Springdale

This Northwest Arkansas city of about 90,000 people has working-town energy rooted in Ozark Mountain history. From a summer rodeo to world-class mountain bike trails, Springdale has a strong sense of community and place.

Start downtown, where local businesses line the streets, murals tie into community history, and events fill the calendar year-round — outdoor concerts, art walks, seasonal events and more. Shop for handmade furniture or settle into a Bavarian biergarten. Sit down to fine dining at Gaskins on Emma, grab pizza at The Odd Soul, birria tacos at Casa Alejo, or a charcuterie board and wine at Sassafras Springs Vineyard on the edge of town. Book your stay at a downtown boutique hotel, such as The Star on Spring, or at a familiar chain near Interstate 49.

Only in Springdale
The Arkansas & Missouri Railroad, one of the more distinctive ways to experience the Ozarks. Restored passenger cars from the 1920s through 1950s carry riders on round-trip excursions between Springdale and Van Buren or Springdale and Winslow, rolling through river valleys, the Boston Mountains and the historic Winslow Tunnel, completed in 1882. The Springdale Train Depot is also home to the J. Reilly McCarren Transportation Museum, where vintage cabooses and railroad artifacts fill in the story of how this region connected to the wider world.

The Shiloh Museum of Ozark History covers the land and the people who first settled the region and built communities across the Northwest Arkansas Ozarks. Five core exhibits span prehistory through modern times, and six historic structures on the museum grounds, built between the 1880s and 1930s, give those stories a physical presence you can walk through.

Every July since World War II, Parsons Stadium has hosted the Rodeo of the Ozarks, known for bull riders, barrel racers, kids' events and rodeo queens. Throughout the rest of the year, the stadium draws circuses, demolition derbies, monster truck rallies and more.

Baseball fans will want to catch a Northwest Arkansas Naturals game at Arvest Ballpark. The Naturals are the Double-A affiliate of the Kansas City Royals, and the ballpark has a Kids Zone, mini-golf and a train stop alongside the usual concessions and gathering spots. Keep an eye out for Strike the Sasquatch and Sinker the Lake Creature, the team's two mascots.

The Jones Center is packed with things to do. Go ice skating, attend a hockey camp or try curling. Splash in the pool and swim laps. Pick the gym day pass to play pickleball, basketball and volleyball. Open every day from sunrise to sunset, the Runway Bike Park features one of the largest asphalt pump tracks in North America.  

Nature programming gets serious at the J.B. and Johnelle Hunt Family Ozark Highlands Nature Center, offering 32,000 square feet of free exhibits, a 12-lane 3D archery range, a marksmanship center, ADA-accessible trails, a Nature Play Playground. Learn about wildlife inside the center, then look for it on the 61-acre property. The center sits along the Spring Creek Trail, which connects to the Razorback Regional Greenway and the Thunder Chicken mountain bike trail.

Outdoor Recreation
Fitzgerald Mountain sits less than 10 minutes from downtown Springdale and packs two outdoor disciplines into one 130-acre park. Mountain bikers come for 11 miles of technical single-track on trails like Coyote Cave, Stage Coach and the affectionately named Best Trail Ever, which wind through rock gardens, armored climbs and Ozark blufflines at skill levels from beginner to double-black-diamond. Rock climbers come for the Fitzgerald South area, where around 36 sport routes ranging from 5.3 to 5.14 follow bolted bluffs.

Beyond Fitzgerald, the Razorback Greenway passes through the heart of downtown Springdale on its 40-plus-mile paved route connecting the region, and the Spring Creek Trail links to Lake Springdale and the Thunder Chicken flow trail for cyclists looking for a shorter, more accessible ride. The Runway Bike Park at the Jones Center features one of the largest asphalt pump tracks in North America.

Springdale's numerous city parks cover the rest of the outdoor spectrum. J.B. Hunt Park spans 200 acres around Lake Springdale and features disc golf, softball fields, paved trails, mountain biking trails and a pump track. Murphy Park, the city's oldest, dating to 1955, has a three-acre fishing pond, sand volleyball, play structures and shaded picnic areas. The Gerald Harp Treehouse Park draws families with seven interconnected treehouses.

Springdale also sits within easy reach of some of Arkansas' best outdoor escapes. Beaver Lake draws boaters, anglers and paddlers, while the Kings, Mulberry and Buffalo rivers are among the state's most popular canoe floats. Devil's Den State Park and Withrow Springs State Park, both less than an hour away, offer hiking and camping in the Ozarks. Combining walking paths with history, Prairie Grove Battlefield State Park is about 22 miles away.