Riverside Discovery Center

Fun, little zoo with some up-close views of tigers, bobcats, goats, bison, spider monkeys and more. Peacock families, swans and ducks roam freely and there are goats in the petting zoo that are so sweet! You can sit 5 ft away from the tiger exhibit- way better than the Denver zoo exhibit. The kids barn is fun and the playground is ample-sized. We visited on a windy Sunday in October and had the entire place to ourselves! The animals were excited to see us! The staff was nice and there were vending machines and a gift shop.

Lot of the animals were out. You can feed some of the animals there. The petting zoo and the splash pad are a big hit with the kids.

A wonderful little Zoo that my wife and I visited with our oldest daughter! It is an older zoo and very neat. Please consider donating and visiting them as they need some minor fixes and polishes throughout and so they can continue educating the public and continue to be a great family place to visit! They even have volunteer programs for kids and one of the programs includes the kids being able to work with and help present some of their animals!

We enjoyed our time here! Masks were required when you couldn't social distance, but I don't think anyone actually wore one. It was a nice small zoo, totally worth the drive from Cheyenne!

The kids loved feeding the lake animals, my son wanted to get more food to feed the fish. Definitely entertaining. The dino dig area was cute, shaded so huge plus!

The animals were mostly sleeping but we got there around 10:30 so I just figured it was the time of day. Our visit was about an hour and a half. Definitely a lot busier when we were leaving.

I have visited much larger zoos in big cities in Washington, California, and Utah but had a much more personal experience with some amazing animals at the Riverside Discovery Center! The Bobcat, Spider Monkeys, Grizzley bear, and Hyenas were sooo much closer that I have ever exoerienced. The staff was friendly and the zoo was a perfect size for how are 3-year-old granddaughter. Not so big that she got overwhelmed, and Just big enough to be very interesting to her! Will definitely visit again!

Neal Smith National Wildlife Refuge

The staff is very nice and very helpful! They are very smart about the Prairie and they Wildlife out there. They have trails to walk at different areas of Refuge.  Nice learning center and a road that takes you to see the Bison and elk. You can volunteer out there to help collect seeds.   Exhibits, a theater to show a brief movie and a gift shop. I enjoy it. You can go through the enclosure to see Bison and Elk.

Worth a walk on any of the trails. Amazed by the variety of flowers and plants. Great views. No Buffalo in view today but saw a couple on way out of the park. Wish the property was open but it is open on a limited schedule. I did not find the limited schedule on the internet. Also with the facility would have better maintenance. Lots of little stuff that should be done seems to be piling up.

Visited Iowa for a North American Prairie Conference and of all the prairie sites we checked out, this was our favorite. Beautiful walking trails and seeing bison and elk was a treat!

For about 20 years, we have seen the brown signs on the highway about this place. We finally stopped. We should have done it sooner. It was well worth the visit. This is a very nice, clean, professional, educational display of prairie life in Iowa . This would be good for any age, but especially school children. Very well done! The facilities are nice. They do have a gift shop.

This wildlife refuge is amazing.  We were able to see the bisons and elks roaming and eating. I recommend taking  the kiddos. They will love the sceneries and the wildlife.

Go to muenchies in altoona grab froyo foe the kiddos, head to scooters in altoona foe the carmelicious blenders and take a drive to Neal Smith Wildlife Refuge.

The kiddos can enjoy their menchies , you can enjoy the delicious and satisfying drink from scooters and all can enjoy a nice quiet ride thru the winding road and enjoy the beautiful sceneries.

The Wild Animal Sanctuary

This beat my expectations. We had family friends in town and were looking for things to do with a 13 year old. We decided on the Wild Animal Sanctuary and went at 4:30pm because we heard going closer to dusk you had the chance to hear the animals start to rawr - and we absolutely did (it sounded unreal). The prices are obviously more than going to a zoo but we all felt fine with that since the money went to a good cause. This sanctuary is helping rescue so many abused animals. Our group did bring binoculars but I saw so much without them I probably only used them 3 times - but I imagine this can differ by times of day, etc. Amazing place.

*Must have plan for binoculars* you will not make the most of your ticket/experience unless you either bring your own or pay a few bucks to rent them there. You’ll see SO much more with binoculars/monocular. I seriously cannot imagine doing this visit without magnification.

