Pre-Press Tours
Eureka! An angle for every audience!
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This tour has everything from Victorians to pioneer mountain living, with a little wildlife mixed in-between. You’ll start this tour with a stop in Greenbrier at the Riddles Elephant Farm, then it’s off to Eureka Springs in Northwest Arkansas. Secluded and peaceful, the National Trust for Historic Preservation has honored Eureka Springs for its character. Eureka Springs offers more than 150 independent and unique stores and restaurants filling its elaborate gingerbread Victorian storefronts and amazingly has no national chain offering in its historic district. While the city is full of historic hotels and lovely bed and breakfasts, you will stay at Eureka Springs most famous hotel, The Crescent Hotel & Spa. Built in 1889, this beautiful resort is legendary for being haunted. Take a ghost tour…if you dare.
Other activities include The Great Passion Play, a retelling the story of Jesus Christ's last days on earth, complete with horse-drawn chariots and live animals. Speaking of animals, you’ll visit Turpentine Creek Wildlife Refuge, which is a sanctuary for big cats, plus bears, monkeys and other animals. See the awe inspiring Thorncrown Chapel, which has won numerous architectural awards and was recently placed on the American Institute of Architects list of the top buildings of the twentieth century. Dig deep in Cosmic Caverns or relax and enjoy some beautiful art while you sample Arkansas wines in at Keels Creek Winery.
A Gem of a Fam Tour – Diamonds, Crystals and a Favorite Son
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Experience the charm of Southwest Arkansas. Travel beautiful Highway 7, the State’s first designated scenic byway and explore DeGray Lake Resort State Park, a water sports paradise located amidst the natural beauty of the Ouachita Mountains. Explore Lake Ouachita, Arkansas’s largest lake, which boasts more than 100 uninhabited islands for primitive camping. Visit Crater of Diamonds State Park, the only diamond mine on the North American continent and only diamond-producing site in the world open to the public. Travel back to the 19th century and explore Historic Washington State Park, one of America’s premier historic villages and National Historical Landmark. Take a side trip to Hope, and visit the birthplace of former President Bill Clinton, which has been restored into the Clinton Birthplace Museum.
Arkansas’s Firsts – A Tour of Northeastern Arkansas
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Randolph County is famous for many “firsts”: Arkansas’ oldest town, Davidsonville - established in 1815; the first Arkansas post office - built in 1817, and the first state courthouse - established in 1818. The earliest land claim was in 1809 near what is now Ravenden Springs. Visit Black River Overlook Park that has an Italian Granite Statue of Pocahontas and the Civil War River Walk that tells the story of each regiment that camped along the riverbanks. See the Rice-Upshaw House that was built in 1828, making it the oldest standing structure in Arkansas. The Rice-Upshaw House is an outstanding example of an early 19th century log dwelling. Head up the road a bit to Maynard Pioneer Park and Museum where it preserves the way of life from pioneer times. The Eddie Mae Herron Center preserves and displays a portion of nearly two hundred years of African American history in Randolph County.
Over the River and Through the Woods
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Discover the magnificent Buffalo National River at the Buffalo Outdoor Center where visitors can float the river, backpack, fish, rock climb, watch wildlife, picnic, swim and camp. Your visit will take you down the beautiful and peaceful Buffalo River, a place to find rejuvenation, adventure, and inspiration. Mount Magazine is Arkansas’s highest mountain, rising dramatically above the broad valleys of the Petit Jean River to the south and the Arkansas River to its north.
Arkansas has a rich heritage of wine making dating from the time of the earliest settlers. Travel to Altus to visit the wineries, and Historic Wine Museum of Arkansas. Altus was also the location for the first season of the television show The Simple Life, starring Paris Hilton and Nicole Richie. Enjoy the wonders from Petit Jean State Park, Arkansas’s first and flagship state park, with its windswept views, enchanting woodlands laced with streams and wildflowers, and a spectacular waterfall. The mountain and park is named after a French girl whose 300-year-old legend of is a romantic and tragic tale that has inspired generations.
Half Day Tours
African American History
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On the morning of September 23, 1957, nine African-American teenagers held the line against an angry mob protesting integration in front of Little Rock’s Central High School. As the students met their new classmates for the first time inside the school, outside violence escalated and the Little Rock police removed the Nine from the school for their safety. The next day, President Dwight D. Eisenhower ordered the U.S. Army’s 101st Airborne Division into Little Rock to escort the nine students into the school. This event, broadcast across the nation and world, was the site of the first important test for the implementation of the U.S. Supreme Court’s historic Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka decision of 1954.
