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What are some awesome things to do in Eureka Springs? Beautiful Adventures
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When you think of (or search) Eureka Springs, Arkansas, the top things you will see are the Historic District, hot springs, bath houses, Turpentine Creek Wildlife Refugee, etc.
But if you like to see the lesser-known hidden gems, and get some outdoor activity time, visit Lake Leatherwood City Park for hiking + biking trails with gorgeous sites.
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Table of Contents
Things to do in Eureka Springs
Eureka Springs History
Eureka Springs was founded and named on July 4, 1879. The natural springs, or “healing springs” as the Indians termed them, have been the main attraction and have drawn visitors to the area for years. The story of the city is an interesting read, check it out HERE.
Lake Leatherwood City Park
Things do in Eureka Springs: HIKING!
Making sense of the hiking trail system at Lake Leatherwood is not an easy task. With hiking trails shooting all over the place, and intersecting with multiple other trails along the way, you are guaranteed to make a wrong turn at some point.
Make sure you have looked over the trail maps well before heading out. Or have it downloaded on your cell phone. We used AllTrails to track our hike and corrected any wrong turns quickly.
After looking over the trails for a bit, we decided on Miner’s Rock Trail and the Lake Leatherwood Dam for our hikes of the day.
Things to Do in Eureka Springs: Hike Miner’s Rock Trail
Figuring out where to start isn’t an easy or obvious choice. The park map shows “P” for parking, but seems to lead to a shuttle pick up/drop off.
After checking AllTrails reviews, we found there are a few ways to hike this trail (due to multiple intersecting trails).
After deciding to park and start near a ballfield to use a cut-through trail, we happened upon a specially designated parking spot for Miner’s Rock Trail (just past the shuttle area we were at previously).
Once parking and rechecking our map, we saw the hike would be roughly, a 2-mile loop.
This trail is well-marked at the beginning, with little room for error. As you get further into the trail, routes become not so obvious with intersecting hiking and biking trails.
Even with AllTrails open, and the use of a sign at one large intersection of trails, we managed to take the wrong route. Luckily we corrected quickly since we were aware we could be on the wrong path.
We hiked the trail clockwise, with Miner’s Rock toward the beginning of the hike. We almost decided to make the hike an out and back after seeing the rock, but ultimately kept going forward to complete the loop.
The beautiful scenery and landscape along the way proved our decision to be the right one.
Things to Do in Eureka Springs: Hike to Lake Leatherwood Dam
A much less difficult trail to navigate is the one to Lake Leatherwood Dam. Start on the Shoreline trail and follow as closely to the lake as you can until you arrive at your destination.
Shoreline trail does not run all the way to the dam, but it isn’t difficult to find the path needed, keeping the lake in view. Shoreline Trail is a flat and gorgeous trail with many points available for a scenic lake view.
There is a point on this path that leads to a huge intersection of trails at a big circle (5 trails intersecting if memory serves). Going to the dam, the first right turn at the intersection is a short offshoot trail called The Point.
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Although this doesn’t lead to the dam, it’s worth the short hike for the open shoreline and view of the dam.
After hiking back to the trail “hub” take the next available right, “Fuller” trail, to complete the trek to the dam.
The walkway across Lake Leatherwood Dam is closed (with a fence at either end). But that’s not where the beauty is anyway.
There is a small trail leading down the backside of the dam that has the most gorgeous falls and river. Pack a lunch and spend some time exploring this area!
There are plenty of rocks to climb on (but be aware of snakes…we saw one slither under a rock).
The hike back was easy enough. We initially decided to take a different path back for a different view and chose Beecham Trail. With the bigger gravel rocks and an uphill hike with no view, we quickly decided to abort and find our way back to the shoreline.
Luckily, there are occasional cut-through trails that will help you find your way back.
Final Thoughts on Things to Do in Eureka Springs
If you are an “off the beaten path” type of person who enjoys beautiful views and exploring nature, and you are looking for things to do in Eureka Springs, these trails are for you.
Lake Leatherwood Dam (via Shoreline Trail) would be my pick if I had to choose just one of the trails to hike. But Miner’s Rock was an interesting little place to explore as well.
It was a day well spent exploring outdoor Eureka Springs.
Other Arkansas Hikes:
Ultimate Hiking at Lost Valley: Ponca, AR
3 AMAZING Hiking Trails for your KIDS
5 BEST Hikes in Arkansas {With AMAZING Views}
9 MUST-HAVE Hiking ESSENTIALS You’ll LOVE
Love the first photo of the two of you and dog in the tunnel!
Thank you! That was my favorite photo of the trip too
What a gorgeous place to hike!
Beautiful photos you have here!
Thank you!!