Happy Friday, friend! I am coming to you today from outside of the contiguous United States – Keith and I are on vacation with our friends Rachael and Travis to a place that’s been on my bucket list for pretty much my whole life. I’ll be sharing a few snippets about this trip in next week’s blog post, but (of course!) I’ll also do a massive recap/travel journal post in a month or so. Leave a comment below if you have a guess as to where I am!
Something that you may not know about me is that I absolutely love hosting friends and family from out of state in my home. Curating an itinerary that I know each specific guest will love that is full of good food, good times, and local businesses that can only be found here in Northwest Arkansas is one of my love languages. So today I am going to share with you what I planned for some friends who came to visit me a few weekends ago from my home state of Texas, along with a major list of some of my favorite things to do and places to eat in NWA. Feel free to steal my list and go show these local businesses some love!
Itinerary
Friday
My friends were lucky enough to be able to be off work on Friday and Monday, which is always nice since the drive from where they live in Texas is about six hours. They arrived on Friday afternoon around 3:00 pm, which gave them time to settle in before we headed out to explore the small town of Gentry where I live.
Downtown Gentry was almost completely dead when we first moved here two years ago, but since then it has actually picked up quite a bit and is definitely worth checking out if you have a free couple of hours in this neck of the woods. A few of the shops are only open on certain days of the week, so if you want to hit as many open places as possible, I recommend visiting on a Thursday, Friday, or Saturday.
First we went into Natural State Gallery which features art created by local artists. There’s just something about browsing an art gallery that puts me in a good mood. Next, we went across the street to The Pickin’ Chicken, a flea market antique store that recently moved to that location. After that, we wandered down the street to Falyn’s Flowers and Gifts. I had decided a few weeks prior that my new Friday tradition would be to create a flower arrangement for my home for the weekend, and Falyn’s is perfect because I can walk right into their flower cooler and choose my own stems. Our last stop was at The Chicken Coop, another flea market antique store near downtown Gentry.
I am not sure why, but cooking for friends is way more fun than cooking for just myself and Keith. Maybe it’s the primal act of sharing food with my tribe, but whatever the reason is, it brings me so much joy. That evening we had burritos with my signature homemade tortillas (my mom’s recipe) and it was delicious.
Saturday
One of our favorite weekend walks is Applegate Trail at Coler Mountain Bike Preserve in Bentonville. We take the paved trail all the way to Airship Coffee at Coler. If the line isn’t too long, we’ll stay for a drink before heading back to the car, but since this weekend was the first kind of cooler weekend of the Fall season, the place was packed! But the walk is so nice that I honestly wasn’t even mad about not getting a nice hot cup of chai tea latte.
Instead, we opted to go to downtown Rogers and had coffee at Iron Horse Coffee Company instead. Since I don’t actually drink coffee, I can’t speak to how it tasted, but my spiced chai tea latte with oat milk and double chocolate muffin were phenomenal.
After wandering through the Rogers Farmers Market and popping into Onyx Coffee Lab to buy a bag of coffee beans for a friend who lives out of state (he fell in love with Onyx coffee after trying it in a coffee of the month subscription), we decided to head back to Bentonville to go to Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art. Now, if you aren’t from Northwest Arkansas (or even if you are), it may seem like we went back and forth between Bentonville and Rogers an unnecessary amount of times. But those two towns have basically merged into one big town at this point; even I have trouble keeping track of which town I’m in, and I’ve lived here seven years.
Leaving Crystal Bridges, we hit up Wright’s Barbeque in Rogers. I had never been there before, and I was a little skeptical that I would find anything to eat since I’m a vegetarian. But I was blown away by the food there! All the sides I tasted were so good – even the potato salad, and I almost never like potato salads from restaurants. My favorites were the mashed potatoes and the potato salad with dill, and the macaroni and cheese was also very good. And don’t even get me started on the banana pudding, it was delicious!
When old friends come to town, it honestly doesn’t even matter what we’re doing – lounging around the house and catching up can be just as fun (or more so) than going out and doing activities all day. And that’s exactly what we did that afternoon, just sat around and talked. It was glorious.
Once we’d recovered our appetites after stuffing ourselves at Wright’s, we headed to Siloam Springs for supper at Fratelli’s Wood-Fired Pizzeria – a.k.a. the closest pizza to the pizza I ate in Italy that I’ve tasted in the States. And of course we couldn’t pass up the opportunity to get ice cream from our favorite ice cream shop in downtown Siloam, Pure Joy Ice Cream.
Like I said, good food and good times only. But the weekend was only half over.
Sunday
I finally got to check a pretty big thing off my bucket list: skydiving! These friends and I had planned to go skydiving in Texas back in March, but it got canceled at the last minute because of the weather. We tried to reschedule, but life got in the way, and they went without me in June. But this weekend the stars finally aligned and I got to go with my friend. It was incredible.
Although I’m not scared of heights, I am usually anxious about new activities. From the time I got into the plane I could feel my anxiety rising, but the second I put my foot out the door onto the step, I felt completely calm and peaceful. And then at once chaotic with the wind in my face as we free fell, but I never felt scared the whole way down. It was such a cool experience, one I hope to repeat someday, and if it’s something that you’ve been thinking about doing, I definitely think you should go for it! We went with Skydive Fayetteville, and they were awesome.
That afternoon we hiked around Devil’s Den State Park, one of my favorites, and then had supper at home. It was such a sweet way to wind down such a fun weekend with friends.
Monday
Of course, we couldn’t go a whole weekend without hitting up my all-time favorite coffee shop in Siloam Springs, Pour Jons. Aside from roasting their own coffee – which I’ve heard is delicious, and serving the best spiced chai latte I’ve ever tasted, they make their own bagels. Need I say more?
