Happy weekend, everyone! Just wanted to share a few photos from my and Trey’s short anniversary trip last weekend. Remember my 5 places I want to go in 2016 post? Well, we’ve now made it to two of the five spots. 🙂
I really wanted to take a trip to Eureka Springs, AR this year in part because it’s so close by. I love traveling and I have been lucky enough to see some beautiful places all over the world so far in my life. But I also want to make time to appreciate the things that are close by! I think it’s easy to see a beautiful photo of some far off place and think, “Oh, I’ve got to go there!” but forget that there are probably some really beautiful things in your own backyard. And that’s exactly how I feel about northwest Arkansas – it’s a truly BEAUTIFUL part of the world that I’d love to spend more time in (maybe go camping or floating next time!).
For most of the trip, we were in Eureka Springs, which is a small but really cute town. Trey said it kind of felt like a mini Ozark version of San Francisco, and I kind of agree. It’s pretty small but very charming. I think we picked a great time of year to visit since it’s starting to get hot, but in the morning and evening it feels great, and everything is super green and alive. 🙂
The Crystal Bridges art museum is not too far, in Bentonville. I kept hearing from all my Springfield friends who’ve gone that it’s a shockingly good art museum considering it’s tucked away in northwest Arkansas. And I have to agree. We walked around to all the exhibits, but I think our favorite was touring a Frank Lloyd Wright house that they moved to the museum grounds. Love how cute and functional his homes were/are – so inspiring!
We stayed in one of the Treehouse Cottages in the historic part of Eureka Springs. It was really cute, and we both loved how it felt completely secluded but you could still get to everything in town within minutes. It felt like we were way out by ourselves when we were at the treehouse, but one night we walked to a nearby bar to grab a drink – that’s how close we actually were to town.
Overall I thought this was the perfect little spot for a weekend anniversary trip. We loved it, and we’ll for sure be back someday. Thanks for letting me share! xx. Emma
Credits // Author and Photography: Emma Chapman. Photos edited with A Beautiful Mess actions.
Mackenzie, are you buying a house in Fayetteville, AR? If you need a realtor, check out Mitch Weigel in Fayetteville. He is really good and knows the area. Good luck in your move.
Lovely photos. Can you recommend any restaurants in town? I’m heading to Eureka Springs with a group of gals for a bachelorette weekend, and we’re hoping to make reservations ahead of time. Any advice would be much appreciated! Thanks.
My husband and I just celebrated our 15 year anniversary in Eureka Springs the latter part of May. A beautiful and very charming city. We were married at a B&B there. Love the town. Next time I would love to stay in the treehouse in town. Love being able to walk to town. Beautiful post.
It looks like such a beautiful place to stay in, and visit. I want to visit it now that you’ve posted these beautiful pictures, and gave such a nice description of the place. I wonder how far away from South Texas it is!
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Thank you so much for sharing! I currently live in Northwest Arkansas and I am in LOVE with it. Most people who visit are often surprised by the culture here! NWA is booming with art, tech startups, good local food, and ozark getaway and I’m so happy you got to experience that. I was an ambassador at Crystal Bridges during college and there’s nothing quite like it. I get inspired every time I get to go even still. Eureka is always such a fun weekend getaway spot as well!
If you ever return to NWA definitely spend some time in Fayetteville and Bentonville. There’s so much to do, places to go, and great food! It definitely has a bit more of a local, artisanal vibe than Little Rock. However, if you do find yourself in LR, the Rivermarket area is worth a day visit!
What, no photos at the Crescent Hotel?! Eureka Springs is one of my favorite places having grown up in NWA. If you find yourself back in Bentonville check out a place called Foxhole.. seems right in your area of good food/drink.
So happy to see you mention Eureka Springs! Northwest Arkansas is my stomping grounds and I cannot say enough good things about it. It’s just such a magical area that no one expects to find. You should kayak the Buffalo, explore downtown Fayetteville, do many outdoorsy things in Jasper/Ponca, and go for a hundred casual evening drives through the middle of nowhere. Arkansas is truly some place special. My husband and I moved away after college at U of A, and lived on the border of NC/SC in the mountains. It was so beautiful and special there, too, but we only made it 6 months! We had to come back. Home is where the heart is and whatnot. So happy you guys got to visit and hope you come back soon!!
Also–you made a great choice with staying in a treehouse! 😀
So glad you got to visit these great and unique places! Eureka Springs is so charming and the art museum is incredible! Thanks for sharing 🙂
I was just in that area! Crystal Bridges was a big highlight for my trip.
The Frank Lloyd Wright house was amazing, I truly enjoyed it, although it was a bummer we couldn’t get a glimpse of more of the upstairs area. I also loved that I got to see Rosie the Riveter in person and sit in awe of all the happenings in “Enassamishhinjijweian.” Another highlight was seeing Maxfield Parrish’s The Lantern Bearers painting.
So glad you enjoyed your trip! Next time I think I will need to stay in that treehouse. That looks like a lot of fun.
We honeymooned in Eureka and now we live in NW Arkansas, I absolutely love it here!
My husband and I stayed in those same tree house cabins in the woods when we went to Eureka Springs two years ago. It was raining and raining and raining and it was sooooooo romantic. 😀
We have one of those silver trees in Seattle. It’s my favorite tree of all time.
Beautiful pictures
What an inspiring town (I´m from germany and didn´t even know that there´s a real town called Eureka and not only a TV series)I love the art museum and I´m a big fan of the buildings of Frank Lloyd Wright,great post.
Many greetings Kathrin
Looks like such a dreamy place! Sometimes quick trips are all you need to satisfy that travel bug.
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I love this article, I lived in Eureka Springs for a short while as a child 🙂 great article!
This looks SO COOL!
Great pictures!! x
You were in my part of the country! So fun to see so many AR people in the comments! 😀
-Lauren
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Such a cute place!
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Eureka Springs looks beautiful! Definitely adding it to my places to visit soon. Thanks for sharing!
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