Free & Cheap Things to Do in Jonesboro

Parks & Nature

A free Arkansas Game & Fish nature center on the southern edge of Jonesboro, telling the story of Crowley's Ridge — a unique 200-mile spine of loess hills above the Delta. A dramatic two-story diorama, hands-on exhibits, short films, and 3 miles of trails fill the 160-acre site, which adjoins Craighead Forest Park.

Address: 600 E. Lawson Rd, Jonesboro, AR 72404

Tip: Free admission. The quarter-mile Habitats Trail boardwalk loops an accessible route around Willow Pond. Trails connect directly into Craighead Forest Park next door. Check the AGFC calendar for free programs.

History & Culture

The free museum of Arkansas State University, exploring the natural history and cultural heritage of northeast Arkansas and the Mississippi Delta. Permanent galleries range from a 1930s general store and a vintage fire engine to dinosaur fossils and Native American artifacts — a genuinely broad, kid-friendly collection.

Address: 320 University Loop, Jonesboro, AR 72401

Tip: Open Tuesday–Saturday, 10am–4:45pm; free admission and parking on the A-State campus. Allow an hour or two. A natural pairing with the Bradbury Art Museum elsewhere on campus.

Arts & Culture

A free contemporary art museum inside A-State's Fowler Center, showing rotating exhibitions of regional, national, and international artists across painting, photography, new media, and craft. Compact and well-curated, it's a quick, free dose of serious contemporary art in northeast Arkansas.

Address: 201 Olympic Dr, Jonesboro, AR 72401

Tip: Open Tuesday–Saturday, noon–5pm; admission and parking free. Note it closes between exhibitions and whenever the university is closed, so check the current show before visiting.

Parks & Nature

A free 692-acre city park draped over Crowley's Ridge, built around a 60-acre fishing lake. Around it run 15 miles of mountain-bike trails, a 2.9-mile paved loop for walkers and cyclists, plus disc golf, playgrounds, and a barrier-free family fishing area stocked year-round.

Address: 4910 S Culberhouse Rd, Jonesboro, AR 72404

Tip: Free to enter. The accessible Family Fishing Area is stocked with trout in winter and catfish in summer — anyone can fish it with a child along. Trails link to the Crowley's Ridge Nature Center.

History & Culture

In Piggott, about 30 miles northeast, the restored 1930s home of Ernest Hemingway's in-laws and the barn studio where he wrote parts of A Farewell to Arms. Guided tours walk you through Depression-era family life and the literary history of one of the South's most important writing sites.

Address: 1021 W Cherry St, Piggott, AR 72454

Tip: Guided tours run on the hour, Monday–Saturday 9am–3pm. About a 40-minute drive from Jonesboro. The barn studio where Hemingway actually wrote is the highlight — ask about it.

Shops & Downtown

Jonesboro's walkable historic core, where the Downtown Jonesboro Alliance has filled brick-lined streets with a growing collection of bold public murals alongside local shops, coffee bars, and restaurants. A free self-guided mural walk makes for an easy hour downtown.

Address: S Main St, Jonesboro, AR 72401

Tip: Free to wander. Grab the downtown mural map (or the online StoryMap) to find every piece, including the big horse-stampede mural on South Main. Best explored on foot.

Parks & Nature

A laid-back state park about 10 miles north of Jonesboro on the shore of a 335-acre lake, famous for having more flowering dogwoods than any Arkansas park its size — spectacular in late-March bloom. Year-round fishing, a barrier-free pier, and the half-mile Dogwood Lane interpretive trail round it out.

Address: 7904 Highway 141, Jonesboro, AR 72404

Tip: No entrance fee for day use. Time a spring visit for the dogwoods (late March–mid April). Bring a fishing license if you're 16+ to fish for bream, crappie, catfish, and bass.