Welcome to City-Data.com Forum!
U.S. CitiesCity-Data Forum Index
Go Back   City-Data Forum > U.S. Forums > Arkansas
 [Register]
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
View detailed profile (Advanced) or search
site with Google Custom Search

Search Forums  (Advanced)
Reply Start New Thread
 
Old 09-20-2008, 12:31 PM
 
132 posts, read 460,946 times
Reputation: 36

Advertisements

Hi, CDers! We are a family of 6. (Four girls age 7 and under.) We'll be driving from our home in Chicago to visit some friends in Corpus Christi over spring break (April). I would love to stop in Arkansas for a day or two on the way...

We love the outdoors and are thinking about arranging a morning canoe or caving expedition if we can find a family-friendly outfitter. We've heard wonderful things about the Ozarks. (And we always camp! We are a big family on a modest budget.) Or maybe Little Rock? Cities are cool too! If we do go to LR we would prefer to do things that are unique to the area. We have plenty of museums and zoos here in Chicago and don't do that sort of thing on vacation unless its something unusual or area-specific.

We try to cram as much sight-seeing into our vacations as possible!

Any suggestions are most welcome.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message

 
Old 09-20-2008, 01:55 PM
 
292 posts, read 1,308,046 times
Reputation: 133
Wow, had finished typing a great post for you and accidentally hit the wrong key and lost it! I've got to go, but here are the basics:

I'm assuming you'll be driving Hwy 71, since you're going to Texas. For canoeing, the Mulberry would be the closest, not as spectacular as the Buffalo, but still beautiful. Turner Bend would be the place to rent canoes and camp:

Arkansas Whitewater Rafting Mulberry River Canoe Rental Mulberry River Kayak Rental Mulberry River Arkansas Rafting Rental Whitewater Canoeing Mulberry River (http://www.turnerbend.com/index.html - broken link)

The Buffalo would be further, but if you want to try it, go to Ponca...I believe it would be the closest to 71. There is a campground there, also, but not as nice as Turner Bend:

Buffalo River Cabins - Arkansas Cabins - Buffalo River - Buffalo National River - Buffalo River Canoeing - Arkansas Lodges or Lost Valley Canoe

All the outfitter sites have river gauges, which you should check before traveling out of your way!

In the southern part of the state, if you want to talk about unique, is the Crater of Diamonds State Park. The kids will love this. There is also a campground there. Arkansas state parks are always really nice:

Crater of Diamonds State Park Arkansas - keep what you find in this finders keepers diamond mine

You will get many more suggestions, I imagine....there is so much to do in Arkansas it will make your head swim! Enjoy your trip, and get back to us and let us know how it went!
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 09-20-2008, 01:59 PM
 
292 posts, read 1,308,046 times
Reputation: 133
Forgot to mention that all the drives....Hwys. 71, 16 & 23 (to Turner Bend), 412, 23, 74 & 21 (to Ponca).....are treats in themselves!

Order yourself an "Arkansas Atlas & Gazetteer" online before you go for a great, detailed map. Sometimes you can find them cheaper on eBay.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 09-20-2008, 02:14 PM
 
132 posts, read 460,946 times
Reputation: 36
Awesome, thanks! I will certainly look into those. My girls are serious water babies. Really looking forward to getting on the rivers!
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 09-20-2008, 02:16 PM
 
132 posts, read 460,946 times
Reputation: 36
I just clicked on the link to the Crater of Diamonds State Park. Oh, my! I don't think we'll be able to avoid it! Too cool!
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 09-20-2008, 04:46 PM
 
483 posts, read 1,561,005 times
Reputation: 196
Crater of Diamonds State Park is awesome and the kids love being able to dig around and get dirty without getting yelled at! Take old clothes you don't mind throwing away, because the dirt/clay will ruin them. It is really a great time though!
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 09-22-2008, 09:26 AM
 
452 posts, read 1,639,839 times
Reputation: 131
Quote:
Originally Posted by RTTNFAM View Post
Crater of Diamonds State Park is awesome and the kids love being able to dig around and get dirty without getting yelled at! Take old clothes you don't mind throwing away, because the dirt/clay will ruin them. It is really a great time though!

