One of the underrated perks of living in Madison County is what is nearby. Tucked into the Ozarks just east of the booming northwest Arkansas metro and within reach of some of the state's natural wonders, the county makes an ideal base for day trips. Here are five worth putting on the calendar, all within about an hour or so of Huntsville.
The Buffalo was the first federally designated National River in the United States, and its upper stretches are within easy reach of Madison County. Think towering bluffs, clear water, waterfalls, and some of the best float trips and hiking in the country. The Ponca and Boxley Valley area is also home to a reintroduced elk herd; on a fall evening you can often watch them grazing in the valley fields. Whether you go to paddle, hike, or just take in the scenery, the Buffalo is a national treasure on Madison County's doorstep.
About an hour north, Eureka Springs is one of the most distinctive towns in Arkansas: a whole Victorian resort village built into the steep Ozark hillsides, with winding streets, historic hotels, art galleries, and natural springs. The entire downtown is on the National Register of Historic Places. It makes a perfect day trip for shopping, dining, history, and simply wandering a town that looks like nowhere else in the state.
West of the county, the Fayetteville-Springdale-Rogers-Bentonville corridor offers big-city amenities in an Ozark setting. The headliner for many visitors is Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art in Bentonville, a world-class art museum with free general admission, set in a beautiful wooded ravine. Add in the University of Arkansas in Fayetteville, excellent restaurants, and miles of mountain-biking trails, and the metro makes for an easy and varied day out.
Just over the county line on War Eagle Creek, the historic War Eagle Mill is a working water-powered grist mill, a restaurant, and the site of one of the oldest and largest craft fairs in the central United States. It is a short, scenic drive from Huntsville, and a visit pairs naturally with a loop through the pretty creek country around Hindsville. Time it for the spring or fall craft fair and you will see the area at its liveliest.
For a day on the water, Beaver Lake, west of the county, offers nearly five hundred miles of Ozark shoreline, clear water, marinas, swimming, fishing, and boating. It is a favorite summer escape for the whole region, and an easy drive from Madison County for a day of cooling off.
The beauty of all these trips is that you get to come home to Madison County at the end of the day — to the quiet, the green, and the slower pace that the bigger destinations cannot offer. Use the county as your base, and the best of the Ozarks is yours for the driving.
Madison County sits in the heart of the Arkansas Ozarks, making it one of the best-kept secrets for outdoor enthusiasts in the mid-South. From floating the Kings River to hiking the Ozark Highlands Trail, there's no shortage of ways to enjoy the natural beauty here.
Read more →Huntsville's small downtown district has more to offer than you might expect. Local hardware stores, family-owned diners, farm supply shops, and specialty retailers have served Madison County for generations. Here's where to start.
Read more →Madison County has seen steady growth from families and retirees looking for a quieter life within reach of Northwest Arkansas. Whether you're coming from Fayetteville or from out of state, here's what locals wish they'd known before moving to the county.
Read more →Every October, War Eagle Mill hosts one of Arkansas's most beloved craft fairs, drawing tens of thousands of visitors to the rolling hills near Hindsville. The mill itself — still grinding grain the old-fashioned way — is worth a visit any time of year.
Read more →Madison County was carved out of the Ozark wilderness in 1836, the same year settlers from Alabama gave both the county and its seat their names. Here is the long story of how this corner of northwest Arkansas came to be.
Read more →Huntsville is the county seat and the place where Madison County does its business. Here is what to know about the town at the center of it all, from the courthouse square to where to grab lunch.
Read more →The Kings River rises in the hills of southern Madison County and runs clear and wild toward Table Rock Lake. For paddlers and anglers, it is one of the great underrated rivers of the Arkansas Ozarks. Here is how to enjoy it.
Read more →Madison County is more than Huntsville. Scattered through its hills and river valleys are small communities with their own histories and characters: Kingston, Combs, Wesley, Hindsville, St. Paul, and more. Here is a tour.
Read more →Just five miles north of Huntsville, Withrow Springs State Park packs camping, hiking, swimming, and a put-in for floating War Eagle Creek into 786 acres of Ozark beauty. Here is everything to know before you go.
Read more →Madison County and the surrounding Ozark National Forest are some of the best hunting country in Arkansas, with deer, turkey, small game, and a growing bear population. Here is an orientation for hunters.
Read more →Before consolidation, nearly every Madison County community had its own school. Many of those buildings are gone now, but their stories are not. This is a living history of the county's one-room and small schools.
Read more →From spring craft fairs to the county fair to fall color and the holidays, Madison County keeps a full calendar of seasonal traditions. Here is what happens through the year, season by season.
Read more →He was born in a cabin near Combs and rose to become one of the most prominent and most debated governors in Arkansas history. The story of Orval Faubus begins right here in Madison County.
Read more →Every Ozark community has its haunted houses, its strange lights, and its tales told around the fire. Madison County is no exception. This is a gathering place for the county's legends, lore, and ghost stories.
Read more →On a cold January morning in 1863, nine men were marched from a Huntsville guardhouse to a field northeast of town and shot. The Huntsville Massacre is one of the most tragic episodes in Madison County's Civil War history, and it should not be forgotten.
Read more →When Arkansas voted to leave the Union in 1861, one delegate cast the lone dissenting vote: Isaac Murphy of Huntsville. He later became the first governor of Arkansas's reunified state government. It remains one of the most notable chapters in Madison County's history.
Read more →Just south of Madison County, Arkansas Highway 23 corkscrews through the Boston Mountains as the Pig Trail Scenic Byway — one of the great motorcycle and leaf-peeping drives in the Ozarks. Here is what to know before you go.
Read more →Madison County is full of families who have been here for generations. If yours is one of them — or if you are tracing an ancestor who passed through — here is where to begin digging into your county roots.
Read more →One of the premier long-distance footpaths in the mid-South runs through the rugged country just south of Madison County. Whether you want a short day hike or a serious backpacking trip, the Ozark Highlands Trail is within easy reach.
Read more →Every autumn the Ozark hardwoods of Madison County put on a show. Here is when the color usually peaks, where to see it at its best, and how to plan a leaf-peeping outing in the heart of the Arkansas Ozarks.
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