Watch the 2024 solar eclipse from one of these 11 totality towns in North Central Arkansas
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All of the North Central Arkansas towns listed below are in the path of totality for the 2024 solar eclipse, which cuts a wide swath through the middle of Arkansas. Each has its own personality and attractions that make it a town worth visiting.
Make one of them your hub to watch the eclipse so you can stay and play from dark to day. Each city offers a variety of things to do before and after the big eclipse moment.
This map shows all of Arkansas and the eclipse path if you want to discover additional viewing locations. To experience the "total" phase of the eclipse, gazers must be in the narrow path of totality, which will run through the center of The Natural State from southwest to northeast.
Clinton
Time in totality - 4m 14.9s
Clinton is home to Archey Park and riverwalk trails, a historic downtown, the Arkansas Natural Bridge and the famous annual Chuckwagon Races. The downtown is full of local arts and crafts, antiques, boutique shopping, dining and more. Straddling the Archey Fork and the South Fork of the Little Red River, Clinton is a gateway to the Little Red River and Greers Ferry Lake.
Reaching Clinton is fun and scenic along Arkansas Highway 65. It has ample dining and lodging options.
Heber Springs
Time in totality - 4m 2.4s
Founded as a health resort and first called Sugar Loaf in the mid-19th century, Heber Springs a popular access point to Greers Ferry Lake and the Little Red River. Greers Ferry Lake, one of the state’s most popular lakes, is known for great fishing and water recreation. Camping, cabins and world-class resorts overlook the 31,500-acre lake. Below the massive Corps of Engineers dam, the Little Red River is internationally known as the home of the former world-record brown trout (40-pound, four-ounce). Trout resorts and outfitters are numerous. The lake and river have served as national models for environmental cleanliness.
The historic downtown district includes a stately county courthouse with a traditional square, a museum, antique shops, restaurants, restored theater and Spring Park.
Heber Springs has plenty of places to eat, stay and play.
Searcy
Time in totality - 2m 55.7s
The Little Red River and White Sulphur Springs are both a part of Searcy's founding. Today, Harding University draws students from around the country and offers arts and athletic events for the community. Don't miss a trip downtown where you can check out the Art Alley and find great places to eat. Catch a movie at the historic Rialto Theater or escape to the water and woods. With world-class fishing, a clean and developed park system, climbing options nearby, and limitless trails for hiking and mountain biking, this is the place for outdoor adventure and eclipse watching.
Jasper
Time in totality - 2m 4.2s
Jasper is surrounded by natural beauty and outdoor opportunities like hiking, canoeing, caving, rock climbing, fishing, hunting, mountain biking and horseback riding. This is also the area where the nearby Buffalo National River, the nation’s first national river, begins to flow. A herd of about 600 elk roams the Buffalo River corridor.
The picturesque Jasper square with its beautiful courthouse in the middle and gazebos on the grounds is fun to visit. There are unique eateries, antiques and shops. A small hotel can be found in the town but camping and cabins in the area are plentiful.
Yellville
Time in totality - 2m 47.0s
Yellville provides great access to Crooked Creek, popular for canoeing and fishing. It’s one of the best smallmouth bass streams in Arkansas. The Fred Berry Conservation Education Center on Crooked Creek has an education building, pavilion, trails, creek and acres of varied Ozark habitat providing plenty of indoor and outdoor learning areas. Almost six miles of hiking trails are available, plus there's a 3D archery range.
Yellville is also the place to float the lower section of the Buffalo National River. Outfitters are available for both the river and creek.
The city is also home to the Rush Historic District, a 1,300-acre zinc mining town dating from the mid-1880s to the mid-1930s. Often referred to as a ghost town, the site contains the old structures and hiking trails with interpretive exhibits. It is now protected by the National Park Service within the Buffalo National River.
Resorts, cabins and campgrounds are prevalent in Yellville, although there is a motel. Several restaurants can be found in this small town.
