Fall in Eureka Springs: When the Ozarks Turn
Peak Color Usually Lands in the Last Week of October
When to Come for the Color
Fall color in this part of the Ozarks runs from roughly mid October into the first week of November. The last week of October is the usual peak, though a dry summer can pull it earlier and a warm one can push it later by a week or more.
- Early October. The sumac and dogwood turn first, low and red along the roadsides. The hills are still mostly green. Quiet, warm, and the easiest weekend of the season to book.
- Mid to late October. The maples, hickories and oaks go over together. This is the stretch people drive in for, and the weekend everything in town is full.
- Early November. The oaks hold their deep rust after everything else has dropped. Fewer people, bare views through the trees, and cold enough at night that the fireplace earns its keep.
We watch it happen from here every year. Call us at 479-253-9565 and we will tell you where the color is right now.
The Drives and Trails Worth Making the Trip For
Highway 23, the Pig Trail. The stretch about an hour south of Eureka Springs is one of the best known drives in Arkansas and it earns the reputation in late October. Tight switchbacks, hardwood canopy on both sides, and almost no straight line for twenty miles. Give it a couple of hours and go slowly.
Beaver Bridge. The one-lane suspension bridge over the White River, about fifteen minutes from the property. It is a short drive and a long stop. The water is clear, the bluffs behind it turn with everything else, and it is the photograph people come home with.
Black Bass Lake and Lake Leatherwood. Both are a few minutes away and both do something the drives cannot: they put the color on the water. Black Bass is small and quiet with an old stone dam. Lake Leatherwood has twenty-plus miles of trail and an easier loop around the lake.
The Historic Loop. If you would rather not drive at all, the loop through downtown is lined with hardwoods and Victorian houses, and the trolley runs it. We are Stop 117.
Booking a Cabin for Leaf Season
October weekends are the tightest dates of our year. There are only nine units here, every one of them sits in the trees, and the last two weekends of the month go first. If leaf season is why you are coming, book it early rather than hoping something opens up.
Midweek in October is the better value and the better experience. The color does not know what day it is, the Pig Trail has almost no traffic on a Tuesday, and you will have your pick of units instead of whatever is left.
The gas fireplaces come on in October and stay lit through May, so an evening on the deck works even when it drops into the forties after dark. Every unit has a private deck facing the trees and a jetted tub for two, which is a good combination after a day of driving mountain roads.
If you are staying more than a long weekend, four of the cabins have a washer and dryer in the unit: Just a Bear, Reel ’Em Inn, Moose Recluse and Rocky’s Retreat. Rocky’s Retreat is the one with the covered deck as well, which is the one you want if the rain comes in.
Call us at 479-253-9565 and Sarah will tell you what is open and which unit suits what you have in mind.