There is a reason why Arkansas is not Kansas. Like an archrival or archangel, Arkansas has a little more edge than other states. That edge makes it one of the most desirable destinations for offbeat tourists. Arkansas’ small towns contain countless cryptic attractions, comprising Castle Rogue’s Manor, Ka-Do-Ha Indian Village, Christ of the Ozarks, the Fouke Monster, post-apocalyptic Dinosaur World, and a memorial to a victim of Bonnie and Clyde’s gang. These can be chased with upbeat oddities like the Arkansas Grand Canyon, Crater of Diamonds State Park, Popeye’s Garden, a giant watermelon festival, and an entire street celebrating a certain band’s brief layover back in 1964. Learn where to find these Arkansas arch-attractions.
Eureka Springs
Eureka Springs is flowing with oddities. There are so many, in fact, that it may be the quirkiest small community in the United States. Just over 2,000 residents and many more tourists walk among Christ of the Ozarks, a 65-foot Jethro-Jesus resembling Rio de Janeiro’s Christ the Redeemer; Thorncrown Chapel, a postmodern church built in the mountains; Quigley’s Castle, designed by a 20th-century eccentric and called “The Ozarks’ strangest dwelling”; the 1886 Crescent Hotel & Spa, which is considered one of America’s most haunted hotels; and Onyx Cave, the oldest toured cave in Arkansas. Is it any surprise that the whole community was designated a National Historic Place?
Alma
Alma matters because it was once declared the Spinach Capital of the World. The “city” of roughly 5,800 people used to can over half the spinach canned in America. It also turned its water tower into the “world’s largest can of spinach” and held an annual spinach festival. Although Alma has lately distanced itself from leafy greens, it still holds a special place in its heart for the vegetable’s top ambassador, Popeye. In the heart of downtown Alma is Popeye Park, with Popeye’s Garden containing a Popeye statue atop a water fountain. Visitors can pop into the park after perusing the community’s other attractions like Lake Alma, which has a celebrated hiking trail, and Alma Police Station, outside of which is a memorial for a marshal killed by Bonnie and Clyde’s gang in 1933.
Jasper
If Arizona is too far or too expensive, travel to Jasper for the Arkansas Grand Canyon. Six miles south of this 550-person community is an Ozark Mountains valley so deep it earned the aforementioned moniker. A sign on the highway announces the attraction, while a pullout lets motorists survey the site free of danger and charge. Cliff House Inn offers food, gifts, and rooms to those who want to stay a little longer. About the same distance northwest of Jasper is another geographic quirk called Triple Falls, a three-in-one waterfall that you can see after a moderate hike. Back in Jasper, an open-air museum featuring two 19th-century homes, Bradley House and Chaney Log Cabin, titillates in-town tourists.
Murfreesboro
Murfreesboro is a diamond in the rough – and we mean that literally. This small, secluded community sits near an ancient volcano that has supplied prospectors with over 75,000 diamonds since its discovery in 1906. In 1924, Uncle Sam, a 40.23-carat diamond excavated from the mine, became – and remains – the largest diamond found in America. Nearly 50 years later, Arkansas bought the mine and turned it into Crater of Diamonds State Park. It puts the “free” in Murfreesboro because, although visitors pay an entrance fee, they own any and all gems they find. Around one or two diamonds, plus countless crystals, are unearthed daily. In 2023, an Arkansas man came away with a 4.87-carat diamond, the largest pulled from the park since 2020.
Another unique excavation near the town is Ka-Do-Ha Indian Village. We wonder if that disturbed Indigenous burial ground has something to do with the Gurdon Light, a supposedly supernatural illumination that occurs an hour’s drive east. Interestingly, it may be electricity generated by underground quartz crystals.
Fouke
Fouke is an extremely undersized city in extreme southwestern Arkansas. The only thing more extreme than its size and location is its monster. In the early 1970s, a large, hairy biped was sighted in Fouke’s woods, which led to local bounties, statewide paranoia, and national attention via the film The Legend of Boggy Creek. Alleged encounters continued regularly until the 1980s and sporadically until the present century, all the while Boggy Creek sequels introduced new generations to Arkansasquatch. Today, Fouke commemorates the creature with Monster Mart, a museum/store on 104 Hwy 71, and Fouke Monster Festival, which is to run from April 26 to 27 at Fouke Middle School. Tourists can enjoy the festivities and dine at Allen’s Burger Center before getting the Fouke out to avoid the monster’s return.
Beaver
Chew on Beaver, Arkansas, a town with about 70 people and five fabulous oddities. The first is Beaver Bridge, a one-lane suspension bridge built in 1949 and nicknamed the Little Golden Gate. The second is Castle Rogue’s Manor, a modern castle perched on a 100-foot Ozark cliff. The third and fourth, Blue Spring Heritage Center and Opera in the Ozarks, are on the outskirts of town, as is Dinosaur World, an abandoned 65-acre theme park with life-sized dinos designed by Christ of the Ozarks‘ sculptor. If you look closely, you can see the decaying dinosaurs, along with other giant creatures, while you drive in and out of Beaver.
Hope
Hope has around 9,000 residents and precious attractions like Fair Park and the Klipsch Museum of Audio History. But Hope’s diamond is Bill Clinton. The 42nd US president was born in this community, which preserves his boyhood home, his second boyhood home, and a monument at the site of his birth hospital. The quirkiest Clinton haunt is Hope Visitor Center and Museum, a shrine to powerful statesmen and watermelons. The Hope Watermelon Festival began in 1926 and celebrates locally-grown mega-melons, including a 268.8-pound behemoth that made Guinness in 2006. Then-governor Clinton attended the festival in 1980.
Walnut Ridge
There is an Abbey Road in Walnut Ridge, Arkansas. There is also a yellow submarine cutout, a Beatles park, and the Beatles at the Ridge music festival. All of those attractions stem from two brief stopovers the Fab Four had in this tiny AR community in September 1964. They used its airport to switch planes while traveling to and from their friend’s Missouri ranch. It was the only time the band ever appeared in Arkansas. Whether you are a Beatlemaniac or an offbeat maniac, a trip downtown will reveal not only Beatles memorials but unique businesses like Katrinaz Grill and Whiteway Barber Shop. You might stay in Walnut Ridge forever.
Arkansas is an edgy place perfect for offbeat tourists. Everything from haunted houses to creepy icons to freaky Ozark formations to giant watermelons to a random Beatles shrine can be found in the state’s small towns. Eureka Springs, Alma, Jasper, Murfreesboro, Fouke, Beaver, Hope, and Walnut Ridge balance weird, wacky, and wonderful better than most American locales. Go teeter on the edge.
