The Natural State

The Natural State has proven to be just that. Having spent a little over a week now in Arkansas, it has been the biggest surprise for us in terms of having the most sheer amount of beauty of any of the states we’ve traveled thus far. Similar to Virginia in many ways, the Arkansas landscape is rolling, green, lush, and abundant with a multitude of wildlife to include deer, fox, opossum, bear, coyotes, and my favorite the armadillo. While the mountains peak out at just over 2000 ft, they lure you in to hike them with so much possibility to create a memorable outdoor experience. Northern Arkansas has an extensive network of vineyards with miles and miles of grapes that will lead to you several “wine trails” worthy of a stop if you’re ever in the areas of Altus or Fort Smith. The town of Hot Springs is a unique one with natural hot springs piped right into bath houses that sit along Bathhouse Row. There are several water filling stations around town where you can fill up your own water bottles with this natural elixir, said to have healing properties filled with minerals provided from Mother Earth. The mountain biking has been truly epic. In Hot Springs, we got to experience the Northwood trails and in Bentonville the Slaughter Pen trail system. Each trail system proved to be unique in their own right, while both were impeccably marked, extremely well maintained, and in close proximity to downtown areas where you never felt too far away from a personal oasis to get a post ride beer and a slice of pizza. Bentonville is the world headquarters for Walmart and is the town that Sam built. The Waltons have put a ton of money into this town to include the many incredible biking trails, paths, and signage which is slowly becoming the preferred mode of transportation for the locals. During our stay in AR, we were able to notch the Arkansas high point affectionately known as Mount Magazine. Mt. Mag sits roughly 3 hours due north of Hot Springs and is nestled in the foothills of the Ozarks, just outside the town of Paris. It was a brief trek to the top at just under 2 miles round trip. Mt. Magazine State Park, where the high point is located, was a beautiful setting, with so much to do outdoors with views for miles around as you stood behind the massive lodge near the summit. We still have a few more days here and can’t wait to see what other surprises Arkansas has to offer us.