Popular vacation attractions that don’t cost a penny to see
Popular vacation attractions that don’t cost a penny to see
Arkansans of ten travel for summer vacat i ons , but airline fees, hotel costs and other expenses can pile up fast, draining fun (along with funds) from the time we have off from work. But what if there were an easy way to cut some of those costs?
If you’re planning a road trip for this year’s holiday, and you’re one of the hundreds of thousands of Arkansans who enjoy hunting, fishing, shooting and wildlife, you can save money by visiting some of the unique attractions in Arkansas and other popular vacation destinations that are described in the paragraphs that follow. When you arrive at these funfilled destinations, you won’t have to pay a penny to get in. They’re free — really free. And each offers plenty of enjoyable attractions for visitors young and old.
GREERS FERRY NATIONAL FISH HATCHERY
Since 1965, the Greers Ferry National Fish Hatchery in Heber Springs has been producing rainbow and brook trout — around 1 million annually — for stocking public fishing waters in Arkansas and Oklahoma. The facility below Greers Ferry Dam is open for self-guided tours from 7 a.m. to 3 p.m. every day except Thanksgiving and Christmas, and in a world where nearly everything costs something, a visit here is absolutely free. Inside the hatchery building, you can see tanks crowded with dark, swirling schools of brilliantly colored juvenile fish — thousands upon thousands of them. The biggest surprise awaits you outdoors, however, in the long concrete raceways, where trout are fed and cared for until they reach 9-inch stocking size. Some of the bigger trout you’ll see are as long as a person’s leg! We can only dream what it must be like to catch a fish like that. ((501) 362-3615, www.fws. gov/greersferry)
NORFORK NATIONAL FISH HATCHERY
Just east of Mountain Home, the Norfork National Fish Hatchery, the largest hatchery in the national-fish-hatchery system, also offers tours of facilities that produce millions of rainbow, brown and cutthroat trout for Ozark streams. Extra fun is available for youths younger than 16 and mobility-impaired anglers who can try their luck at catching and releasing trophy trout from the waters of adjacent Dry Run Creek. ((870) 499-5255; www.fws. gov/norfork)
MUSEUM OF THE ARKANSAS GRAND PRAIRIE
The Museum of the Arkansas Grand Prairie in Stuttgart, The Rice and Duck Capital of the World, has an indoor diorama where visitors experience the lights and sounds of an “Early Morning Duck Hunt on the Grand Prairie.” Artifacts include a one-of-a-kind “Coat of Many Feathers,” 500 duck calls, an antique decoy collection, historic photographs and more. ((870) 673-7001, www. grandprairiemuseum.org)
NATIONAL FIREARMS MUSEUM
Part of the National Rifle Association Headquarters in Fairfax, Virginia, the National Firearms Museum showcases more than 2,000 firearms sure to be of interest to hunters, compet it ive shooters, gun collectors and historians. ((703) 267-1600; www.nramuseum.org)
CORE SOUND WATERFOWL MUSEUM & HERITAGE CENTER
This facility at Harker’s Island, Nor th Carolina, preserves the history of the hunters, fishermen, boat builders and decoy carvers of the Outer Banks area. Decoy collections and waterfowl art are among the exhibits. A donation of $5 is suggested for admission but is not required. ((252) 728-1500; www.coresound.com)
KEY UNDERWOOD COON DOG MEMORIAL GRAVEYARD
When his favorite coon dog, Troop, died in 1937, Alabama coon hunter Key Underwood of Tuscumbia made Troop a headstone and buried him in the Freedom Hills. Before long, Underwood’s friends wanted to bury their coonhounds beside Troop. Underwood’s only stipulation was that they be respected coonhounds and properly interred. Today, more than 185 coonhounds are buried in the hallowed ground of Key Underwood’s Coon Dog Memorial Park, 7 miles west of Tuscumbia, Alabama. ((256) 412-5970, www.coondogcemetery.com)
J.M. DAVIS ARMS & HISTORICAL MUSEUM
The 40,000-square-foot J.M. Davis Arms & Historical Museum in Claremore, Oklahoma, houses more than 30,000 collectible firearms, the world’s largest private collection, plus hundreds of knives and swords as well. This is a mustsee attraction for anyone interested in gun history. ((918) 341-5707, www.facebook.com/ pg/JM-Davis-Arms-HistoricalMuseum-105595059479084/ about)
NATIONAL BIRD DOG MUSEUM
The National Bird Dog Museum in Grand Junction, Tennessee, is a repository of information, art, photography and memorabilia reflecting a variety of pointing dog and retriever breeds, hunting, fieldtrial activities and shooting sports. Among portraits and exhibits contained in the museum, you will find history’s most famous bird dogs represented. Many works of notable sporting-dog artists and sculptors are displayed. (( 731) 764- 2058, www. birddogfoundation.com)
WORLD’S BIGGEST TIGER MUSKIE
To see the world’s biggest tiger muskie, you’ll have to travel to the town of Nevis, Minnesota. The colossal fish,
30.5 feet long, can be seen on the east end of beautiful Lake Belle Taine. Other giant roadside fish in the Land of Lakes include a huge bluegill in Orr, a codfish in Madison, giant pike in Deer River and Erskine, and enormous walleyes in Garrison, Baudette, Rush City, Isle and Lake Kabetogama.
BUCK KNIVES
FACTORY
Buck Knives is the No. 1 recognized brand in sports cutlery, with more than 100 years’ experience making knives. At the company factory in Post Falls, Idaho, visitors can receive a free tour to see firsthand how these worldrenowned blades are made. ((800) 326-2825, ext. 172, www.buckknives.com/about/ plant-tours)
WINCHESTER WILD TURKEY MUSEUM The world’s only museum dedicated to the wild turkey, the Winchester is part of the National Wildlife Turkey Federation’s Wild Turkey Center in Edgefield, South Carolina. Admission is free for NWTF members. Visitors can step inside the world’s largest box call and learn how to operate several types of wild turkey calls; listen to an animated old-timer tell stories about turkey hunting and conservation; or hear an animated Cherokee Indian share legends about the wild turkey. Other displays include a retired U.S. Forest Service helicopter and a wildlife-oddities display. ((803) 637-3106, www.nwtf. org/about/hunting-heritagecenter/ CABELA’S MULE DEER COUNTRY MUSEUM Ca bela’ s retail store in Kansas City, Kansas, encompasses an extraordinary 11,500-square-foot museum displaying more than 80 world’s-record mule deer. The collection includes 11 of the 19 mule deer with Boone & Crockett final scores of at least 300 points. Doug Burris Jr.’s world’s-record typical (226-4/8 B&C) is part of the collection, which also includes the top typical archery trophy; the No. 1 in the world nontypical taken by a woman; the No. 2 in the world nontypical archery; staterecord mule deer from Arizona, California, Colorado, Nevada, New Mexico, Oregon and South Dakota; and province records from Saskatchewan and British Columbia. ((913) 328-0322, www.travelks.com/ listing/cabelas/2815)