You Can’t Afford To Miss These 10 Free Outdoor Activities In Arkansas

Whitaker’s unique visual appeal and the sweeping beauty of its vista makes it one of the most incredible places in the Natural State, and one of the most iconic too. It won’t cost you anything but a little work to hike up Whitaker Point Trail to check it out.

The Whitaker Point trailhead is located on County Road 5 near Kingston in Arkansas.

Located in the heart of Arkansas’s largest city, H.U. Lee International Gate & Garden is an oasis in the middle of Little Rock. It’s actually a place dedicated to the history of Arkansas Taekwondo, but it’s so incredible looking that you’ll love it whether or not you’re into martial arts.

H.U. Lee International Gate & Garden is located at 101 East Markham Street in Little Rock.

Crowley’s Ridge State Park has both a fishing lake and a swimming lake. Lake Walcott is thirty one acres of the best fishing around. The smaller lake, Lake Ponder, is a totally amazing swimming hole. Though you’d have to pay a little bit to swim or rent a paddle boat, it doesn’t cost a red cent to walk around.

Crowley’s Ridge State Park is located at 2092 Hwy 168 North in Paragould.

With its guitar walk and awesome Beatles statue, Walnut Ridge is a town devoted to the tunes of the 1960s. If that music is your kind of vibe, you’ll feel like you’re back in time when you observe the fab four walking across Abbey Road right here in the upper Arkansas Delta, where Beatlemania is still alive and well.

Walnut Ridge is located in Lawrence County.

Sure, you could go there and lay down some cash for dinner or an overnight stay, but looking at the valleys and surrounding mountains from the overlooks near the lodge and on the way to the lodge won’t cost you a dime. If you’ve never visited Mount Magazine, you’ve been missing one of the most breathtaking places in the Natural State. Thankfully, remedying that situation is just a tank of gas away.

The Lodge at Mount Magazine is located at 577 Lodge Drive in Paris.

El Dorado was a big time oil boomtown back in the day, and it’s still just about as wonderful a southern town as you can imagine. They’ve put a lot of work into revitalizing their beautiful downtown area, and there’s no reason you’d have to spend a single dollar to walk down their historic Main Street.

El Dorado is located in southern Arkansas, in Union County.

I say "go with the wind" because the Old Mill at T.R. Pugh Memorial Park was used in the opening credits of the iconic movie Gone with the Wind. The mill and its surrounding park are picture perfect, and you’ll find it hard to find fault with this free outdoor activity.

T.R. Pugh Memorial Park is located at 3800 Lakeshore Drive in North Little Rock.

Felsenthal National Wildlife Refuge is the most remote place in Arkansas, and good grief is it absolutely gorgeous. In addition to its extreme beauty, Felsenthal also holds the distinction of being the largest green tree reservoir in the entire world. My granddad says there are cypress trees in Felsenthal, "the size of this room," while it’s a pretty big room and I’m fairly certain cypress trees don’t grow that large, but it sure is a scenic place to go looking for one.

Felsenthanl National Wildlife Refuge is located at 5531 Highway 82 West in Crossett.

That’s right, Sugarloaf Mountain near Heber Springs is actually an island in the middle of Greers Ferry Lake. The mountain is just gorgeous and so is the lake it overlooks. It’s a lovely place to spend an afternoon exploring, and you’ll feel like an adventurer every minute.

Greers Ferry Lake is located at 700 Heber Springs Road in Heber Springs.

Highway 71 used to be a major thoroughfare connecting Fayetteville to the rest of the state. Today it’s not quite so busy, but it is still staggeringly beautiful. Winding through the Boston Mountains from Alma to Fayetteville, this lonely road is going to make you feel a million miles away from it all.