Get Back Outside
With the cost of travel climbing, maybe the best fall getaway isn’t the one that requires an airport.
For millions of travelers across Arkansas, Missouri, Oklahoma, Kansas and the surrounding region, Eureka Springs is just a few hours down the road. No airfare. No rental car. No airport parking. And perhaps most importantly, no losing the better part of two days getting there and back.
Drive a few hours and your vacation starts the same day.
That’s especially appealing in September, when the Arkansas Ozarks begin their transition into one of the best times of the year.
The afternoons are still warm. The trees are still mostly green. But mornings are cooler, evenings are more comfortable, and suddenly sitting on a patio, taking the longer trail or walking downtown sounds pretty good again.
It’s time to get back outside.
Three Days That Feel Like a Week
Here’s our September travel recommendation: skip the weekend and give yourself three days in the middle of the week.
Three days in the middle of the week can feel like a full week’s vacation.
Part of that is simply getting your time back. Flying can consume much of your first and last days with airport drives, security lines, connections, baggage claim and rental cars.
Drive to Eureka Springs and those become vacation days.
Arrive in time for lunch. Check in. Take an afternoon walk. Book a massage. Have dinner downtown. You’re already there.
Weekdays also mean a quieter Eureka Springs. Restaurants are easier to enjoy, trails are less traveled, spa appointments can be easier to find, and there’s time to slow down instead of rushing from one thing to another.
Take One Off the Bucket List – Ozark Destinations
And if you’re giving yourself an extra day, maybe it’s finally time to do that thing you’ve been talking about doing for years.
Have you ever been to a Razorback football game?
Make the trip to Fayetteville, experience a with the Hogs, then retreat to the mountains of Eureka Springs.
Have you made it to Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art?
One of America’s great art museums is right here in Northwest Arkansas, making it an easy addition to an Ozarks getaway.
Or go in a completely different direction.
Have you ever heard an elk bugle?
Fall brings elk season to the Buffalo National River country around Ponca. Head out early, watch the mist rise from the valleys and experience one of Arkansas’s great fall traditions as the elk gather and the bulls begin their unmistakable calls.
Football. American art. Elk in the mountains.
Pick one you’ve always wanted to do — and finally take it off the list.
Get Back Outside
Then leave some time for Eureka Springs itself.
September is when the Ozarks seem to open up again. Walk downtown with your morning coffee. Follow a trail through the hills. Explore the historic springs. Go mountain biking. Take a drive with the windows down.
And when you’re finished exploring, remember that September also means the return of patio season.
Find a table overlooking Basin Spring Park. Head up the mountain for sunset. Order a cocktail and realize you don’t have anywhere you need to be.
It’s not quite fireplace weather.
It’s open-window weather.
So this fall, maybe you don’t need to fly farther to feel like you’ve really gotten away.
Take three days. Add something you’ve always wanted to experience. Stay on the mountain, downtown or in the woods.
Drive shorter. Stay longer. Take one off the bucket list. And get back outside.