Free Things to Do in Arkansas

A vacation can take a big toll on the family budget, but you don't have to stay home this summer if money is tight. Arkansas is full of free fun activities for the whole family. Add gas prices that are regularly below the national average and some of the lowest average hotel costs in the country, and Arkansas is one of the best family vacation values in the U.S.

Folk dancing and music pays tribute to the past in Mountain Home at the Stone County Courthouse Square. Professionals and amateurs perform every weekend when the weather turns warmer. If you play, bring your instrument and join in. Everyone is welcomed!

If you have a movie buff in your family, a trip to the Old Mill in North Little Rock is a great way to spend the afternoon. The mill was used in the opening scene of the Oscar winning movie "Gone With the Wind." It is set in a fully landscaped public park and is used for weddings, family reunions and professional portrait sessions. The Old Mill is open to the public for exploration and pictures.

Come see how Arkansas earned its nickname, "The Natural State" at the state nature centers. The Delta Rivers Nature Center in Pine Bluff features a 20,000 gallon aquarium loaded with fish from local ox-bow lakes and a bird's eye "tour" of the Delta in a mock crop duster. Other nature centers include the Crowley's Ridge Nature Center and the Arkansas River Valley Nature Center in Fort Smith.

The small town of Piggot played host to American legend Ernest Hemingway as he wrote parts of his classic novel "A Farewell to Arms." The Hemingway-Pfeiffer Museum and Educational Center includes the home where Hemingway stayed wile in Piggott. Free tours are conducted Monday through Saturday.

The Old State House Museum in Little Rock is the oldest surviving state capital building west of the Mississippi. See the Old Lady Baxter, the cannon still sitting on the front lawn from the Brooks-Baxter War and the collection of gowns from Arkansas's first ladies.

Just a short drive from Little Rock is Arkansas Post National Memorial. Arkansas Post was the first permanent European settlement on the lower Mississippi River. Before Little Rock was the state capital, the title was held by Arkansas Post. The grounds are open to the public free of charge. The foundations of the early town buildings are still visible. There is a small charge for museum entrance, but admission is free on the first Sunday of the Month.