Ozarks

Understand

The Ozarks are largely rural, with hundreds of miles of pristine national forest and protected rivers. However, the area is also home to one of the fastest-growing areas in the mid-south. Under the influence of several large companies headquartered in the area, and good quality of life and cheap land, from 1993 to 2013 the Fayetteville/Springdale/Rogers/Bentonville metropolitan area turned into one connected suburban and semi-urban area linked by a freeway, home to thousands of new residents and full of poorly planned strip malls and developments.

Fayetteville is home to the University of Arkansas, and as such is a regional center for cultural events as well as bars and restaurants; an hour or so away, the Victorian town of Eureka Springs has been a tourist destination for generations. Popular festivals drawing motorcycle riders to arts and crafts enthusiasts sweep the region every year.

But despite this development there are still plenty of small towns and wide spots in the road and isolated places to discover in the Ozarks, and there is still a strong mountain culture in rural areas. The Ozarks are noted for their natural beauty: the low but steep and tree-covered Ozark Mountains are green and alive with the sound of cicadas in summer, brilliantly colored in fall, and sometimes icy in winter.

Traditional Ozark culture is more closely akin to Appalachia than to the rest of the South, or even to the Delta-influenced areas of the rest of the state. There is a strong emphasis on traditional handicrafts, bluegrass music, and subsistence farming. The term "hillbilly" can refer to people from this part of Arkansas as well as parts of Appalachia; it is generally used as a derogative term referring to a poor, rural isolated lifestyle, but it may have positive cultural connotations as well in terms of traditional music and ways of life.

Cities

The major cities in the area are:

• Bentonville — home to the corporate headquarters of retail giant Walmart
• Eureka Springs — a quaint resort town with eclectic dining and shopping, art galleries and local crafts
• Fayetteville — a college town and a regional hub for live music and performances
• Huntsville — a base for visiting the Withrow Springs State Park
• Rogers — home to the Rogers Commercial Historic District, and many properties listed on the National Register of Historic Places
• Siloam Springs — has an historic downtown district
• Springdale — a booming industrial city

Other smaller towns and communities in the area include:

• Alpena
• Batesville — a regional manufacturing and distribution hub for the Ozark Mountain region
• Bella Vista — a retirement community where recreational spaces are available for residents and their guests
• Berryville — home of the Saunders' Museum of outlaws' guns
• Bull Shoals — a resort town
• Fairfield Bay — a resort town
• Flippin
• Green Forest
• Greers Ferry — has a few resorts
• Hardy — like stepping back in time
• Harrison — a good base for exploring the nearby Ozark Mountains and the Buffalo National River
• Heber Springs — the Frauenthal House is listed on the U.S. National Register of Historic Places
• Jasper — a scenic and quaint town with lots of outdoor opportunities
• Mammoth Spring — Mammoth Spring State Park has one of the word's largest freshwater springs
• Mountain Home — home 9f the annual Twin Lakes Thunder Rally
• Mountain View — the "Folk Music Capital of the World" offers many outdoor activities
• Pea Ridge — it has one of the best preserved battle fields in the country
• Tontitown — a historic Italian-American community with well-known Italian restaurants
• War Eagle — the War Eagle Mill is an historic, working grist mill
• West Fork — home of the Woolsey Bridge
• Winslow — home of the Winslow Museum
• Yellville — known for its Turkey Trot Festival

Other destinations

• Buffalo National River In northern Arkansas is an unpolluted and free-flowing river in the heart of the Ozarks. It has both swift water and calm streaches.
• Ozark National Forest In northern Arkansas is 1.2 million acres of land in Northern Arkansas.

Get in

The Ozark region of Arkansas covers the northwestern corner of the state. Airport access is available through the Northwest Arkansas Regional Airport, or XNA. Further away, but possibly more convenient depending on your route and destination, are the airports at Tulsa, Oklahoma and Little Rock.

The area is crossed by the I-540 freeway, which connects to I-40 near Fort Smith and I-44 in Missouri. If coming from Tulsa, Highway 412 is your best bet.

The nearest Amtrak stop is in Little Rock.