Need a Ozark adventure with your pups? There are so many dog friendly things in Eureka Springs Arkansas.
To be fair, ALL of northwest Arkansas seemed to be very dog friendly.
We spent a few nights in a tiny little cabin (complete with a hot tub) with our girl Lily. Everywhere we went was so welcoming.
While in Eureka Springs we did lots of wandering, checked out some of the famous spots like the chapel and crescent hotel, did some hiking, ate a few good meals, and enjoyed a few good drinks.
Here is a list of 6 dog friendly places to go and things to do in Eureka Springs.
1 – The Crescent Hotel
Haunted hotel AND pet friendly? YES PLEASE!
The Crescent Hotel is known as one of the most haunted hotels in North America.
I highly recommend a stop here. With our pup, we were able to wander around most of the hotel, hang out on the 4th floor balcony at Skybar Gourmet Pizza, and wander the backside of the hotel.
Outside in the back garden you’ll be able to hang out for hours playing life size board games, and see the dig site where bottles were found semi recently (back in 2019!) filled with tumors, cure elixirs, and more.
Take a guided ghost tour if you have the time!
2 – Downtown Eureka Springs
The entire downtown area is worth walking.
Most of the parking areas are paid, and you may need to download an app to pay for the spot you pick. It was a bit frustrating, but doable.
There are a lot of gimmicky tourist shops, but there are also some real gems. We’ll talk about this later, but definitely stop at BREWS!
If you can, take the “downtown n underground” tour. We didn’t know this was a thing when we went, and it looks like it would have been a cool way to see the area… and it’s less than $20 a person!
Downtown is full of spas, psychics, tattoo shops, and more shopping than you’ll know how to handle.
When I say this place is dog friendly… I mean it is DOG FRIENDLY. I walked into Earthbound (our local one in our mall closed long ago so I just wanted to wander) while Brandt stayed outside with our pup, Lily. One of the employees walked outside and demanded he bring Lily inside to shop with me hahaha.
If you’re into art, they have an opera, art galleries, and so much street art.
3- Thorncrown Chapel
Need an instagram shot? This is your spot!
I will start this out by saying I am not Christian, or religious at all. I love the architecture of some old churches, but typically stay away from the insides of them. That said, I felt very comfortable visiting this chapel.
It’s absolutely beautiful inside and out. There is over 6000sq ft of glass on this baby! Surrounded by the lush green forest, it really is a treat to look at.
They do have services on Sundays, but the chapel is open most of the time for you to walk through. While we were there, we shared the space with a handful of people carrying professional camera equipment. The views are stunning both outside and from inside.
4 – Pivot Rock
If you’re a fan of cool rocks and geography features, add Pivot Rock to your list. It’s a short (no really, it’s only around half a mile) hiking trail on close to 100 acres of private property. It’s even been featured in Ripley’s Believe it or Not.
It’s one of the many pet friendly attractions in Eureka Springs, allowing dogs on the trail.
Near the beginning of the hike you’ll come across a natural bridge, and out near the end is Pivot rock.
There is an entrance fee, but it’s a very easy hike for families of all fitness levels – even those with young kids.
You can easily spend an hour or two here just wandering around and enjoying a little bit of nature.
There’s a gift shop here too. At the time I went, there wasn’t much in it… but it looks like it’s constantly being worked on.
Taking a glance at their website, it looks like they’re building places to camp as well!
Is it worth the entry fee? Some people review it saying they don’t think so. We enjoyed ourselves and didn’t regret the purchase.
5 – Beer Stop
If you’re a craft beer snob, you have a lot of choices.
My favorite beer stop wasn’t a brewery. It was a place called Brews. Right in the historic downtown area means it’s very walkable. They had a bunch of great beers on tap, the service was absolutely amazing, and the space was great! They even have a gorgeous outdoor garden area.
Have someone in your group that isn’t a beer drinker? They brew coffee, too!!
We did try to hit the local breweries as we always do. Eureka Springs Brewing had such great reviews that we stopped there. It looks like now they’re only open til 7pm, but they were open later when we were there.
The space itself was lovely. They had a massive outdoor area. We were the only customers there. They were dog friendly, and we even met a raccoon who was hanging out nearby just watching us.
I wish I could say good things about the service, but we didn’t have good luck in that department. The guy behind the bar was almost upset he had to stop reading his book to pour us a beer. I got a flight, and when I asked him which beer was on it (the flight board said IPA but I wasn’t sure which he poured) he told he “I don’t know what it is. I’m just filling in.” Oh, ok. Thanks.
Maybe it was just because it started off bad, but we weren’t thrilled with the beers we had after that.
Unfortunately we were not able to stop at Gotahold Brewing because we didn’t realize that they close so flippin early and then weren’t open Wednesday at all. We’ll have to go back to stop there, because lots of people recommended it!
Side bar: If you want beer to take home with you, Alpine Liquor store had a great local selection.
6 – Loblolly Pines Adventure Camp
Now let’s talk accommodations!
We picked a small cabin at Loblolly Pines Adventure Camp.
This was our “splurge” for this road trip. The only nights we didn’t camp, because I definitely deserved a break halfway through the week with a relaxing hot tub.
You can stay in one of a handful of cabins that come complete with bathrooms and, uh, did I mention some have a hot tub? LOL. They also have airstreams, as well as tiny little aframe cabins!
It did rain off and on the entire time we were here (another reason I was a little glad that we had a cabin and weren’t camping), so we didn’t get to really take advantage of some of the other amenities they provide.
They have a big outdoor seating area with a community firepit if you’re feeling social, as well as a hiking trail that leads to a little waterfall. We started down it, but the rain picked back up so we couldn’t do the full trail.
They did charge a $25 pet fee, and we felt that was worth it. They provided us with an elevated pet bed, too! While we didn’t utilize it (our girl is a bit dog reactive so we need to be selective about off leash time), there are even off leash hours so your furry friend can explore lead free.
Did you love these 6 Dog Friendly Things in Eureka Springs Arkansas?
This stop was part of a week long road trip vacation that included the nearby National Park town of Hot Springs, and my new favorite state park in NW Arkansas Devil’s Den.