Please keep in mind this is not a zoo. The animals are peacefully living in their massive natural habitats. It’s an amazing experience to see so many animals now given the best life possible.

I’d recommend waiting until kids are at an age for a 2 hour attention span with animals farish away. They have awesome accessibility and offer motorized power chairs to rent for those who might struggle with the walk.

This sanctuary is breathtaking and heartwarming! There are hundreds of rescued  animals from lions, bears, tigers, wolves, leopards, jaguars, and horses and camels!
Every visit you get to see different animals being able to enjoy being free and living their lives in love and compassion.
This is great for family outings and outings with friends!
Plan to send a lot of time here as the gift shop and cafes are amazing as well!

Such an amazing place that rescues animals no matter the size or shape. The volunteers took the time to explain the animals situations and the care they get. Just an amazing experience. It taught my kids a lot about illegal animal trade and how bad conditions are for those animals. It was very educational. The animals have lots of room and are not in small cages.

The animal sanctuary is absolutely incredible. We will be life long members and contribute what we can to support the crucial work they’re doing. The stories of what these animals have been thru is absolutely heartbreaking.
Thank you, animal sanctuary, for your vision, compassion and love for all the animals in the world.

Rocky Mountain Arsenal National Wildlife Refuge

Very cool spot. There’s multiple hiking trails (all pretty easy and flat) with awesome views and it was very quiet and serene overall.

The wildlife drive was awesome to see some bison up close and personal as well! A must see experience, and all for free!

Beautiful place, so many great views and spots to stop and explore.
They have a drive through experience that you can stop and see all the different types of animals in their element. I recommend bringing binoculars, if you got them, it really helps maximize your exposure to the animals as they are sometimes quite far away. Saw many deer, different species of birds, and prairie dogs.
It’s such a vast area of land that we were getting nervous we weren’t gonna see any Buffalo but we got near the end of the 7 Mile drive and saw dozens of Buffalo huddled up in the fields/near the gate.
Worth the visit. If you are able to check out the visitor center as well I highly recommend. Cute lil gift shop and a wonderful deep dive into some history.

Beautiful place to see in Colorado! You can drive or hike the trails, miles, and miles of scenery. You can see a variety of different wildlife in the area. Free to get in and parking is free as well. You can also see the mountains in the background on less cloudy days. This is definitely a breath of fresh air, great for families and couples who love the wildlife and outdoors. Open from sun up to sun down. Animals are roaming day and night and you will see some! Bison take a while to get to, they are towards the end of the drive. There's still plenty to see beforehand as well as nice-sized lakes! Would recommend checking this out if you like wildlife.

I drove through here twice while I was in the area. Once mid-morning and saw a lot of prairie dogs and then once late afternoon and saw a few bison plus prairie dogs. I went in early September but it was hot both days so I suspect the bulk of the wildlife was staying cool in the shade somewhere.  The scenery is also worth the drive through even if you see no wildlife. It’s very peaceful.

Incredible experience, highly recommend! It's free, can't beat the price. Drive right through for 30ish minutes but don't sleep on the prairie dogs.

I'm at a 50% rate of seeing a full bison herd going through. What an incredible experience.

This is an awesome choice if you're picking up friends from the airport and want to do a quick tourist detour.

The ferret exhibit is open, definitely worth a check. Can't recommend this place highly enough.

Pioneer Ridge

Perfect little horse campground. Nice trails. Large level camping sites. More challenging trail is the yellow trail, all others trails are suitable for beginners on up. The new horse she
Enter is great but needs water run to it. You will have to bring your own or fill buckets from your campsite. There are cabins with electric that you can also rent. Really loved our weekend here.

My husband & I visited Pioneer Ridge for their Halloween Hike. The event was well organized & the children we brought loved it.  The area has wonderful facilities for lots of different activities.  A lovely area to visit for an afternoon.  The volunteers are very good & made the visit extra special.

Clean & beautiful park. Extremely  friendly staff. Quiet camping.  Horse trails & camping.

Giving 3.5 stars
We rented the Burr Oak cabin at Pioneer Ridge in Wapello county for a family girls gathering. It is a spacious cabin with nice amenities. The only complaint that we have is that there were many live and dead bugs, they appear to be cockroaches of some sort.... We are hoping that none of them are going to travel home with us, and would suggest if they don't already to hire an exterminator.

