Free & Cheap Things to Do in Eureka Springs

Shops & Downtown

Nearly all of downtown Eureka Springs is on the National Register of Historic Places — a maze of steep, curving streets where Victorian storefronts, galleries, cafes, and the namesake springs stack up the hillside with no two buildings on the same level. Strolling it free is the town's number-one attraction.

Address: Spring & Main Streets, Eureka Springs, AR 72632

Tip: Park once and walk — streets are narrow and steep. Linger in Basin Spring Park for free street music. A free trolley loops the district if the hills wear you out.

Arts & Culture

A breathtaking glass-and-timber chapel rising 48 feet into the Ozark woods, designed by architect E. Fay Jones and completed in 1980. Its 425 windows and 6,000 square feet of glass dissolve the walls into the forest. The AIA named it one of the great American buildings of the 20th century.

Address: 12968 Highway 62 W, Eureka Springs, AR 72632

Tip: Free to visit but open seasonally (roughly April–December) — check current hours before driving out. Sunday services are held in the chapel. Allow time to just sit quietly.

History & Culture

A 67-foot white statue of Jesus crowning Magnetic Mountain above town, built by hand in 1966 from two million pounds of mortar and steel, with a 65-foot arm span. It's free to walk up to and remains one of the most-visited landmarks in the Ozarks.

Address: 935 Passion Play Rd, Eureka Springs, AR 72632

Tip: The statue and surrounding grounds are free, open daily 8am–8pm. The adjacent Great Passion Play and Holy Land Tour are separately ticketed. Great hilltop views over the Victorian village.

History & Culture

A 1909 church so unusual it landed in Ripley's Believe It or Not three times — because the hillside topography means you enter through the bell tower rather than the front. Inside hangs a dome chandelier with more than 7,500 crystals, above marble imported from Italy.

Address: 30 Crescent Dr, Eureka Springs, AR 72632

Tip: Free and open year-round, but please respect Mass times. It sits right beside the Crescent Hotel, so pair the two. The bell-tower entrance and walkway are the photo op.

History & Culture

A palatial 1886 resort hotel perched above town, a member of Historic Hotels of America and widely billed as 'America's Most Haunted Hotel.' You don't need a room to wander the grand lobby, the hilltop gardens, and the sweeping Ozark views — all free to explore.

Address: 75 Prospect Ave, Eureka Springs, AR 72632

Tip: Walking the lobby, grounds, and gardens is free. The evening ghost tours of the former hospital/morgue are paid — book ahead in October. The garden-level spa and restaurants are open to all.

Parks & Nature

A free 1,600-acre city park just west of town wrapped around an 85-acre spring-fed lake. More than 25 miles of trails — including a 4-mile loop circling the lake and a network of downhill mountain-bike runs — thread the wooded Ozark hills, alongside picnic areas and a small marina.

Address: 1303 CR 204, Eureka Springs, AR 72632

Tip: Free to enter and hike. Bring or rent a kayak or paddleboat for the lake. The Beacham Trail loops the shoreline past the historic CCC-era dam and quarry.

History & Culture

A $5 museum that USA Today named the country's 4th-best small-town museum, telling the story of the healing springs, the Victorian health-resort boom, and the arts-and-counterculture wave that made Eureka Springs 'the town where misfits fit.' It doubles as the official downtown visitor center.

Address: 95 S Main St, Eureka Springs, AR 72632

Tip: Open daily 9:30am–4pm, closed Sunday and Wednesday. Grab free maps and brochures at the visitor center desk. Self-guided and compact — about an hour.

Parks & Nature

A garden and heritage site built around Blue Spring, which pours 38 million gallons of cold, clear water a day into a trout-filled lagoon. Native gardens, a historic bluff shelter on the National Register, and ground walked by the Cherokee during the Trail of Tears fill the grounds.

Address: 1537 CR 210, Eureka Springs, AR 72632

Tip: Open seasonally, March 15 to late November, 9am–6pm. The spring overlook and the gardens are the highlights — allow 60–90 minutes. No pets except service animals.

History & Culture

Billed as 'the Ozarks' strangest dwelling,' this 1943 home was built by Elise Quigley with walls of stacked rock and fossil, and an interior where tropical plants grow from the ground floor straight up through the house. Parakeets fly free indoors and a famous butterfly collection lines the walls.

Address: 274 Quigley Castle Rd, Eureka Springs, AR 72632

Tip: Open April–October, 10am–4:30pm, closed Sunday and Thursday; cash only. Children 14 and under are free with a parent. The path is uneven with stairs — not wheelchair accessible.