Take a gripping tour of Little Rock’s black heritage and civil rights movement through an informative and honest ride back in time that will show you the struggles, victories, and accomplishments of African Americans in Central Arkansas. We’ll show you the courage of “The Little Rock Nine” and even meet members of the group, venture down historic 9th Street, formerly known as Little Rock’s “Little Harlem”, and we’ll discuss President Bill Clinton’s solid relationship with African Americans and the basis for that relationship.
This tour will show you the role Little Rock played in testing the prevailing assumptions of the time regarding racial integration of schools, and will also tell the story of conflict between the rule of law and the rule of the mob, and the importance of a free press in exposing social injustice.
Downtown Rebirth and “Green” Little Rock
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Little Rock is in the forefront in the “Green” movement. From environmentally friendly buildings, to wildlife areas, our city has much to show the world about recycling, adapting to the surroundings and community involvement in making the world a better place.
Heifer International’s new World Headquarters is an example of that and was chosen by the American Institute of Architects (AIA) Committee on the Environment (COTA) Top Ten Green Project for 2007. The building was conceived as a series of concentric rings expanding from a central commons and the architecture was designed to expand environmental stewardship into the public realm while serving as a beacon of hope. A restored wetland that wraps around three sides of the building collects stormwater for reuse as irrigation water. Rainwater collected from the roof is stored in a five-story water tower wrapped with a fire stair. Moisture removed from the building as condensate is reused to cool the building. The building was designed to use up to 55% less energy than a conventional office building and to last for at least 100 years. Materials were selected for their durability, maintainability, low toxicity, recycled content, and regional availability.
The Clinton Foundation is also committed to conservation. As America’s first LEED Certified presidential library, the Clinton Center and Park features sustainable buildings that implement state-of-the-art conservation systems for water use, energy efficiency, and indoor environmental quality. In an effort to teach children and older visitors about how they fit into, affect, and depend on nature, the William E. Clark Presidential Park Wetlands is being built near the Clinton Presidential Center. The $2 million project will transform a frequently trashstrewn eyesore into a showcase of marshes and a haven for blue herons, bats, bobcats, fresh-water mussels, and other animals.
Culinary Delights
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If meetings and sightseeing tours build up your appetite, then this tour will cure all your cravings. Take this tasty tour of Little Rock and sample the delights from our cities’ top chefs offering unique food tastings. Eat like the locals and discover these delicious gems featuring mouth-watering dishes from one-of-a-kind restaurants and specialty food shops. Some of the award winning restaurants on this tour have been featured on The Food Network as well as Bon Appétit and other national magazine publications.
Little Rock Sightseeing with a Twist
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A state capitol building that serves as a body double for the nation’s capitol; a picturesque Old Mill that makes a guest appearance in Gone With The Wind, and a historic Arkansas antebellum home that is featured in the opening credits of now-syndicated television show Designing Women. For decades, some of Arkansas’ most unique landmarks and buildings have been making national debuts and headlines. From the 1957 crisis at Central High School to the Old Statehouse which served as the scene of President Bill Clinton’s 1992 and 1996 election-night celebrations, this tour will get you up close and personal with some of Little Rock’s most famous and historical places. Just don’t get too star-struck.
Full Day Tour
Garvan Gardens & Hot Springs
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It’s beautiful, exciting, and has a steamy history! As the oldest park in the National Park System, stories about Hot Springs date back 10,000 years. Known as “The Valley of the Vapors” and “The Spa City”, water gushes from the mountainside at a constant 143’ degrees. Relaxing, medicinal, and revitalizing... this resort town in the Ouachita Mountains has lured American Indian Tribes, gangsters Al Capone and Bugs Moran, and millions of visitors to enjoy shopping, art galleries, museums, and world famous “Bathhouse Row.” Also known as Bill Clinton’s boyhood town, you’ll see the former president’s home and favorite hangouts…and hear stories you won’t find anywhere else! This tour also includes a stop at Garvan Gardens, a 210 acre wooded peninsula on Lake Hamilton that has been transformed into a world-class botanical garden.
Hot Springs and Garvan Gardens are located about an hour from Little Rock.