Honestly, I find crater of diamonds to be very boring. It's essentially a field of dirt. You'll spend hours there sweating in a field like slaves and all you'll uncover is clay and pebbles. I'm not saying you won't find diamonds but you most likely wont. I'd only reccomend going to crater of diamonds if your close to it, really bored, and like to sweat in the sun.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 09-22-2008, 10:18 AM
 
292 posts, read 1,308,046 times
Reputation: 133
Quote:
Originally Posted by GetmeoutofAR View Post
Honestly, I find crater of diamonds to be very boring. It's essentially a field of dirt. You'll spend hours there sweating in a field like slaves and all you'll uncover is clay and pebbles. I'm not saying you won't find diamonds but you most likely wont. I'd only reccomend going to crater of diamonds if your close to it, really bored, and like to sweat in the sun.
It will be April, they said, so it won't be extremely hot. A beach umbrella would be good to have along if possible, though. And lots of sunscreen. There are very few trees!

You probably won't find diamonds, but you probably will find interesting rocks or crystals. My son still has some cool rocks he found there when he was a kid, and he was happy with them.

Also, original poster, keep in mind that in April it will be really cold if you fall in the river, which is cold even in the hottest part of the summer!

You may want to take anything that GetmeoutofAR says with a grain of salt....he/she seems to be somewhat of a sourpuss.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 09-22-2008, 11:21 AM
 
452 posts, read 1,639,839 times
Reputation: 131
Quote:
Originally Posted by luvarkansas View Post
It will be April, they said, so it won't be extremely hot. A beach umbrella would be good to have along if possible, though. And lots of sunscreen. There are very few trees!

You probably won't find diamonds, but you probably will find interesting rocks or crystals. My son still has some cool rocks he found there when he was a kid, and he was happy with them.

Also, original poster, keep in mind that in April it will be really cold if you fall in the river, which is cold even in the hottest part of the summer!

You may want to take anything that GetmeoutofAR says with a grain of salt....he/she seems to be somewhat of a sourpuss.


Ok maybe I am sour towards somethings. Its just that Arkansas is such a gorgeous state, there are some amazing sites and to me Crater of Diamonds is one of the most insignificant IMO. Murfeesboro is a cute little town, there just isnt much there.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 09-22-2008, 11:28 AM
 
132 posts, read 460,946 times
Reputation: 36
Quote:
Originally Posted by luvarkansas View Post
It will be April, they said, so it won't be extremely hot. A beach umbrella would be good to have along if possible, though. And lots of sunscreen. There are very few trees!

You probably won't find diamonds, but you probably will find interesting rocks or crystals. My son still has some cool rocks he found there when he was a kid, and he was happy with them.

Also, original poster, keep in mind that in April it will be really cold if you fall in the river, which is cold even in the hottest part of the summer!

You may want to take anything that GetmeoutofAR says with a grain of salt....he/she seems to be somewhat of a sourpuss.
Good to know, thanks! It's right on the way to Texas so it won't be inconvenient to stop. And my kids love all things shiny, diamond or otherwise...
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.

Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.


Reply
Please update this thread with any new information or opinions. This open thread is still read by thousands of people, so we encourage all additional points of view.

Quick Reply
Message:


Settings
X
Data:
Loading data...
Based on 2000-2020 data
Loading data...

123
Hide US histogram


Over $104,000 in prizes was already given out to active posters on our forum and additional giveaways are planned!

Go Back   City-Data Forum > U.S. Forums > Arkansas
Similar Threads

All times are GMT -6.

© 2005-2024, Advameg, Inc. · Please obey Forum Rules · Terms of Use and Privacy Policy · Bug Bounty

City-Data.com - Contact Us - Archive 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37 - Top