EUREKA SPRINGS, ARKANSAS — San Francisco (CA) may have Lombard Street but it has been said by visitors who travel to Eureka Springs (AR) on motorcycles that the streets here are “Lombard Street” street after street after street. These curvy streets inside this Arkansas village of 2,000 and the winding Ozark highways that lead into this community offer the appeal that make motorcyclists want to literally “lean into” Eureka Springs.
The spiderweb of highways that blanket this pristine part of the United States’ Midwest region seems to have been made specifically for motorcycle travel, especially with a destination like Eureka Springs, one of America’s Dozen Distinctive Destinations according to the National Trust for Historic Preservation, at its center. Supporting this is a factoid mentioned in a recent article by Ron Keys in Motorcycle Mojo magazine, “Eureka Springs is our springboard for riding the curvy, exciting byways of the Ozarks.”
Motorcyclists, whether they are on two wheels or three, will use this Swiss-like village as their hub for discovering and riding such provocatively named routes as The Pig Trail, Ozark Highlands and the equally as challenging connecting routes to stretches of roads as Arkansas Scenic 7 Byway with its awesome panoramas. Along these routes are such notable mini-destinations as Buffalo River National Park, Branson (MO) and Bentonville (AR) with its newly opened, world-renowned Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art. All are within a day’s round-trip ride from Eureka Springs.
Jack Moyer, general manager of two of Eureka Springs’ historic hotels, the 1886 Crescent Hotel & Spa and the 1905 Basin Park Hotel, explains, “It seems as though the riders of today like to have a nice ‘home-away-from-home’ to enjoy each evening of their motorcycling vacation. They seem to want lodging in a comfortable, full-service hotel from which they can travel out, like spokes on a wheel, each morning to see new places, experience new adventures and all the while enjoying the curves of The Ozark. They enjoy returning each evening to a cold beverage, a nice restaurant, some evening attractions and a comfortable bed all in a destination community and all at an affordable price.”
“And those curves I mentioned are best described in that same recent Motorcycle Mojo article, ‘With more corners, closer together, than anywhere I’ve been, these are some of the greatest motorcycling roads on the continent.’ This is a pretty good endorsement and invitation to motorcycle enthusiasts to come and ‘lean into’ the extraordinary destination known as Eureka Springs, Arkansas,” added Moyer.
Eureka Springs has grown to embrace motorcycling visitors. Restaurants themed for “bikers”, retail shops carrying a full line of motorcycling accoutrements, hotels and motels with special features just for motorcyclists, and so on are now common place.
“At the Crescent for example, we have formulated special parking areas exclusively for motorcycles,” said Moyer. “To accommodate motorcycles and their owners even further, we have added to our websites pages speaking directly to the motorcycling travelers, designated a special on-property bike wash area including wipe-down towels, and have put in place increased security for our guests’ two-wheeled investments. And these type of accommodations are being or have already been added at many of Eureka Springs’ other hotels and motels.”
For more information on what Eureka Springs has to offer motorcyclists, one should go to eurekaspringsmotorcycleroutes.com. Lodging information and special motorcycle packages can be found at eurekaspringsonline.com .