Eureka Springs

[Junior]

My wife and I took a short trip to Eureka Springs today. Saw the Pine Mountain Theater show. It was pretty good, but, I am very biased, and for both of us, the show was a notch or two below the Branson shows. I do not know how the show is even staying open...only about 100 to 150 people there for the show. We did eat at a good family run Mexican place, quick service, good food. Did notice how run down and sad the old Fun Spot looks...it is for sale and currently not open. Weeds all grown up. Many businesses and much property for sale in that neck of the woods, it appears hard economic times have hit the little Switzerland of the Ozarks. Drove past the Opera of the Ozarks at Inspiration Point, and it appeared it was doing well. Many of the other restaurants did appear pretty busy, but we drove through at supper time. Did not have a chance to go through the downtown area. One nice sight as we left town...saw deer munching on the lawn of one of the motels on the main drag. Ah, for them, just another day in paradise!

[KBCraig]

I've tried, but I just can't be a fan of Eureka Springs. The city is beautiful, and unique, and is a great tourist attraction, but, still...

I guess it's because I got spooked there when I was about 8 or 10. Nothing happened, it was broad daylight, and there was no interaction with anyone. But I was walking down the sidewalk and all of a sudden I had a heavy sinking feeling of blackness come over me. It felt evil, and dark, and ugly.

It wasn't until 20 years later or so that I learned about spiritual discernment, and I'm convinced that I picked up on an actual spirit of evil at work in Eureka Springs. From that day on (and I can still picture that exact moment very freshly in my mind), I've never wanted to set foot in the town again. I passed through once on my way to SDC about 12 years ago, and I felt it all over again.

[DeweyBald]

I haven't really enjoyed Eureka Springs the last few times I was there.  There seems to be only two types of crowd there these days...bikers or gays.  I'm not bashing either one, but neither appeal to me, nor do I want to be around them.  The last time I was there was on a trip with my sibs and spouses.  We were actually treated pretty rude and looked down upon because we didn't have spikes in or noses or earrings in our eyebrows at this once place.  We had asked around about the local hot spot and we went.  I don't remember the name of the place (namely because it's not worth mentioning) ordered some drinks and our dinner and sat there FOREVER.  Finally, we left.  Never had our food brought to us, nor were we able to order more drinks.  We were probably there 45 minutes before we had enough and stood up and left.  I was so mad when I got home, I wrote an email to their chamber of commerce advising them that they no longer cater to who they NEED to have their focus on.  This was three years ago.  Maybe they should have listened!

Yep, the "little Switzerland of the Ozarks" is no more and that is a shame because 15 years ago it was a pretty neat change of pace from the Branson scene.  The Passion Play is still nice but you can have the rest of the town.

[History Buff]

We were there recently.  My wife went to the laundry and when she started for a dryer, a woman yelled to her husband to run to the machine before my wife could get to it.  "GEORGE!  GEORGE!"  She didn't even try to be subtle about it.  My wife and I try to be "slow to anger" so she figured she wasn't in a hurry to get the laundry done.

Another day, she went in to get a receipt for our gasoline, and while waiting in line, a woman actually pushed her out of the way to cut in line.  Unbelievable!

In one of the artsy stores downtown, the man behind the counter actually told us dirty jokes while we "shopped".

But I must say, the bikers we encountered were very nice to us - mostly middle-aged and older folks - and without them, I figure ES would die quickly.  It does make for a noisy experience having them around though.

You can pick up a hotel, gift shop, go-cart track, or just about any type of real estate in ES - there's plenty on the market.  Most of it's pretty run-down though.

The folks at Land-O-Nod were very nice to us, and I wholeheartedly recommend them if you are looking for a place to stay while you are there.  Ermilio's fed us some amazing Italian food, and it was reasonably priced.

[Junior]

I do like the town because it reminds me of Branson in the 1970s when I was a kid...love the historic downtown, and like the "strip" area with the two music shows and passion play. The narrow, winding roads with heavy forests surrounding, deep valleys, the fact you have to slow down to 10 or 15mph in spots...all pretty neat to me. ES even had a Fun Spot like Branson did. ES has long been known for the many "alternative" lifestyles...I'm not a big fan of some of those lifestyles because they seem self destructive to me, but, to each his own. Never have had any problem with bikers or the gay crowd, each trip we have made has been fine. However, there is still no place like Branson, and if I cannot make it to Branson, ES is a nice alternative for a day trip...it's only 45 minutes away from home, compaired to the 2 hour trip to Branson.

[Tony from Tulsa]

I've been wondering what everyone else thought about what's happening in Eureka Springs. We stopped there last week expecting to spend the night and better part of the next day to finish our vacation on our way home. We got there and we couldn't believe how run down and  vacant it looked. It has been three years since we visited. We did drive around the old part of downtown and the surrounding neighborhoods. It seemed like every third or fourth house was for sale. Most of the old bed and breakfasts that we loved were either vacant and for sale, or has changed names and owners. Downtown was basically dead. We had the run of the place. A few years ago, there was no place to park, trolleys ran full time and there were crowds in the shops. Now, we counted one trolley (with no passengers), we could've parked anywhere we wanted, and the there were about a dozen people walking around. It seems like every other shop is an art gallery. There were "rainbow" flags everywhere. To each his own, but I don't care to support that lifestyle monetarily, or in any other way. It seems that most of the former customers feel the same way, as none of them were there. I don't much care for the whole "metaphysical feel" that the new crowd has created there. Everywhere you look, it's either a holistic day spa, an "art" gallery, or a bar. To sum up, Eureka Springs is not what it used to be. It once was a thriving, restored Victorian town full of antiques, friendly shopping and attractions. Now it just looks like Woodstock, the day after. Needless to say, we didn't spend the night, or one dollar there. We drove home and spent the rest of the weekend in the swimming pool.

[Junior]

I recently saw in the local press that the ES deer population is so thick that city officials are thinking about trapping and relocating some deer. Some neighbors are resorting to shooting 'em when they walk across their yards. The deer have been getting into gardens and flower beds. I remember living in a Branson subdivision in the 70s/80s that had it's own herd of deer. We loved coming home at night or walking out on the porch in the morning and seeing a half dozen of em munching on our lawn. Can't tell you how many times I took a walk in the woods back then only to run into a dozen deer in a glade. I loved it. In Eureka, the problem is getting so bad with deer that they are getting hit by cars on city streets, and that's a mess.

[marolinesdad]

Our family spent a 7 days in ES (14 of us).  We rented a house and shopped in downtown.  Went to at least a dozen antique stores and had a blast.  We were there from June 14th thru the 21st and downtown was packed and we had a hard time finding a parking place.  Went to the Mud Cafe and the food was great but the Service was slow.  Over all we had a great time and will probably go back.

[Tony from Tulsa]

Hopefully, we just went there on an off day. There were still an awful lot of properties and businesses for sale. Its been long enough since our last visit that the place had changed quite a bit from the way I remembered it. Don't get me wrong, I LOVE Eureka Springs. I'm not a big fan of "change", though. It was sad to see some of our favorite haunts closed and overgrown. It just didn't seem like the town as I remember it, that's all.