Little Rock Off The Beaten Path

for a relatively large city, little rock has a tremendous number of beautiful parks that are within the city limits and easy to get to. look at a city map to find them, but you will see that they are everywhere!

the little town of mountain view, arkansas, is just a two-hour drive north from little rock and is unlike any other place i have ever been. wonderful music, crafts, and people! see my separate page on mountain view, arkansas, for more detailed info.

about 1 1/2 hours from Little Rock. Petit Jean is a fantastic State park. Petit Jean is a mountain with great views, caves, etc. There is also a great waterfall, Camping, Views of the river. Little Rock itself is not very interesting, But I would highly suggest exploring Jen Petit.

If you are interested in playing bridge with some very adept players, find a partner and visit the Bridge House. They play 6 nights a week, although Thursday is the beginner's night. Games are something like $2.50 a person and on Thursday there is a free mini-lesson on some topic at 6:30pm (mini-lesson is free). The Bridge House is located at 2320 Durwood Rd, and the phone number is 666-9841. They are always looking for new players.

Also located just west of Little Rock off of Arkansas 10 is Pinnacle Mountain. The mountain takes about a mile to hike up from the visitors' center side. The park is extensive though, with two possible ascents, the other ascent being a bit more rigorous. From the top there is an excellent view of the Arkansas River Valley all the way past downtown Little Rock. Picture courtesy Arkansas State Parks & Recreation.

The Arkansas State Capitol is located in Little Rock. It has the distinction of being a nearly exact replica of the National Capitol. If you come at the right time, you might be lucky enough to see a movie crew 'blowing up' the US Capitol and using us instead!

If you have access to a car, get on highway 10 (Cantrell Rd.) and head west out of town. You can drive all the way out seeing scenic shots of Lake Maumelle. Carefully hidden off of the highway are several picnic areas with beautiful views of the lake.

I would like to recommend to anyone who is visiting Little Rock to see Jennings Osborne's mansion on Cantrell Road by the I-430 overpass. He decorates in lights for all sorts of occasions. Pictured here is his current ensemble supporting the war in Afghanistan.