Eureka Springs Arkansas Vacation Recommendations

Weather forecast at bottom of this page!

Ivan of the Ozarks

New! Cooking Section

Lodge Tested

Eureka!

Palace Bath House

Taking a Hack after dinner at Rouges

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Carry Nation National Home

The Girls of Henry Hollow

Yep that's me! A good Striper Guide will
get you into fish like these, and bigger!s
FIND A GUIDE

Found this Photo the other day, no it's not faked that's the only fish we caught that day

Hey plan your summer vacation NOW! People are calling me all the time and before you know it summer will be here again. -Ivan: 866-535-6305

In the off season you married folks can leave the kids with grand-maw for the weekend and the two of you stay in the lodge for only $299 ! Couples special.

Yummy!

Howdy!

My name is Ivan Thompson, and Arkansas is my adopted home state. I don't live there, yet, but I have been enjoying the area around Eureka Springs, especially Beaver Lake, for more than 20 years. Like Shangri-La the Ozarks are protected from encroaching civilization by the shear difficulty of getting there. There is no interstate that goes there and God willing there will never be one! Not that you have to hike in or ride a yak! Take the two-lane blacktop known as US 62 in Northern Arkansas, after many ups and downs and hair-pin curves and switchbacks you will come to Eureka Springs over in the North West corner of the state. Just out-side of the western part of town on US 62 you will come to highway 187 when you get there your not far from Paradise lost the little BIG cabin in the woods by the water Ursa Minor Lodge.

Connectivity at the Lodge...

Our philosophy; when you are at the lodge you should be 'getting-a-way" from all of that. Your connectivity should be with nature or perhaps your real inner self, your kids, or just get reacquainted with your "significant other". So... there is NO: cable or satellite TV or even broadcast, no Fox News to make you crazy or anything like that. d If you want to watch a movie on DVD or Tape you can rent one at the Exxon. There is FM Radio and you can listen to NPR or Gospel radio or a country station or two. I advise you to bring some CDs as we do have very nice music systems at the lodge, I-pod hookups OK. We don't have a phone and most cell phones don't work at the lodge. If you must see "your team" play their "big game" or you must check your email or O.M.G. do some work, you may want to consider the Angler's Grill / Coop dogs Hog Shack (no web site - right on HWY 62 on the way to Eureka on the right after the Exxon) - this place has been fixed up and they have cable or satellite TV (something, they got channels) and WiFi for your laptop. Sometimes live music to-boot! There are one or two beers there that even I will drink, wine too and the food is pretty good as far as I have sampled it and heard tell about.

We like to make our own music when we are at the lodge with family and friends check out this link:
Ivan's Lodge-made music videos

Eureka

Eureka is a world class attraction and Eureka has attracted a fine collection of eccentrics. Old hippies & millionaires have restored most all of the old Victorian houses; artists and craft people sell their fine and unusual wares up and down Spring and Main. So do plan to shop for fine art or Ozark handy crafts and I recommend you stop into Magee Jewelry for Art that you can wear, every piece is as unique as Eureka Springs itself. There are also many fine places to eat, for fine dinning I recommend you to my friend Smith (his first name) over at the Rouges Manor, for casual fare Stop in to Sparky's for lunch or dinner, you can't go wrong on either of those menus.

Most popular Italian restaurant in Eureka is Ermilios now I don't know if you can call ahead for reservations or what but it is always packed. Me I can make spag-bol myself.

Weddings!

Eureka Springs is a popular place for weddings and we do have a Honey Moon suite at Ursa Minor Lodge the Rose Suite and Thorncrown Chapple is just down the road on the way to Eureka Springs. Honk when you see those wedding cars while in Eureka and celebrate with the newlyweds!

Entertainment & Special Events!

Eureka is not Branson, (thankfully) but there are shows and attractions. There are two music shows in town Pine Mountain Jamboree & The Ozark Mountain Hoe-Down these shows are something like the old 'Porter Wagner Show', before Dolly Parton, plus the big one that people come from miles around to see the greatest story every told...
The Great Passion Play and we got one of them new-fangled creation museums up there too! Plus there are plenty of places to dance and hear music too, check the local free guide papers for current events because nearly every day in Eureka has some special event scheduled like the Volkswagen parade, Blues Fest, Opera Season, Arts Festival, and just plain old spontaneous fun happens all the time.

