Walnut Ridge

Walnut Ridge has two unique claims to fame, and both involve flying. 

In 1942, the town was chosen as the site for an Army Air Forces Flying School. Over the next two years, pilots were trained to fly BT-13s, with more than 4,500 students graduating from the school. After the school closed in 1944, the airbase was used to dismantle planes and other military equipment. More than 10,000 planes were flown in and stored at the airport, becoming the largest number of airplanes ever amassed in one place.

Decades later, the same airfield would welcome a very different kind of arrival.

In September 1964, the Beatles flew into the airport en route to a nearby vacation spot. A few teenagers spotted the Fab Four as they left the airport and, when they returned two days later, hundreds of locals were waiting to watch them board the plane. Walnut Ridge became the only known town in Arkansas the Beatles visited. 

Today, downtown Walnut Ridge reflects both chapters. Beatles Park holds a life-size sculpture of the group depicted as they appear on the Abbey Road album cover, and the Guitar Walk — a 115-foot guitar modeled on the Epiphone Casino played by John Lennon — honors the musicians who launched careers along Rock 'N' Roll Highway 67, including Conway Twitty, Johnny Cash, Elvis Presley and Billy Lee Riley. 

The Wings of Honor World War II Museum preserves the flying school story with an extensive collection of nose art, artifacts and military history. The Lawrence County Library houses the Argenta Collection, 229 large-format Beatles photographs, many rarely seen before, on rotating display. 

On the third Saturday of every September, the Beatles at the Ridge festival draws fans in homage of the Liverpool legends. The free festival offers a day filled with live music, kids’ activities, a car show, food trucks, and more than 100 retail vendors.

A short drive north takes you to Pocahontas and Randolph County, where five rivers — the Black, Current, Spring, Fourche and Eleven Point — draw anglers and paddlers year-round. Trout, bass, bream and crappie bring the fishing crowd, while the rivers' quieter stretches offer some of the better canoe and kayak floats in northeast Arkansas. 

Davidsonville Historic State Park, located on the Black River in southern Randolph County, preserves the site of Arkansas' first post office, courthouse and land office from a frontier town established in 1815. The park borders the Black River and a fishing lake, with hiking trails, campsites, and jon boats for rent.