We spent a week in Arkansas visiting six NPS sites in February 2026 with two of our grandkids during their Winter Break. We visited the five of the seven Arkansas NPS sites on the map below plus one NPS site in Mississippi.
Three of the seven sites in Arkansas are related to the settlement of Arkansas as the U.S. expanded westward (Fort Smith, Arkansas Post, and Pea Ridge). Two others are natural wonders (Hot Springs and Buffalo River). One site is related to Presidential history (Clinton birthplace), and another is an important Civil Rights site (Little Rock).
Our trip to Arkansas NPS sites began and ended with visits to two sites important to our nation’s Civil Rights journey – Emmett Till and Mamie Till-Mobley National Monument in Mississippi and Little Rock Central High School in Arkansas.
Emmett Till and Mamie Till Mobley National Monument
This monument memorializes fourteen-year-old Emmett Till and his mother. Two men were tried and acquitted of Till’s 1955 brutal murder after 12 white men deliberated for an hour. The next month the men actually confessed to his murder.
Till’s mother insisted that he be buried in an open casket so the world could see what they did to her son. Till’s murder and his killer’s acquittal drew attention to the long history of violence and injustice against African Americans. Till posthumously became an icon and major catalyst for the Civil Rights Movement.
We first visited a local museum on near the site of Emmett Till’s abduction and murder in Glendora MS. This somber site was important in providing context.
We tried to find the Grayball Landing, the site where Emmett’s body was pulled from the Tallahatchie River. We found the river, but the road to the landing was not accessible.
Next we visited Glendora MS, the site of the trial.
The NPS museum across the street from the courthouse provided context to the community-led effort to gain NPS status for the site and gave information about how we all can raise our voices against injustice to work toward changing the system. They displayed a favorite MLK quote from his I Have a Dream Speech “No, no, we are not satisfied, and we will not be satisfied until justice rolls down like waters and righteousness like a mighty stream”.
The courthouse, which is still in use, was open for visitors. It reminded us of many courthouses in SW Georgia where Joe has spent so much time.
The courtroom was the highlight for our kiddos…
They especially liked the jury room.
Little Rock Central High School National Historic Site
The school is bigger than I expected. There are wings on either side of the building.
It would have been intimidating to the Little Rock nine – the nine black students who were brave enough to integrate this school in 1955 after Brown vs Board of Education said separate was not equal.
The national park museum thoroughly presented the various perspectives of the Crisis at Central High where the nine students were met with resistance and hate in their attempt to simply attend school. Eventually the Army’s 101st airborne was brought in to ensure their safety. The Governor of Arkansas ended up closing the high schools in Little Rock in an ultimate act of defiance in a time know as The Lost Year. One of my favorite plaques said that like the Little Rock nine, “all citizens share the responsibility to shape this nation”.
The NPS film was not available during our visit but they had stations overlooking the gas station and high school where you could choose to listen to first person accounts from the nine students and others. K was engrossed and listed for thirty or forty minutes.
This little one thought the listening stations were some sort of fun game with bright lights and buttons.
The gas station across from the high school has been restored to its appearance during the time of the Little Rock nine.
Lake Ouchita State Park
Our primary camping location was Lake Ouachita State Park near Hot Springs. We highly recommend this park. From there we took day trips to nearby NPS sites.
Lake Ouchita State Park had beautiful, level, roomy campsites. Most were right on the water. This view from the tent sites was prime time for sunset viewing.
Rock throwing into the water was a prime activity for the kiddos. This beach was in front of our site.
Our campsite (#17) was right on the water.
A nightly fire is Joe’s favorite activity! We went through at least a bundle of firewood each night.
Hot Springs National Park
Our day at Hot Springs National Park was a slow-paced day of relaxation. In fact, a slow pace is best when you have tiny humans with you. We like the perspective they bring to our NPS visits.
We visited the Fordyce Bathhouse which serves as the National Park’s Visitor’s Center and Museum, but the kiddos were not really feeling it and kids aren’t allowed to actually get in the springs for safety reasons.
Rather than touring the museum in their fancy buildings, this little one preferred to run around and play at their sample hot springs where the hot water flowed out of this little cave, over rocks, under stones, and into a pool.
We strolled a bit down Hot Springs Bathhouse row…
… and stopped for pretzels and ice cream at Superior Baths brewery – a brewery located in a previous bath house.
President William Jefferson Clinton Birthplace Home National Historic Site
President Clinton spent the first four years of life at his maternal grandparents house in Hope Arkansas after his father was killed in a car accident three months before his birth. During this time his mother went to New Orleans to study to become a nurse anesthetist. Coincidentally, we visited President Clinton’s birthplace home on President’s Day.
The 1900 house was built by a former owner based on a French design.
After answering a series of questions about Presidential trivia in a fun Jeopardy-type game, the boys took the Junior Ranger oath. The ranger at Clinton’s home had previously worked at President Carter’s NPS site in Georgia.
The kids were intrigued by the loud trains on this trip.
Bill Clinton’s favorite character was Hopalong Cassidy. Our youngest was intrigued with the bedspread.
The modest furnishings reminded me of my grandparents’ furniture and furnishings.
Clinton developed lifelong friendships in Hope, some of whom followed him to the Governor’s Office and the White House.
Crater of Diamonds State Park
After visiting Clinton’s home, we stopped for a bonus visit to dig for diamonds at Crater of Diamonds State Park, the only site in the U. S. where the public can dig for diamonds. This was a popular park… perhaps because you can keep what you find. The fields were full of folks digging, sifting, and washing.
This one did not want to touch any dirt at Crater of Diamonds State Park. He ended up taking a very long nap in my lap.
On the other hand, this one dug vigorously. JoeJoe did not realize searching for diamonds would be so muddy! Nonetheless, he was a good sport about it.
Fort Smith National Historic Site
Fort Smith NHS site was established in 1817 along the Arkansas River on the western edge of the Arkansas frontier, bordering Indian Territory.
Fort Smith NHS tells the story of outlaws in the Wild West, Judge Isaac C. Parker, and the Trail of Tears.
Judge Isaac C. Parker was the first U. S. District Judge in the Arkansas Territory. He dispensed justice over a wide jurisdiction that included the vast Indian Territory to the west. Also known as “Hanging” Judge Parker, he was portrayed in multiple movies and television shows, most notably as the judge in True Grit.
The little man was thrown in jail for acting like a kid. When his sentence was up he demanded to be locked up again.
The oldest one bought a book about American Bison in the old west and finished it in less than a day.
We closed out the visit with a trail to the Arkansas River.
Arkansas Post National Memorial
Arkansas Post was established as a “trading post”. Its location on the Mississippi River was important in protecting trade along the river. The land was settled by the French and Spanish prior to acquisition by the U.S. as part of the Louisiana Purchase in 1803. It was also the former capital of the Arkansas Territory.
Although the fort is no longer standing, several cannons remain.
There was a short hiking trail on the grounds of the site where the kids expended some energy on this cold rainy day.
Outtakes
Traveling with the Grandkids
These guys were a big help the whole trip – from gathering firewood to setting up camp!
And even though we drove many hours in the car, there was never a peep from these two! I know what you are thinking, that is hard to believe they were so perfect, right? But they both thoroughly enjoyed the camping experience and visiting the NPS sites. K was a great big brother during the trip.
Arkansas was another unexpectedly delightful state. When we got back home K helped me put Arkansas’s sticker on the map. This makes a total of 17 states where we have camped in the TAB.
We still have a couple of NPS sites left to finish up all of the sites in Arkansas. We plan to visit the last two NPS sites in Northern Arkansas when we go to watch UGA play the University of Arkansas this Fall!