Military History
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Learn about the sacrifices made by brave Arkansans from the time the state was just a territory in the early 1800s, up through the present day. The MacArthur Museum of Arkansas Military History is fittingly situated in the historic Tower Building of the Little Rock Arsenal, which was built in 1840 as part of Little Rock’s first military installation to ward off attacks by Indians. The museum includes exhibits detailing the state’s military heritage from its territorial period to the present. The Tower Building is the last remaining structure of the original Little Rock Arsenal and one of the oldest buildings in central Arkansas. It was also the birthplace of WWII General Douglas MacArthur.
The Arkansas Maritime Museum includes the USS Razorback submarine, where guests learn about wartime service, her activities during the Cold War and Vietnam and her service in the Turkish Navy. Visitors can see how submariners lived, slept next to their torpedoes and where they worked. You will be using the same hatches and ladders that the crew used. You need to be able to climb down and up a 10-foot vertical ladder to enter the submarine. Participants should not be claustrophobic.
The Jacksonville Museum of Military History explores significant war and home-front activities including the historic Battle of Reed’s Bridge, a Civil War skirmish that took place just a few miles from downtown Jacksonville, plus WWI, WWII, the 308th Titan Missile Era, Vietnam War, Korean War, and Operation Iraqi Freedom, to name a few.
Camp Robinson’s colorful history dates back to 1917 and the closing dates of WWI. During WWII it became a basic training post housing about 65,000 troops with over 850,000 processing through the camp. Camp Robinson has evolved into a modern day training post replacing many of the pre-war structures with new buildings and is one of the finest, best located, and largest state-operated training sites in America.
Little Rock Air Force Base is the home of the 314th Airlift Wing and is the only C-130 training base for the Department of Defense instructing C-130 pilots, navigators, flight engineers, and loadmasters, from all branches of the US military as well as 28 allied nations, in tactical airlift and aerial delivery.
Urban Outdoor Adventure
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Experience for yourself the longest pedestrian and bicycle bridge in the world – the Big Dam Bridge. The bridge opened with much fanfare in 2006. The tour will start on the Little Rock side of the bridge where you will walk the ¾ miles across the scenic Arkansas River so you want to make sure you wear comfortable shoes. The 3,463-foot bridge links 25 miles of bike-hike trails in the cities of Little Rock and North Little Rock, as well as connecting two recreation areas -- Murray Park and Cooks Landing. With the approaches, it measures a total of 4,226 linear feet.
Arkansas’s tallest remaining Native American mounds are preserved at this National Historic Landmark site near Little Rock. The Toltec Mounds are the remains of a large ceremonial and governmental complex that was inhabited here from A.D. 600 to 1050. The park visitor center features exhibits, an audiovisual theater and an educational pavilion that overlooks the mounds.
We will also have the opportunity to tour the Audubon Nature Center in East Little Rock. Acreage surrounding the Center includes both the city-owned Fourche Creek wetlands and the unique soils and plants of Granite Mountain in adjacent Gillam Park. The 2,000 acres available for use by the Nature Center offer a vast and richly diverse “lab” for people to learn about conservation, restoration, wildlife and plants. Trails designed for a variety of learning experiences will surround the Center.
Pinnacle Mountain State Park is known for its hiking trails, rivers, and interactive programs. Pinnacle Mountain is dedicated to preservation, recreation, and environmental education. Park interpreters and volunteers help visitors and students understand man’s relationship to the environment in the 2,000-acre park that offers a rich diversity of natural habitat. The park’s diversity of habitat, from high upland peaks to bottomlands along the Big and Little Maumelle Rivers, provide many outdoor recreational and educational opportunities.
Heifer Ranch, Winthrop Rockefeller Institute, Petit Jean State Park
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An organization dedicated to alleviating world hunger, Heifer International begins its interaction with communities by delivering one animal to one family. Like a drop of water generates ripples flowing outward from the impact point, the animal creates concentric rings of influence through a village, allowing knowledge and opportunity to be passed to others as the animal’s offspring are gifted.
One of the world’s greatest charities, Heifer is headquartered here in Arkansas. You’ll experience how Heifer International provides sustainable solutions to global hunger, poverty, and environmental degradation. We’ll travel to Heifer Ranch, where more than 28,000 visitors each year become familiar with the root causes of poverty and hunger and Heifer’s work to help the struggling achieve self-reliance. This working farm and ranch includes more than 15 species of exotic and domestic farm animals. It also allows visitors to learn about world issues while gaining a better understanding of how their choices affect the world.
