Make Batesville Your Basecamp

There's a whole world to explore out there. Start right in our backyard, in the most geographically diverse landscape in the state of Arkansas.

Best Day Trips

The beauty of North Central Arkansas doesn’t stop at the county line. A day trip to the area isn’t complete without a trip to BLANCHARD SPRINGS CAVERNS, located north of Mountain View in the Ozark National Forest. Blanchard Springs is one of the most spectacular and carefully developed caves found anywhere in the world. The caverns are shaped by an active mountain spring that pours into a glassy-surfaced trout pond called Mirror Lake.

While in Mountain View, stop by LOCO ROPES! and enjoy a high-wire, heart-pumping treetop course with 30+ challenges to test your nerve endurance, agility, and strength—all in the name of adventure.

Next, stop by OZARK FOLK CENTER STATE PARK. The park, dedicated to perpetuating the Ozarks’ music, crafts, and culture, is open from mid-April to late-October. Watch artisans work, stroll through the Heritage Herb Garden, and hear live Southern mountain music.

Then head north to MAMMOTH SPRING STATE PARK home to one of the world’s largest natural springs. Mammoth Spring, flowing at over nine million gallons of 58-degree water per hour, serves as the headwaters for the SPRING RIVER and provides plenty of fresh water throughout the year. The river is crystal-clear, with long pools and whitewater falls. The scenery is mostly hardwood forest with some rocky bluffs. The constant flow from Mammoth Spring makes the Spring River one of the state’s best year-round floats, even during the summer months when river levels tend to fall.

Take a trip to GREERS FERRY LAKE , where you can enjoy swimming, boating, fishing, and more.

Then continue to Heber Springs, where you can enjoy the wonderful view of a 50’ waterfall at BRIDAL VEIL FALLS before taking a hike to the top of SUGARLOAF MOUNTAIN, a 690-foot-tall erosional remnant beside the Little Red River.