Northwest Arkansas Favorites
Hitting up all of our favorite places in one weekend is impossible, so I’ve compiled a list of a few of my other favorite places in Northwest Arkansas, in case you’re in town and wondering where to go!
Bentonville/Rogers
Coffee Shops
Onyx Rogers
I’ve still never actually had a drink from there, but the shop itself is so beautiful inside!
Airship @ Coler Bentonville
The whole experience of going to a coffee shop that is only accessible by walking or biking is so fun, and the trail is so beautiful as it winds beside and over a branch of McKisic creek.
Restaurants
Sushi House
It is truly a unique experience to dine here, and I love being able to customize different sushi rolls (again, vegetarian here!).
Tokyo House
The lunch buffet is my favorite because they have more vegetarian sushi options.
Saffron Indian Cuisine Bar & Grill
Probably my favorite restaurant in Northwest Arkansas, it’s definitely my favorite Indian food in the area, and we’ve tried several places.
Crepes Paulette
I usually plan a visit to Crepes Paulette after walking the Coler trails, but be warned that the parking lot is very small here. They have a second location in Fayetteville which I believe has a larger parking lot – I haven’t visited that location yet!
Meld kitchen + sandwich bar
They serve a little bit of everything, and it’s all so good! They are only open for lunch through supper on weekdays.
Activities
Coler Trails
There are several walking trail options besides the Applegate Trail, and of course miles of mountain biking trails if you’re into that.
Bentonville Farmers Market
Saturday mornings from April through October on the Bentonville square.
Rogers Farmers Market
Saturday mornings from May through October across the street from Onyx Coffee Lab.
Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art
Free admission to view most galleries, it also hosts traveling exhibitions that cost a small fee to view. On the campus there is a Frank Lloyd Wright house that you can pay to take an audio tour of, and there are miles of outdoor walking trails to enjoy outdoor art installations and nature – I’ve even seen a deer while walking there!
Neal Family Farm
Pick your own blackberries and blueberries during the season. I took my parents there when they were visiting over the summer, and it was so fun! They’re only open certain evenings in the summer, and they have a wall of trees on the west side of the field that shade the field from the setting sun. It’s very pleasant.
Fayetteville
Restaurants
Hammontrees
A restaurant that specializes in grilled cheese sandwiches? Say less. They also have a vegetarian hot dog that is pretty good.
Mockingbird Kitchen
Locally sourced, seasonal – and not to mention delicious, food is always a go-to for me.
Activities
Fayetteville Farmer’s Market
Saturday mornings from April through September on the Fayetteville Square.
Devil’s Den State Park
A beautiful hilly state park with a winding creek, dam, and pond, as well as several miles of hiking and mountain biking trails with beautiful overlooks.
Antiquing
My favorites are Fayetteville Funky Flea Market, Cheap Thrills, and 410 Vintage Market.
Siloam Springs
Coffee Shops
Pour Jons
Of course, my favorite coffee shop!
Restaurants
Fratelli’s Wood-Fired Pizzeria
We already talked about the pizza, but they also serve gelato there that is really good.
So Chill Eat
I love Thai food, and this place never disappoints! My favorites are the vegetable egg rolls, fried rice, and ramen.
The Park House Kitchen + Bar
Brunch on the weekends is great here, as well as dinner anytime!
Pure Joy
House made ice cream with seasonal flavors, as well as house made toppings. My favorite flavors are the lavender chocolate chip and happy goat, but honestly every flavor I’ve ever tasted from there is so good!
Activities
WOKA Trail
This trail is newer to the area, but it is lovely to walk through the nature preserve, and if you have several hours you can walk the whole trail that stretches from Siloam Springs to the WOKA White Water Park on the Illinois River in Oklahoma.
Natural Falls State Park
This is cheating a little bit, but it’s so close to Siloam Springs that even though it’s just across the state line in Oklahoma, I still feel like it’s “in” Siloam Springs. It’s a lovely little park with a waterfall, hiking trails, and beautiful scenery.
Antiquing
My favorites are 2 Gals Junk, Burlap & Lace, and Sassafras Antiques.
Floating the Illinois River
This is probably one of my favorite activities during the summer, and one of the first things my husband Keith took me to do when we first started dating and I came to visit him here. You can bring your own kayak or rent one from one of the rental places along the river.
Gentry
Coffee Shops
Asami
This coffee shop has been in town for about a year if I’m not mistaken, but I only recently was able to get a drink there, and it was delicious (my go-to order is spiced chai, of course!).
Coffee House
My husband says the coffee here is really good, and they also have pastries that I haven’t tried yet but that look delicious.
Restaurants
The Wooden Spoon
Home cooked food + a cozy and warm environment + some of the best pie I’ve ever tasted. It’s only open for lunch on weekdays, and supper on Fridays, so it’s definitely somewhere you have to know about to be able to go.
Honeywheat Bakery
I love their quiche, which is only sold on Saturday mornings, and all of the cookies and pastries I’ve had from there are so delicious!
Activities
Splash Pad
My nieces love this spot, so it’s always fun to take them there during the summer months.
Gentry Library
A beautiful historical building that has been fully restored creates a lovely space to read. Libraries are already some of my favorite places to visit, but this one is especially beautiful. My youngest niece loves the children’s area there, and actually gets upset if someone takes her to the “wrong” library.
Antiquing
My favorite spots are The Chicken Coop, The Pickin’ Chicken Mercantile, and KDT Vintage Resale.
I hope you’ve enjoyed this blog post about all of my favorite places in the northwest corner of Arkansas! Even people who live in this area sometimes aren’t as familiar with some of the smaller towns I’ve included like Gentry and Siloam Springs. I’m always looking for new restaurants and hikes, so if you’re from here and have a favorite place of your own, I’d love it if you left me a comment so I can check it out!
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