Historic Downtown
Stone shopfronts and springs on steep streets.
Eureka Springs
A Victorian spa town in the Ozarks, with winding streets, hanging hotels and a famous stone chapel nearby.
This town of stone buildings climbs a hill so steep that no street crosses another at a right angle, it's said. The 1886 Crescent Hotel sells ghost tours. Thorncrown Chapel, in the woods nearby, is a modern glass masterpiece. Downstream, the Buffalo National River is America's first national river.
- Best Time
- April–May and September–October
- Time Needed
- 1–2 days
- Cost Level
- $$$$
- Open
- Check before you go; hours vary by season
- Getting There
- About an hour by car from Bentonville, or from Branson.
What to See
1 of 3 are freeCrescent Hotel
The haunted grand hotel, with ghost tours each night.
Buffalo National River
Limestone bluffs and floats about an hour away.
Know Before You Go
- It's popular on fall weekends, and parking is hard. Use the trolley.
Where to Stay
Stay downtown.
Where to Eat
Our picks are on the way.
Editor's picks. Nobody paid to be on this list.
Something wrong or out of date?
Traveler Reviews
Sign in and mark Eureka Springs as visited to write a review.
Go Next
If You're NearbyThorncrown Chapel
Arkansas
A soaring wood-and-glass chapel in the Ozark woods near Eureka Springs, Arkansas, designed by E. Fay Jones and among the finest American buildings of its century.
Full Guide
Worth a DetourBentonville and Crystal Bridges
Arkansas
Walmart's hometown, now home to one of America's great museums of American art, free in a wooded ravine.
Full Guide
If You're NearbyBranson and the Ozarks
Missouri
A theater-packed Ozarks town of country music, comedians and the Silver Dollar City theme park, among lakes and forested hills.
Full Guide
Last checked 2026-11-02. Part of the Southeast list.