Flippin
Time in totality - 2m 49.0s
The small Ozark Mountain town of Flippin sits between Bull Shoals Lake to the north, the White River to the east and the Buffalo National River to the south.
Fishing and vacation resorts line the outskirts beyond the town. Flippin is a great stop for groceries before you head to your lodging and restaurants are available when you don’t want to cook.
Batesville
Time in totality - 4m 2.2s
Located along the shores of the White River, Batesville is a small community located in the north-central section of the state. The Batesville Historic Commercial District is the state’s oldest existing city historic commercial district. It offers a glimpse into the city's past with many buildings on the National Register of Historic Places. These days, downtown is stocked with law offices, antique stores, music shops and art galleries. Additionally, new restaurants and businesses have come to the downtown, making it a vibrant part of the city. Also downtown is the renovated Melba Theater, a single-screen movie theater that seats about 400 and holds a vintage neighborhood feel for movie-goers.
Jamestown Crag, just south of Batesville, is the best sport climbing rock in northeast Arkansas and has more than 100 bolted routes, Rounding out the town’s offerings are Lyon College, Batesville Motor Speedway, Old Independence Regional Museum and Mark Martin NASCAR Museum.
Hotels and restaurants are plentiful.
Mountain View
Time in totality - 4m 13.7
Located deep in the Ozark Mountains, Mountain View is surrounded by mountains and rivers, offering recreation that include caving at Blanchard Springs Caverns and fishing on the White River. The Syllamo Mountain Bike Trails is also nearby.
Music is the soul of the town. Established in the 1970s, the town is famous for the preservation of folkways and traditional music. Locals can be found “pickin” and playing music around the town square when the weather gets warm with visitors invited to join in.
Mountain View is also home to music stores, antique shops, the state’s largest craft cooperative, and plenty of restaurants and lodging options.
Mountain Home
Time in totality - 3m 9.9s
Mountain Home was one of the state’s first water resort and retirement regions with fishing, water sports, outdoor recreation, shopping and dining as top draws. It is considered some of the state’s finest outdoor real estate since it is situated in the Ozark Mountains and surrounded by Norfork and Bull Shoals lakes and the White and North Fork rivers.
Also worth a visit is Norfork National Fish Hatchery, the nation’s largest federal trout production facility and the massive Bull Shoals Dam. Another famous stream, the Buffalo National River, flows into the White River just a few mile south of Mountain Home. While the White and North Fork are known for great trout fishing, the Buffalo is known for smallmouth bass.
For golf lovers, there’s Big Creek Golf and Country Club. Amidst all of the outdoor recreation opportunities and the Ozark Mountains’ natural beauty are all the modern conveniences you’d expect. Shopping, breweries and dining establishments abound, plus there is a downtown entertainment district that permits public drinking in a nine-block area centered around the county courthouse.
Fishing resorts and hotels can be found throughout town and region.
Hardy
Time in totality - 4m 12.1s
Overlooking the cool, flowing waters of the Spring River, Hardy is a preserved 1920s-era Ozark village with a National Historic District that extends the length of the old business district. Stores full of antiques, crafts, gifts and specialty outlets line the downtown. Hardy also boasts three museums, a few restaurants and bed and breakfast inns. The Spring River is fed by nearby Mammoth Spring and is ideal for trout fishing and year-round floating.
Motels and RV parks are available for lodging.
Cherokee Village
Time in totality - 4m 12.1s
Cherokee Village is a 15,000-acre resort destination with two private 18-hole golf courses, six swimming pools, a private beach, tennis courts, recreation and sports centers, fitness and senior centers, horseshoe pits, nature trails, RV park, and lakes for boating and fishing.
Cutting through the lush land and hardwood forests of Cherokee Village is the South Fork River, which flows into the well-known Spring River. Both rivers are popular in the region for floating, and fishing for trout and walleye. Visitors to this vacation destination can stay in a cottage, timeshare, home, condo, and golf course or lakeside rentals.