Things To Do At The White River In Arkansas
Things to do at the White River in Arkansas are many and varied! Fish for trophy trout in the White River or the North Fork River, canoe the Buffalo River, play on Lake Norfork, hike or mountain bike in the Ozark National Forest, see Blanchard Springs Caverns and the Ozark Folk Center.
Activities
ZIP LINE !! Brand new, just 30 minutes away is Loco Ropes. Different levels of challenging treetop courses (or lower) for nearly all ages. Bring the family and have a great time. Loco Ropes is bringing you a state-of-the-art treetop adventure park experience. That’s right – a thrilling high wire adventure rope course with 3 different segments totaling 30+ challenges to test your nerve, endurance, agility, and strength.
Fishing just for kids – Enjoy taking your children to Dry Run Creek. This special stream is just for anglers 15 and under. It is all catch and release and there are some “monster” trout in it! See Arkansas’ River of Trout. Located beside the Norfork Dam Fish Hatchery, 15 minutes from us.
See one of the best Federal Fish Hatcheries – At the Norfork Dam Fish Hatchery you can see as trout grow from eggs to stocking size fish. All 4 species are present, Rainbows, German Browns, Cuttthroats and Brook Trout. This modest, but great program is one of the federal government’s best use of your tax dollars. It makes money, and always has!! For every $1.00 spent on Arkansas trout fishing, a return $5.86 in federal tax revenue is created. Don’t you wish we could say that for all federal programs!!
Canoe and Kayaking – The country’s first designated National River, the Buffalo River is close by and many of our guests take a day to float it and admire it’s towering bluffs and pristine water. Crooked Creek with it’s great smallmouth fishing is also popular. Floating either one of these streams makes for a great day trip.
Play on the Lakes – Lake Norfork can be accessed at 2 different points within 15 – 20 minutes and, like Bull Shoals which is 30 minutes away, you can rent any boat or water
toy and enjoy your day at the lake. Both of these lakes are two of the clearest in the country and are very popular with the scuba divers. Something unique to Arkansas is
the ability to spearfish for bass, walleye, crappie. Spear fishing divers come from all over the country to enjoy this sport.
Horseback Riding – We have 2 great local outfitters offering two very different horseback riding experiences. One is for more advanced riders where you can ride
anywhere you desire within several hundred acres. The other outfitter is a more budget minded style of trail riding that is popular with children.
Historical Things To Do
The Wolf House – The oldest structure west of the Mississippi River stands only 5 minutes from us. See The Historic Wolf House.
In addition you can find the Wolf Family cemetery where Major Wolf is buried within a 1/2 mile hike of us. In a small grove of trees in a little noticed location sits a cemetery with many headstones marked with dates from the 1820′s. See Wolf Family Cemetery Background and History.
The Ozark Folk Center – This small town located 35 minutes from us is the home of the only park in America devoted to the preservation of Southern mountain folk culture and music. The Ozark Folk Center State Park is a “living museum” of traditional pioneer skills, such as furniture making, quilting, blacksmithing, tintype photography, woodcarving and 15 other craft demonstrations. Folk music concerts, performed in a 1,000-seat theater, feature songs and instruments from America’s past. The park also offers a restaurant, library, visitor center and gift shop. The town of Mountain View has a variety of music shows, shopping, restaurants, plus impromptu folk music gatherings on the downtown square and yearly festivals . It’s a cool place to visit for a quick half day or full day trip. See the The Ozark Folk Center in Mountain View .
- Also while in Mountain View you can shop for crafts and antiques in the many stores that surround the historic Stone County Courthouse square.
- From April to the end of Oct. you can enjoy live impromptu folk music jams right on the square.
- A neat place to enjoy an old fashioned ice cream soda is Wood’s Drugstore and Soda Fountain.
- Then take a stroll across the street to see the town’s old grinding mill which was powered by one of the first electric motors built.
Ghost Town – Within the Ozark National Forest you can visit the deserted silver & zinc mining town of Rush. See Rush [Ghost-town] (Marion County).
Blanchard Springs Caverns – This cave ranks as a top 10 for North American caves. It’s 1 ½ hour tours are very easy , unless you take the extreme “Wild Cave Tour”. Then you and your guide will strap on helments with headlights and crawl through remote areas of the cave that will leave you breathless and dirty! See Blanchard Springs Caverns.
Scenic Ozark Mountain Drives – We can map you out a wonderful scenic drive and swing you by restaurants and shopping and even make it a circle so you never see the same spot twice.
Bike Trails – We are only 25 minutes from the trail head of the now famous Syllamo bike trails. These trails have earned “I.M.B.A. Epic” status for the race, Syllamo’s Revenge, which is held each May. While little known outside of mountain biking circles these trails are compared to the expansive bike trails normally found only in the desert areas of the west. The Syllamo trail offers 50 miles of single track trails with expansive top-of-the- mountain vista’s and 1000′s of Ozark Mountain acres among the White River & Syllamo Creek valleys. If you are looking for one of the most challenging mountain biking courses found in the U.S., then you’ve found it. See Syllamo.
Hiking – There are trail heads within the National Forest just minutes from us or if it is just a little nature walk you’d like, we can show you our local favorite.
Bull Shoals Dam Tour – Take a tour of the 5th largest hydroelectric dam in North America. It generates enough electricity to run the city of Orlando , Florida….and my
favorite trivia….it has enough concrete in it to construct a 20 foot wide road , 6 inches deep to go from here to Disney Land in Florida! A really educational tour into a place
not many see. See Bull Shoals Dam Tour.
Golf
Big Creek Golf & Country Club – Golf Digest has rated this course with it’s 5 star ranking for the last 4 years. A really nice course with fast bent grass greens and thick
zoysia fairways. It’s laid out in a links design with lots of sand and water. See Big Creek Golf and Country Club.
Twin Lakes Golf Course & Association – A nice 18 hole course for those wanting
a shorter design that places a premium on accuracy. See Twin Lakes Golf Course.
Go shopping! Now, I’ll admit, we are basically a nature oriented destination, but if you like to browse for crafts, antiques and junktiques we have quite a few shops. If high power shopping is more your style, plan a day trip to Branson to hit the 3 Outlet Malls,
where you can find the high dollar name brands at discounts everyday.
Take the kids to an amusement park. Plan a day trip to Branson and let the kids play at Silver Dollar City, a really fun amusement park with educational folk culture craftsmen, unique artisan craft shops, and great rides!
Restaurants – We have two great places real close.
PJ’s Fine Dining – This riverfront restaurant is just ½ mile (3 minutes) from us. It offers some of the best food combined with a beautiful environment in the area. The entrees are priced between $ 14 – $ 25. They offer a complete wine list and fine imported beverages. See PJ’s Restaurant Menu.
Brook Falls Restaurant – Offering one of the best lunches for miles around.
Only 8 minutes from us, this place is a hidden gem, and a local favorite.
For simpler fair there are cafes in Norfork (8 minutes) and Calico Rock (15 minutes). These cafes open around 6:00 am and close about 8 – 9:00 pm.
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We are located 8 minutes south of Norfork, AR close to the Red’s Landing access on the White River. Our resort is 3/10ths of a mile off the pavement, down a private gravel lane.
