Eureka Springs, Arkansas: America's Gayest Small Town?

Anyone ever been? Is it really an oasis? At least it's driving distance to Branson!

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by Anonymousreply 30July 1, 2022 7:31 AM

A word to the wise, stay out of Arkansas, because the only good thing to come out of Arkansas is I-40

by Anonymousreply 1June 29, 2022 6:05 PM

It looks like a shithole from the pictures.

by Anonymousreply 2June 29, 2022 6:25 PM

Terrible food. Many schlock shops. Stay away from Mud Street Cafe and Annex: food tasted like bong water. Seriously.

by Anonymousreply 3June 29, 2022 6:29 PM

It's a bit of an oasis within the Bible Belt, yes. But you should take that within context. It does NOT mean that Eureka Springs is chic, tasteful or culturally interesting. The shops all have candles in jars.

by Anonymousreply 4June 29, 2022 6:39 PM

Seems kind of fun for a weekend. What is there to do?

by Anonymousreply 5June 29, 2022 6:46 PM

They push a lot of 'haunted' stuff and have activities surrounding that. The most interesting part of Eureka Springs is some of the architecture and the way the whole place seems to be carved into a mountainside. It is worth an afternoon side trip, at least. There is a big, grand old hotel there that I have not explored yet. Place has many cutesy bed & breakfast places in great old Victorian houses.

by Anonymousreply 6June 29, 2022 6:51 PM

^ Pray you don't get lynched 😳

by Anonymousreply 7June 29, 2022 6:51 PM

Lovely. I hope they are saving bail money for when they are arrested for violating Arkansas' anti-sodomy laws. It's coming...

by Anonymousreply 8June 29, 2022 6:54 PM

They even sell salt water taffy like every other tourist trap in the USA.

by Anonymousreply 9June 29, 2022 6:57 PM

No thanks. I don't care if Brad Pitt was presenting hole in the town square.

by Anonymousreply 10June 29, 2022 6:58 PM

Stayed at a gay guest house in Eureka Springs a few years ago. Booked for two nights, stayed one. 1/2 a day in the town is enough. Don’t know if it’s still there but there was a huge cross in one section of town. When I asked about it was told that there was some annual religious play that was done in the nearby outdoor stadium. We did drive to Branson, MO. for shits and giggles. It’s about an hour away. 1/2 a day in Branson is more than enough. You can only take so much of Christian Las Vegas. Highlight of the visit was taking a train trip 15 miles out of town and back again. We only took the train trip because we’d driven one hour to get to Branson. If you were driving through the area a stop for lunch and a leg stretch in Eureka Springs might be worth it. I’d never want to spend any length of time there.

by Anonymousreply 13June 29, 2022 7:13 PM

Do black people still need to be out of there before sundown?

by Anonymousreply 14June 29, 2022 7:13 PM

R14, obviously you didn't read the article.

by Anonymousreply 15June 29, 2022 7:39 PM

I've vacationed there several times. It's more or less a sleepy little resort town, you don't go there for metropolitan night life. Lots of interesting architecture, lots of B&Bs, a few nice older hotels, some fine dining, a couple of gay bars, a couple of theaters, lots of art galleries and shops, a big cat sanctuary, a railroad museum & dinner car attraction, trolley bus tours, walking tours, a nearby lake for boating and swimming, frequent festivals for specific occasions or themes. The Passion Play is nearby for visiting Bible thumpers, and the Crystal Bridges Art Museum is about an hour's drive away.

the only bath house is for actual bathing, not cruising, but you can still tell they were thinking of us:

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by Anonymousreply 16June 29, 2022 8:33 PM

It looks cute. Having Sarah Huckabee for a governor is a no-go though.

by Anonymousreply 17June 29, 2022 8:41 PM

It's a cute little town, but I can't imagine staying longer than 2 or 3 days tops. It's the place you go to have a quiet weekend, when you don't feel like staying at home.

by Anonymousreply 18June 29, 2022 8:47 PM

The are a lot of old gay guys there. It’s pretty. Nowhere to eat. There once was a men only clothing optional “resort” there. Mostly hippies and rednecks. Everyone was friendly.

by Anonymousreply 19June 29, 2022 9:24 PM

Nowhere to eat, R19? What the hell were you looking for? I'd say it has more decent, non-chain restaurants per capita than anywhere I've ever seen.

by Anonymousreply 21June 30, 2022 9:01 AM

Drove through once. We'd actually planned to stay at least overnight, but a quick drive through the town revealed it to be just like so many little tourist trap towns we've seen. So - nothing special, unless you're stuck in Arkansas/the mid-South.

But Harrison, Arkansas is only an hour or so away, if you want to visit the home of the KKK.

by Anonymousreply 22June 30, 2022 2:00 PM

All I knows is I had me an outhouse fuck outside Eureka Springs and ended up with Sasquatchpox.

by Anonymousreply 23June 30, 2022 2:42 PM

^plenty of DLers would definitely want to pay their respects in that regard.

by Anonymousreply 24June 30, 2022 3:20 PM

Fun Fun, It's a full day out. Drop in to the local doctor to renew your Zanex and Aderoll scrip. Just down the road (don't do this if your skin isn't white) You can adopt a pregnant high school drop out in Harrison. Beware she comes with family. The Ozarks are beautiful if you stay in the car.

by Anonymousreply 25June 30, 2022 3:24 PM

I spent a decade there one week.

by Anonymousreply 26June 30, 2022 3:43 PM

R21 I guess I was looking for food that was edible. I had one decent meal there and it was a Mexican restaurant that seemed to be run by Eastern Europeans. I dunno. Everything else I ate there was terrible.

by Anonymousreply 27July 1, 2022 12:33 AM

I had a good bowl of fried okra once in Eureka Springs!

by Anonymousreply 28July 1, 2022 12:35 AM

It's Arkansas, I don't think they have a high bar when it comes to fine dining.

by Anonymousreply 29July 1, 2022 4:23 AM

I live in a town just outside Eureka Springs. What I like most about Eureka is its lack of pretension. It's not for those looking for high culture, sophisticated attractions or big city fine dining. What it has is a bunch of nice people who got sick of living in the big city (like me) who became entrepreneurs and downsized their lifestyle. There are lots of shops and galleries, not with anything you'd find in NYC, but not your typical tourist trash, either. There are 10-15 nice restaurants (some bad ones, too, that are usually out of business within 2-3 years) that again, aren't world-class but it's silly to expect that here. And the people are nice. It's also very cheap to live here. A lot of people sell their homes in CA or TX and use the profits to buy a home and start a business here.

Eureka Springs is a nice place to come for a day. Walk the streets, visit the shops and admire the architecture. But if you come with an attitude, you'll leave with one as well.

by Anonymousreply 30July 1, 2022 7:31 AM

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