Loved the trails, some difficult, some real easy! Very nice picnic area, great time!

Dickerson Park Zoo

My family lives the zoo! It’s the perfect distance for my young kids and I to walk from opening until their naps or for my whole family to spend time together at. We’re pass holders so we never have to worry about how long or short a trip is.

Giraffe feeding has been a hit with my kids and they love the petting zoo. The train ride is simple, but my kids love it. The ride is the perfect wind down at the end of our visits (Paul, the Tuesday/Thursday driver is the BEST!)

Since the exhibits are small and close together, you can see a LOT in a short time. Which is great for my kids’ tiny attention span. The signage at exhibits is wonderful too.

Every staff member I’ve ever interacted with is kind and loves to share about whatever animal is nearby. They do animal encounters as well where you can Q&A with zookeepers.

The playground equipment is pretty central which is great for a pit stop. The only down side is that it’s most appropriate for ages 5-12 (and there are a LOT of younger kids that visit during the mornings). My kids have always found things to do on the equipment that’s safe, but I do wish it had more for their age group.

This is a nice zoo, but the day we decided to make this trip, it was way too hot.  We only stayed for about an hour.  I was thankful they had a splash pad.  If you are coming in the summer, I highly recommend bringing clothes for the kids to get wet in.  The people working at the front gate were not that friendly, and while my Tulsa zoo membership shows we get in this zoo for free, they said I only got 50% off.  No big deal,  I just thought they could be more friendly about it.  All other staff we encountered were very friendly, including the girl selling food for the giraffes.  Overall this is a nice little zoo.  One thing I didn't understand is why they didn't have any maps for the zoo.  It was very difficult to find what we wanted to see without a map.

The staff was very helpful and friendly. This was a pre planed trip so to show up and have to start it out sitting out a storm. It remained gloomy most of the time there that I feel made the animals depressed. None the less, with rain and sun, it was a great trip. Part of the Zoo was closed due to renovations which was a bummer. There wasn't a whole lot of people so it was over crowded and made for a nice day. Out side of the main food area by the restrooms it was a bummer that the food stands were closed. They have all kinds of vending machines spread throughout it, ice cream vending machines and drinks where the ones I seen the most. It's $4 for a soda from the vending machines and the food court wasn't much better. They have a nice deck with table and chairs for customers to sit and eat right next to a playground for the kids to enjoy while the parents take a break, it's a nice little playground too, so cute. The bathrooms by the food court are decent for the amount of use they get, from the looks of it staff keeps up with the bathrooms pretty well. All kinds of cute animal statues all over the place along with giant paintings of butterfly wings and Peacock that you can stand in front of, definitely fun for the kids as well, my 7 yr old stopped at every single one for pictures. Over all, it was great fun, the animals look in great shape, the petting zoo was a blast, staff was awesome and I couldn't of asked for a better day thanks to how friendly and fun this Zoo is. I'll definitely be going back on a day that it's not storming so the animals don't seem so bummed.

Great zoo, lots of animals, and chances to interact with them. They have a petting zoo, splash pad, and train tour inside. We loved getting to feed the giraffes and seeing the giant 85 year old tortoise. The snake exhibit was our daughters favorite,  they had a corn snake out that she got to pet. They have maps available at the front, and easy to read signs all over the zoo. The food and drink machines only take single dollar bills, so take plenty of ones. They also have a restaurant inside if you want to get a meal. They get bonus points for the cold water fountain and bottle station at the front. So bring a bottle with you, it is a lot of walking.

I do enjoy this zoo. Week days aren't over crowded.  Good variety of animals and not so big you can't see them all in one visit. Just like any zoo anything else you buy is overly priced $12.50 for 2 Chicken strips and some fries but overall a decent zoo.

Bentonville City Square

Most colorful location to visit in Arkansas during Christmas/Holiday timing. The pictures dont do justice and you have to experience while being there. Lot of food trucks,cafe are open in evening and the place is lively. Kids and family will have good time while being in here. Have an awesome visit.

I go for BIG Sugar/gravel biking. The area is absolutely gorgeous and clean even with a big event in the square.. If u like bikes or MTB u will love this little area. Lots of different food options and cool museums as well. As far as I know it's dog friendly, I saw lots of folks with their dogs at the event.