Beaver Lake

Beaver lake, the name does not sound like much. Perhaps that's good; if it had been named Grand Lake of the Ozarks people would be flocking there, as it is Beaver is pretty quiet on the weekdays, even with a holiday weekend in effect you can still find peace on the lake. Beaver has over 500 miles of shore line and when I look at it on the map I think it has a shape like a Chinese dragon. There are many natural wonders including waterfalls and beautiful vistas on Beaver lake as the mountains, hills, and limestone bluffs make up the shoreline of the lake.

Boat Rental / Marina & Lake Tour

Starkey Marina on Beaver Lake is the closest marina, they have power boat rentals for fishing, skiing, and cruising. See their web site starkeymarina.com and call early for reservations on boats. They also run a lake tour boat called the Belle of the Ozarks if you want to get a tour of the lake. The best boats for rent on the lake are to be had at the Lost Bridge Marina round the lake a bit over at Rodgers- all of their boats are less than two years old as they replace them after two seasons.

Fishing Major & Minor Golf

Fishing is very good on Beaver and you can eat as much of the fish as you want because the lake is clean and the fish taste great as they dine mostly on crawdads. The cat fish and the bass are especially good eating, as you may have guessed I am not much on catch and release. While I do throw a lot of fish back I am out there for a prized meal - fresh fish, self caught.

<<<<---- I like to put a little rub on my fish; fried, baked, or grilled it ads that special Ozark touch.

I say if you don't want to eat fish then, play golf. By the way if you want trout the White river just below the damn provides some world class trout fishing, just a few minutes down the road from Ursa Minor. BTW If you want GOLF we have that over at Holiday Island.

Ivan's Map of Beaver Lake

ABOUT: Other Lodging
Right on our road ~ County Road 120

My Mom has a place next door called Blue Water Lodge, it sleeps 6 and is available when it's not booked.

And at the end of the road is Beaver Lakefront Cabins they don't take kids, it's mostly for couples, and it is very nice too.

Holidays at the Lodge

Ozark Wildlife

marbled spider, Araneus marmoreus

Our new sign like above

Henry Hollow

Our part of Beaver lake is Henry Hollow, on the map our arm of the lake is the one that points just over the top of Eureka Springs right at little lake Leatherwood. Henry Hollow is deep and on our part it is not very wide and as such it is usually quite and perfect for swimming and canoeing. There is plenty to explore and if you want open water for skiing just head out of Henry Hollow it is an every expanding width for miles until you reach the 4 corners area around point 5 where the lake is rough and wild. See our map for details.

You want more Information...

If you have any questions about anything, but especially about booking Ursa Minor Lodge for your vacation please call me 1-886-535-6305 or send in an E-mail form click -->

We don't show the whole week's weather forecast cuz that far out it's never right!

Ivan's BBQ rub!

Look for my BBQ rub in the cabinet over the stove at Ursa Minor Lodge. Everyone loves it on Chicken, pork, and fish. My BBQ rub is low in salt and high in flavor - use it to "paint" your meat before it hits the grill for that great BBQ flavor. Don't worry it's not hot, just flavorful. Also sold at the Silly Chili on Spring Street downtown Eureka. Believe it or NOT!

Order Ivan's BBQ Rub online
BBQ RUB NOW

BETTER LOOKING THAN CROCKS!

Huarache Sandals - Custom made to your foot tracing starting @ $20!
A friend of mine is making these and they are perfect summer ware - better than a flip-flop as they will stay on your feet even in the lake!

Neo-primitive - that is the design is like a thousand years old but made of new materials.

All Ways Bare Foot Sandals (.com)
Custom Made Huarache Sandals

About Stink Bugs & How to Control them

What's bugging you? Is it Stink Bugs?

www.stinkbugservice.com

Here are the Google Ads - usually shows some more lodging and cabins - check 'em out, but none is as nice as UM..

Think about how great that Ozark watermelon is...

Other resources about Western Eureka / Beaver Lake NorthWestArkansasInfo.com