at Sunset in El Dorado
Showdown at Sunset in El Dorado, Arkansas will be held on August 22 on Main Street. The event is a historical reenactment of the legendary Tucker-Parnell feud that resulted in a historic gunfight in Union Square. A cast of seven actors don true-to-era costumes and shoot real guns loaded with black-powder. The event looks, smells, and sounds like the actual shoot-out.
3. Arkansas State University Musuem
Arkansas State University Museum in Jonesboro includes Native American history, a pioneer town, military items, natural history displays, a priceless glass collection, geology, and mastodon and other prehistoric fossils.
2. Miss Laura's Visitor Center
Miss Laura's Visitor Center is a restored turn-of-the-century brothel that is now Fort Smith, Arkansas's visitor center. Tourists get an eyeful of the misbehaving adventures of many border-town bandits and cowboys from the state's wild frontier history.
1. The Old State House
This well known museum, located in the heart of downtown Little Rock and near the bank of the Arkansas River, is a designated National Historic Landmark best-known as the scene of President Clinton's 1992 and 1996 election-night celebrations. Tourists can get a feel of the state's historic and political past and culture.
There are many other places around Arkansas where you and the family can have a good time without spending too much cash. Before school starts back up, try one of these “staycations” around the Natural State – you don’t have to leave town or empty your wallet for summer fun! Where else do you like to go around Arkansas for an inexpensively roaring good time? Tell us in the comments below!
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