Sad that they removed the historical statue, since, as George Santayana stated, "those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it." But, the new flower features around the fountain are gorgeous. The ice cream shop is closed, as is the Walmart museum, but there is a Spark Cafe food truck selling ice cream. The bands playing sound great and the atmosphere is friendly. Lovely area worth visiting.

I love Bentonville City square. There are always lots of people out. It's a great atmosphere with lots of great energy. We visited the farmer's market Saturday morning and came back for dinner that evening.

The city puts considerable effort into bringing the square to life with regular events and maintaining it thru the season.

City Park Fitness Center

Great classes. Trainer are very knowledgeable and can help no matter your age. Highly recommend.

The pool and spa facilities are clean and warm.
Pool classes are fun

All the staff are helpful and nice.

Massage therapists are All really good.
Check it out.

I had an absolutely amazing experience at this gym! From the moment I walked in, I was blown away by the friendly and helpful staff who made me feel right at home. The classes offered were fantastic, with a wide variety of options that catered to all fitness levels and interests. The instructors were knowledgeable, engaging, and passionate about their work, which made the workouts both challenging and enjoyable. Overall, I highly recommend this gym to anyone looking for a top-notch fitness experience with excellent facilities, staff, and classes.

Great place for family sports and activities. Only problem I saw was the grass was soooo wet. Well organized, well supported by friendly staff.

I love how big this gym is and the variety of equipment available. I dont really ever feel like it is too packed.

Lots of room and equipment for working out, and great personal trainers available for individual or package instruction. Lots of classes and activities available to sign up for, at reasonable prices. The staff is very friendly, knowledgeable and professional!

Eureka Springs Downtown

You can come many times and so find something new every time. Try Bubba's BBQ if you want some of the best around. There are so many unique shops and restaurants to check out. Next trip, I will do things I didn't do this time around.

Fun to look in all shops. Cat House Bar a must if you like drinks. Public restrooms along the way in several places. Live music  in little stage area. Several street performers playing instruments also. Beautiful place.

One of my favorite place in Arkansas.. very cute and lively downtown… kids friendly pet friendly and also there are clean public toilets..
You can just walk around shop some ethnic and unique stuff from the stores, get yourself a massage and tarot reading if you like.. eat ice cream enjoy the live music on weekends. Theater shows if you enjoy. There are also bus tours available.
Oh yes the fall season is beautiful there. ☺️

It was wonderful the paseo to the cross and the huge statue of Jesus  and the church. Family time to walk and meditate about eternity…and to open a conversation with God the Father and Creatir!.
But downtown was not pleasant AT ALL. I felt a heavy dark spirits … so much witchcraft, new age stuff not enjoyable at all. Though a good coffee shop.

There's plenty to look at downtown. It's filled with shops and food.

Shops: My favorite was east by west with the working bunnies. Ron was so awesome and his love for his bunnies shines. There are also boutiques, candy, coffee, soap, nuts, and more!

Parking: must pay to park using an app during certain times (I think til 5pm). Only $5 for 3 hours which was perfect for us.

Time: for us to casually walk back and forth and up & down stairs to different sections took 3 hours.

Tips: be aware that the downtown area is on hills. It's not just one road but multiple that run parallel.

Square Gardens

Very nice Christmas light display. Beautiful!! Enjoyed our time there last evening with my son and his family.

Fayetteville, Arkansas - a little cool outside this time of year (Nov 1), some plants already frost damaged, but a very nice square, shops, already beautifully being beautifully decorated for Christmas, bernadette found great pizza place for a snack, and then also an excellent Italian place, and many things to do!  Parking gets a tiny crowded but worth exploring!

We like all the lights and we had some good Coco.

Visited the farmers market on Saturday with items ranging from the  freshest vegetables and strawberries to artisan soaps and origami earrings. The gardens have bloomed into beautiful starbursts of color. Well worth the visit.

We were downtown to eat at a local restaurant and just happened to be there on the opening day of the Lights of the Ozarks.

It really was a beautiful display!  There were food trucks set up and the entire square was lively and buzzing with excitement.

It was very cold at the time so we didn’t stay long, but it really is a pretty place to go see if you are in the area between November 18, 2022 - January 1, 2023.

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