Little Rock Tourist Attractions

The city that has been known for its small-town charm is now becoming a well-known destination for visitors.

Known for its arts and culture, Little Rock is also home to some of the nation's most exciting museums, landmarks, and historical sites.

Please check our listing at getyourguide.com for more exciting choices that make Little Rock an attractive place to visit or anywhere close to the region.

For those looking to visit Little Rock and experience more than just the typical attractions, here is a list of some sights they might not be aware of.

Magic Spring Theme and Water Park Ticket

This activity is perfect for the family. It offers a day full of excitement.

• Enjoy more than 80 rides, shows, and other attractions perfect for the whole family.
• Experience the X-Coaster's exhilaration and the Brain Drain's mental fatigue.
• Watch the youngsters as they ride the Carousel and the Fearless Flyers.
• You may take the kids and grandma and grandpa out for a spin on the Rum Runner Pirate Ship.
• Visit the water park and enjoy exciting attractions like the High Sierra Slide Tower while keeping cool.
• Unwind as you float down the Kodiak Canyon River on this exciting adventure.
• Visit Hot Springs, Arkansas, and enjoy Magic Springs Theme and Water Park.
• Ride some roller coasters or dip in the Kodiak Canyon River Adventure to get wet and chill off.
• Ride the X-Coaster for a rush of excitement as you soar to a peak high above the park and then do a 360-degree corkscrew roll.
• Ride up Plummet Summit for a little respite from the sweltering heat of Arkansas.
• Enjoy some downtime in the Crystal Cove Wave Pool.

The Rum Runner Pirate Ship and the Razorback Roundup Bumper Cars are both great activities for kids, and they're both great fun for adults, too.

Take memorable images of your family while your children enjoy rides on the Fearless Flyers, the classic Carousel, and the Bugga Booga Wheel.

Head to the water park portion, get drenched at the Boogie Blast or test your daring at the High Sierra Slide Tower.

William J. Clinton Presidential Center & Park

Address: 1200 President Clinton Avenue, Little Rock Arkansas

Bill Clinton was the 42nd president of the United States from 1993 to 2001. His presidential library is called the William J. Clinton Presidential Library and Museum.

• It is in Arkansas, in Little Rock. It has the Clinton Presidential Library, the offices of the Clinton Foundation, and the Clinton School of Public Service at the University of Arkansas.
• It is the eleventh presidential library run by the National Archives and Records Administration and the third to meet the requirements of the Presidential Records Act of 1978.
• It is the thirteenth presidential library to be finished in the United States. It sits on 17 acres of land next to Interstate 30 and the Arkansas River.

With a floor plan of 68,698 square feet, the library is the most extensive presidential library in terms of space.

• The Clinton archives are the biggest. They have 2 million photos, 80 million pages of documents, 21 million emails, and 79,000 artifacts from the Clinton presidency.
• The Clinton Library is also the most expensive. Its money comes from 112,000 private donations.
• The Clinton archives are the first to have both physical and digital information. More than any other presidential archive has 35,686 cubic feet of records.

Because Clinton wanted a library with a lot of light, the archives were kept underground to keep them from getting damaged by the sun's rays.

The museum has things from Clinton's two terms as president on display. It has exact copies of the Oval Office and Cabinet Room from the time of Bill Clinton.

Little Rock Central High School National Historic Site

Address: 2120 W. Daisy L Gatson Bates Drive and Park Street, Little Rock, Arkansas

Little Rock Central High School, or LRCHS, is a public high school in Little Rock, Arkansas, United States, fully accredited.

In 1957, after the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that segregation in public schools was against the law, the school was forced to stop being separate. During this time, there was a lot of activity in the civil rights movement.

Central is at the corner of Park Street and Daisy L. Gatson Bates Drive, which used to be called 14th Street.

Bates was a black journalist and the head of the NAACP in his state. Through the crisis of 1957, they were essential in getting the school to be open to everyone.

Central began in 1869 when the Sherman School opened in a wooden building at the corner of 8th and Sherman streets.

• It had its first graduates on June 13, 1873.
• In 1885, the Sherman School was moved to the corner of 14th and Scott streets and became the Scott Street School, also known as City High School.
• In 1890, the Peabody School was built around West Capitol and Gaines streets.

It was named after the philanthropist George Peabody. The Peabody Education Fund gave $220,000 to help pay for the name change.

At the corner of 14th and Cumberland streets, the city built Little Rock High School in 1905. It closed down the Peabody and Scott Street schools, leaving only one public high school in the city.

• Only white students were allowed to attend until 1957.
• In 1927, the city finished building the country's most extensive and expensive high school. It cost $1.5 million and is still used today.
• When Hall High School was built in 1953, the school's name was changed to Little Rock Central High School.

Since then, it has been put on the U.S. National Register of Historic Places and called a U.S. National Historic Landmark and a National Historic Site.

Go for a Hike at Pinnacle Mountain State Park

Address: 11901 Pinnacle Valley Road, Little Rock, Arkansas

The park's main attraction is Pinnacle Mountain, West of Little Rock, Arkansas's capital city.

The Big and Little Maumelle Rivers, the Arkansas Arboretum, and more than 22 miles of trails, including more than 14 miles of challenging mountain bike trails, are all part of this day-use park.

You can hike to the top, explore the rivers, or go to one of the park staff's programs to explain what's going on.

You can visit the park's visitor center, have a picnic, or reserve a pavilion for a larger group.

Trails of Tears National Historic Site is also a part of Pinnacle Mountain State Park.

The mountain was there when the Cherokees, Choctaws, Creeks, Seminoles, and Chickasaws were forced to leave their homes.

