Waited until the last minute to plan that trip while the kids are out of school? Don’t break the bank. Enjoy an escape that will create memories for years to come. These five trips are kid-tested by my 8-year-old daughter Hunter, and obviously mother approved.

1. Crowley’s Ridge Parkway

Slicing the Arkansas Delta in two, this unique formation rises up to 200 feet in places above the Mississippi River Alluvial Plain and bears its own ecology and natural resources.

Start at Village Creek State Park near Wynne and explore its many trails, from those that tell you about nature to those that share the history of the Trail of Tears. Travel up Crowley’s Ridge Parkway. You’ll be able to visit downtown Wynne, Lake Poinsett State Park and Crowley’s Ridge Nature Center – the latter of which includes an interpretive film that will shake and surprise you. Then roll up to Crowley’s Ridge State Park for a night in a CCC-era cabin.

2. The Bandit Gambit

Traverse the route Burt Reynold’s character took through Arkansas in the movie Smokey and the Bandit on US 82 across the southern portion of the state. Make a foray downtown for photographs at the State Line Post Office and a walk through the Four States Auto Museum.  Sample pastries at Magnolia Bake Shop, the state’s oldest bakery. Drop in at Logoly State Park, the state’s first environmentally focused park at McNeil. Spend the night at El Dorado at Union Square Guest Quarters and let the kids roam the South Arkansas Arboretum and the Arkansas Museum of Natural Resources – a kid favorite, with tons of hands-on displays and a recreated Boomtown city street underground. Wrap it up with a night at Lake Chicot State Park, where you can float the world’s largest oxbow lake.

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3. Scenic Arkansas Highway 7

Arkansas’s longest state highway covers more than 400 miles from the Louisiana Border to Bull Shoals Lake, and crosses the Timberlands, Ouachitas, River Valley and Ozarks. Start in downtown El Dorado with a live show at the Rialto Theater, or take the kids to The Pottery House to paint their own. Drive up to Lake DeGray Resort State Park and stay in a yurt! From there, head to Hot Springs for a day of fun and excitement at Mid America Science Museum – or for sci-fi kids, a visit to Galaxy Connection is in order. Take a ride through the Ouachita Mountains and overnight on the rim overlooking the Arkansas River Valley at Mount Nebo State Park. Travel north through the Ozarks and go watch buffalo in the evening in Boxley Valley.

See what we did on our trip here. 

4. US Highway 71

Go looking for the Fouke Monster at Monster Mart in Fouke. Spend the night in Texarkana, then head north to Mena for a stay at Queen Wilhelmina State Park’s beautiful new lodge. From there, US 71 wanders through the western Ouachita Mountains up to Fort Smith, which holds plenty of must-visit attractions, from the Chaffee Barbershop Museum to Miss Laura’s Visitor’s Center.

Roll into the Arkansas Ozarks and stay in a brand new cabin at Lake Fort Smith State Park. Tour Terra Studios near Fayetteville, and see who can get the high score at Arcadia Retrocade.  Explore Rogers’s famed of railroad history.

Devote an entire day to Bentonville. Younger kids will enjoy the Scott Family Amazeum, and all ages will dig downtown Bentonville’s square, Walmart Museum and Spark Café (which has excellent ice cream). No visit to the city is complete without a whirlwind tour of the Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art, which is free to explore.

Our trip was amazing – see all the stories here. 

5. Arkansas’ Great River Road

Ready to tackle a real family vacation that will cover everything from paved highways to single lane gravel roads? This route is challenging but engaging all along Arkansas’s eastern border.

Grab some of Ms. Rhoda’s famed hot tamales and explore the world’s largest oxbow lake at Lake Chicot State Park. McGehee offers the World World II Japanese American Internment Museum, followed by a visit to the Rohwer Relocation Center National Monument. For outdoor sports lovers, a stay at the Delta Resort & Spa northeast of McGehee is recommended – call ahead to set up clay shooting and other adventures.

Traverse the White River National Wildlife Refuge, view hundreds of birdhouses at Elaine, and roll into Helena-West Helena to catch King Biscuit Time, the world’s longest running blues program at the Delta Cultural Center.

A stay at the Edwardian Inn will keep you close to all of Helena’s famed historic Civil War sites and parks, including Freedom Park, Battery C Park and Fort Curtis. Enjoy shopping at Delta Gypsy on Cherry Street, and be sure to grab pizza at Southbound and sandwiches at Bailee Mae’s.

The real adventure begins heading on the Great River Road north of town into Mississippi River State Park – 16 miles of single lane gravel roads that will take you deep into the bottoms of the St. Francis River.

Walk to Memphis and back across the newly opened Hanrahan Bridge at West Memphis, then dive into the history of the deadliest shipwreck on the Mississippi at the Sultana Museum in Marion. Check out the remnants of Mississippian culture at Hampson Archeological Museum at Wilson, view the great coppery dome of the Osceola courthouse and delve into literary fun at That Bookstore in Blytheville. Don’t forget a photo op at the US 61 Arch north of town.

View our adventure along Arkansas’ Great River Road here.