A couple weeks ago a few bloggers and I headed North to Eureka Springs, AR for a blogger getaway. This was my very first blogger trip and it was SO much fun. Finally meeting the girls in person, staying up late laughing over a few drinks, exploring a new (beautiful!) state, and just getting out of my comfort zone was perfect. I’d do it again in a heartbeat. While we were there I snapped a few photos to document the trip: where we stayed, ate, explored, etc. I highly recommend visiting Eureka Springs sometime in the Fall to see some amazing fall foliage!
Where we stayed
Farm House Cottage: Because it was a short stay and we knew we didn’t plan on spending too much time at the house, we decided to rent a (very) small cottage and it was so cute! The cottage sleeps 4-6 people (2 queen sized beds and a pull out couch). It was so quaint, but definitely not huge so if you plan on staying in for a good amount of your stay, you might want to look elsewhere! It was perfect for us because we enjoyed being so close to downtown!
Some other housing options:
Family & Pet Friendly Cabin in the Woods
Where we ate
Each day we opted for brunch & dinner because we were so busy during the day! I was overall pretty impressed with the food that we ate- especially the brunch spots! If you are planning to visit Eureka Springs in the near future it is CRUCIAL that you book reservations for dinner far in advance (1+ month out!) Thankfully we did, because if not the lines are LONG!
Brunch:
Mud St. Cafe Annex – this place was by far my favorite restaurant of the entire trip! The menu is amazing- sooo many great options to choose from and they have an incredible coffee bar inside! I ordered the ham and cheese omelet with a vanilla latte and it was FAB. Helpful tip: this place is incredibly SMALL and often has a long line out the door if you are visiting on the weekend. Try and go M-F and you’ll have better luck getting a table quickly!
Oscar’s Cafe – this spot was super convenient because it was actually right next to our little cottage! I really enjoyed this spot- I highly recommend the everything bagel sandwich… so good! Helpful tip: as of right now this restaurant is only serving food outdoors under a tent due to COVID-19 precautions. Servers do not come to your table to take your order, instead you call the phone number located on signs outside to place an order. Its not the most aesthetic place (I’m sure its very different otherwise), but it does have great food!
Dinner:
Local Flavor Cafe – This cafe has a great vibe to it. There was always a line out the door so you know its good. We sat outside on the upper balcony and I was slightly nervous it might be chilly, but thankfully they had several mobile heaters and it was perfect! We really appreciated the friendly servers and the food was yummy. I recommend the Lavender French 75 cocktail! Helpful tip: we actually did not make a reservation to this restaurant and ended up waiting in line outside but it was worth it because the line moved pretty quickly!
The Grotto Wood Fired Grill & Wine Bar– we heard wonderful things about this place and we were very excited to eat here! The food was really yummy- especially the roasted brussel sprout appetizer and the mac and cheese… yum! Important to note: I am NOT someone that ever cuts down a restaurant. It takes a lot to disappoint me. However, we made a reservation a month in advance and arrived 5 minutes before our reservation. We ended up waiting almost a full hour to be seated without much guidance from the host. The waitstaff were not very apologetic and our waiter made a few inappropriate comments that were not appreciated by our group. We received a slightly discounted bottle of wine for the inconvenience. It was disappointing as this was not an inexpensive restaurant.
Things to do
- Grab drinks at the Crescent Hotel – this hotel is INCREDIBLE and was voted one of Southern Living’s best of the South spots in 2017. The hotel itself is quite large, full of history (and apparently VERY VERY haunted!), and is a great spot to grab a drink and look out over the mountains. Next time I absolutely want to take a haunted tour of the hotel!
- Hiking! There are tons of trails around Eureka Springs that would be so fun to get lost on. Great family activity to burn off all that good food you’ll be eating!
- Eureka Springs Brewery – I am not a major beer drinker, but this spot was so fun! We arrived around 7:30 pm, grabbed a beer, and headed outside to the picnic tables. Ask for the bluetooth connection and listen to your own music if there aren’t many people!
- Go sight-seeing! There are tons of cool spots to drive to: Thorncrown Chapel, Christ of the Ozarks, and East Mountain Overlook are a few faves!
- Walk around downtown- lots of quirky art shops, boutiques, and other fun places to pop in!
*If you are local to the DFW area, I highly recommend renting a car through Andrew Maritim at Trophy Nissan! We rented a Nissan Pathfinder through him and it was AMAZING!*