Historical Significance of the “Trail of Tears” State Parks

The Trail of Tears goes through Arkansas for hundreds of miles. Of the nine states the trail went through, Arkansas is the only one where all five Southeastern tribes left as they moved west.

• Trail of Tears National Historic Trail is an important historical landmark—composed of Pinnacle Mountain, Petit Jean, and Mount Nebo state parks.
• Tourists should visit these mountains to see how hard it was for the Cherokees, Choctaws, Creeks, Seminoles, and Chickasaws to leave their homes.
• These state parks have all been named Trail of Tears National Historic Trail Sites by the National Park Service.
• Arkansas State Parks has a unique chance to tell the stories of all five Southeastern tribes, which are often forgotten.
• A troubling and often forgotten part of U.S. history is the time of the Trail of Tears.
• The Cherokee people were forced to move from their homes in the East to what is now Oklahoma. This was called the Trail of Tears.

This move happened after the United States broke and forgot about several treaties. The U.S. government passed the Indian Removal Act of 1830.

In 1836, the government started to round up Cherokees in their homes in the East. After the Cherokees were rounded up, they were put into travel groups called detachments.

In 1987, the National Park Service named the Cherokee Trail of Tears a National Historic Trail. It is about 1,000 miles long.

This trail remembers how the Cherokee were forced to leave their homes, how they traveled west, and how the Cherokee Nation was put back together.

Even though the National Park Service trail designation is only for the Cherokee removal, five different tribes (Chickasaw, Choctaw, Creek, and Seminole) were moved out of the Southeast using many of the same removal routes.

Village Creek State Park and the Trail of Tears

The part of the trail that is best preserved is in Wynne, Arkansas's Village Creek State Park.

The Cherokee used the trail in the Bell detachment, named after its leader, John Bell, who was the first person to go west on this path.

It was also used by the Choctaws, Creeks, and Chickasaws when they were moved.

At one time, the Old Military Road Trail was part of the road from Memphis to Little Rock. This trail has a beautiful piece of the removal trail that is still underwater.

Choctaw Connection to Village Creek

The Choctaws were the first people from the Southeast to move to the Indian territory. On their way west, they had to deal with problems and hardships.

In 1831, the first groups that moved from Arkansas Post to Little Rock went south. The following year, from Memphis to Little Rock, they went in different directions.

In October 1832, the first Choctaws to go through the Village Creek site got to Memphis. Like most groups that make it to Memphis, they broke up.

On November 2, 1833, the last group of Choctaws who moved through the Village Creek site crossed the Mississippi.

Creek Connection to Village Creek

Between 1834 and 1837, many Creeks went through Arkansas on steamboats. However, more Creeks than any other tribe went through Arkansas on foot.

From February 1835 to November 1836, most people took the Military Road and the Cantonment Gibson Road. The Creeks had a lot of horses, so they had to travel over land.

Chickasaw Connection to Village Creek

The Treaty of Pontotoc in 1832 and the Supplemental Treaty in 1834 led to the Chickasaw people being moved out of Mississippi and Alabama.

After talks between the Chickasaw and the U.S. government ended in the summer of 1837, the tribe was moved.

Unlike the other tribes, they were able to have some say in how they were moved because of the agreements made during the talks.

The Chickasaws had some freedom when deciding which paths to take.

The last big group of Chickasaws to leave the Village Creek area started their trip west in the fall of 1838. They arrived on Strong's land in November.

Cherokee Connection to Village Creek

Even though some Cherokees moved to the West on their own before 1835, most were forced against their will starting in 1838.

After a small group of Cherokees signed the Treaty of New Echota in 1835, they were forced to move. The Village Creek site was only used by one large group of Cherokees.

MacArthur Museum of Arkansas Military History

Address: 503 East Ninth Street, Little Rock, Arkansas

The MacArthur Museum of Arkansas Military History is in the Tower Building of the Little Rock Arsenal, which is also called the Main Building of the U.S. Arsenal at Little Rock or the Headquarters Building of the Little Rock Barracks.

• It is also a part of Little Rock, Arkansas's MacArthur Park Historic District.
• It was part of the first U.S. military base in Little Rock. It was built between 1840 and 1841. Since it was removed, the building has been home to two local museums.
• Between 1942 and 1997, it was the home of the Arkansas Museum of Natural History and Antiquities. Since 2001, it has been the home of the MacArthur Museum of Arkansas Military History.
• Since 1894, it has also been the home of the Little Rock Aesthetic Club. The building gets its name from the tower shaped like an eight.
• It is also one of the oldest buildings in central Arkansas and was where General Douglas MacArthur was born.
• It is the only building left from the original U.S. military installation. During World War II, he was in charge of all U.S. forces in the South Pacific.

Just south of the Tower Building, the Works Progress Administration built the Museum of Fine Arts, now called the Arkansas Arts Center, in 1936.

In 1970, the arsenal was put on the National Register of Historic Places. The arsenal could be added to the Camden Expedition Sites National Historic Landmark, which was created in 1994.

The Arkansas Museum of Natural History and Antiquities, which was in Little Rock City Hall, moved there.

About fifty-five years ago, the museum stayed in the tower building. When the Tower Building was first taken out of service, the area around it was called Arsenal Park. It was later renamed, City Park.

The Arkansas Museum of Discovery was made when the Museum of Science and Natural History and the Little Rock Children's Museum in Union Station joined forces in 1997.

The new museum moved to an old Little Rock Market District building. On May 19, 2001, the MacArthur Museum of Arkansas Military History moved into the Tower Building.

The new museum's goal is to teach and inform visitors about Arkansas's military history, keep the Tower Building in good shape, honor U.S. servicemen and women, and remember where Douglas MacArthur was born.