Following your visit to Heifer you will travel to Petit Jean State Park, which is Arkansas’ first state park, located atop Petit Jean Mountain on the Arkansas River in the area between the Ozark and Ouachita mountain ranges. Spectacular views from the mountain, the beauty of Cedar Creek Canyon and a magnificent 95-foot waterfall makes this state park a favorite destination for hikers and campers. Many of the park’s structures are a result of the work of the Civilian Conservation Corp established by President Franklin D. Roosevelt in 1933. It was also once home to Native Americans, evidenced by pictographs located high on the back wall of some of its caves. The mountain and park is named after a French girl whose 300-year-old legend and death is said to give it its enchanting and delightful quality that draws visitor’s back again and again. The park has three National Historic Districts and over 80 buildings, structures, trails, and bridges.
Located near the park is the Winthrop Rockefeller Institute. The late Winthrop Rockefeller was a two-term governor of Arkansas and generous philanthropist to the state. His legacy is one of innovation and public policy with an emphasis in arts and education. His vision can be seen today on the land he once farmed atop Petit Jean Mountain. The Winthrop Rockefeller Institute, in partnership with the University of Arkansas System, functions primarily as an educational conference center, but also offers a range of programs and activities for participants of diverse backgrounds, interests and perspectives. It is a place for study, a place for policy initiative, a place for continuing education, and a place for recreation and relaxation.
Post-Press Tours
Eureka! An angle for every audience!
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Our most popular tour, so it’s offered twice! This tour has everything from Victorians to Pioneer Mountain living, with a little wildlife mixed in-between. You’ll start this tour with a stop in Greenbrier at the Riddles Elephant Farm, and then it’s off to Eureka Springs in Northwest Arkansas. Secluded and peaceful, the National Trust for Historic Preservation has honored Eureka Springs for its character. Eureka Springs offers more than 150 independent and unique stores and restaurants filling its elaborate gingerbread Victorian storefronts and amazingly has no national chain offering in its historic district. While the city is full of historic hotels and lovely bed and breakfasts, you will stay at Eureka Springs most famous hotel, The Crescent Hotel & Spa. Built in 1889, this beautiful resort is legendary for being haunted. Take a ghost tour…if you dare.
Other activities include The Great Passion Play, a retelling the story of Jesus Christ's last days on earth, complete with horse-drawn chariots and live animals. Speaking of animals, you’ll visit Turpentine Creek Wildlife Refuge, which is a sanctuary for big cats, plus bears, monkeys and other animals. See the awe inspiring Thorncrown Chapel, which has won numerous architectural awards and was recently placed on the American Institute of Architects list of the top buildings of the twentieth century. Dig deep in Cosmic Caverns or relax and enjoy some beautiful art while you sample Arkansas wines in at Keels Creek Winery.
Where the Wild Things Are – Southeast Arkansas
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Head down to the Delta in this tour of Southeast Arkansas. Cane Creek State Park allows visitors to hike or bike across the park’s woodlands then paddle or fish in Cane Creek Lake, a true timbered Delta lake. More water activities await at Lake Chicot State Park, plus it is an bird watcher’s paradise. Head over to Pine Bluff and visit the Delta Rivers Nature Center, the Arkansas Railroad Museum, the Band Museum dedicated to all instruments including some primitive and the unusual. The Arkansas Entertainers Hall of Fame features memorabilia from famous Arkansans including Johnny Cash, Al Green, and Billy Bob Thornton. You won’t want to miss the recently renovated Lakeport Plantation, Arkansas’s only antebellum plantation along the Mississippi.
America’s Central Park Celebrates 75 years of Making Memories
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Arkansas boasts one of the most recognized state park systems in the country and will celebrate its 75th anniversary during 2008. This tour includes four of the park system’s milestones - the first Arkansas state park, the system’s new $33 million dollar lodge atop our highest peak, our state-of-the-art fishing facility and national tournament site, and includes both of Arkansas’s state parks that allow hang gliding. Scale to new heights on Arkansas’s tallest mountain, Mount Magazine. Gracing its south bluff, this brand new resort mountain lodge affords a spectacular view of the Petit Jean River Valley and distant Blue Mountain Lake below. You can visit the wineries of Post and Wiederkehr, both had founders who immigrated in the late 1880s and established vineyards making Arkansas the largest and oldest wine producing state in the South. See Arkansas’s oldest state park, Petit Jean, and learn of its romantic yet tragic history for its namesake. Atop Petit Jean Mountain, you can explore the beautiful waterfall at Cedar Falls or take a stroll down memory lane at The Museum of Automobiles. This trip also includes The Winthrop Rockefeller Institute. Rockefeller was a four-term Arkansas governor whose legacy lives on at this institute for education and economics.