How to spend a weekend in Little Rock, Arkansas

 

Fall is pretty much nonexistent in south Louisiana.   Being from upstate New York, I find myself missing the changing colors of the leaves and the crisp, cool fall air.  This fall, I took a drive to Little Rock, Arkansas in search of fall.  My sister came along as co-adventurer on this little trip.

This was my first visit to Little Rock and to the state of Arkansas as well.  The drive from Baton Rouge was easy to make Friday evening after work.  The rolling hills through Mississippi and north Louisiana provided a relaxing backdrop as we cruised along.  The sun setting behind them cast a magical glow as we started off on our mini-adventure.

The drive up from Baton Rouge took about 6 hours so Friday night was uneventful.  Tired from our drive up, my sister and I decided to turn in and get up early the next day.

 

My sister making the ascent up the East Summit Trail.

 

Hiking Pinnacle Mountain

Nature and hiking were my priority on this little weekend adventure.  Louisiana being a coastal plan, we don’t get much elevation at all.  And fall leaves are pretty much non existent.  So we were hoping for a bit of crisp fall air, some colorful foliage, and a challenging hike.

Pinnacle Mountain State Park is located approximately a 30 minute drive from downtown Little Rock.  It amazes me how far out in nature you can feel so close to the city. Trees everywhere!  A river!  And hills!  We hadn’t even made it off the highway yet and I was geeking out we were out in nature.  I think it’s been too long since the last time I’ve taken a hiking trip.

The park has many different trails, but we came to hike the mountain.  Total hiking time for Pinnacle Mountain for us was a little over 2 hours hiking at a moderately quick pace.  We stopped to take pictures and look at the view from the top for a good 20 minutes as well.

East or West Summit Trail?

Going into the hike, we did absolutely no research.  So, driving along through the state park, I see the first sign about the east summit trail for Pinnacle Mountain.  We follow the sign and park there.  There is a sign pointing a little further along the road about the west summit trail but… What’s the difference, right?

We found that out later when we made our descent.

The East Summit Trail is much more challenging out of the two.  Think lots of large rocks, steep uphill climbs.  There were a couple areas where we kind of had to climb our way up.  For someone who is not accustomed to intense nature hikes, it was quite an adventure.

I enjoyed the challenging hike up. If you are in good physical condition and like the challenge, I would recommend making your ascent on the East Summit Trail.  Climbing up rocks and trying to figure out the best path up was a blast.  I felt like I really was climbing the mountain.  I also worked up a huge appetite for all the food we were going to eat later that afternoon as well.

The West Summit Trail was how we made our way back down. Some parts during our ascent had made me feel a little wary about how we would make it down safely over the steep rocks.  We decided to see how the other trail would be on the way down.  The West Summit trail was much more managed.  It had steps integrated into parts of the trail, railings in some places, and benches.  If you are traveling with small children or prefer a more gentle hike, I’d suggest this trail for your ascent as well.

Once you’re back at the bottom, the base trail goes around the entire perimeter of the mountain in a 3 mile loop so you can get back to where you parked if you parked at the East Summit Trailhead and made the easier descent down the West Summit trail.

 

Taking in the view from the top.

 

I’m Hungry… Let’s Eat!

After working up a serious appetite, my sister and I proceeded to eat our way through downtown Little Rock that afternoon.

Buenos Aires Grill and Cafe

We stopped in here for lunch after our hike.  My sister and I shared a sampler of empanadas and a charcuterie plate.  Both were super delicious and a great pick me up after our morning hike.  After washing our lunch down with some wine, we took a stroll through the River Market District.

Loblolly Creamery Scoop Shop

I am an ice cream addict.  But hey, we spent the morning hiking a mountain so it’s all good right? This has to be cutest little ice cream shop I have ever visited.  Handcrafted ice cream, homemade waffle cone…. yum! We visited in October so the Halloween flavors were an added plus.  The black cat vanilla looked really cool.  Pumpkin cheesecake ice cream in an oreo waffle cone made for the perfect Halloween themed treat!

In addition to ice cream, they also have a variety of vegan sorbets.

Community Bakery

I think we went crazy eating sweets, but like I said before, the hiking makes it ok! We actually stopped in here for coffee, but made a point to come back for breakfast before heading home the next day.

Every kind of pie, cake, pastry, you name it… you can find it here.

Rock Town Distillery

My first trip to Arkansas and also my first distillery tour! Tour operate Tuesday-Sunday at 2:00, 4:00, and 7:00. For $10 a person, you can tour the distillery and sample the bourbons, whiskeys, vodka, gin and moonshine they distill right there.  It was so interesting to learn how each of the different liquors are made.  Did you know the process for making vodka and gin is almost the same, except for the infusion of herbs at the end of the gin making process?

I also purchased my souvenir of the trip here and took home a bottle of their rye whiskey and one of their gin.

After you tour the distillery, there is also a bar located on the premises with craft cocktails featuring their house made liquors.

Bruno’s Little Italy

I don’t know why, but I always like to end a hiking day with pasta.  It’s my ultimate carb-loaded comfort food.  Bruno’s is an authentic Neapolitan style Italian restaurant.  I ate the veal ala parmigiano which is my favorite meal and theirs did not disappoint!  I saw the homemade cannolis the table next to us ordered and wished I had room, but we were just too stuffed!

The perfect relaxing weekend getaway

Little Rock surprised me.  I was not expecting to have such a fun time in Arkansas’ capitol city.  From hiking and exploring/eating our way around the River Market and SoMa districts, there was so much to do.  I never knew I lived so close to a relaxing mountain retreat.  Arkansas really is the natural state.  I can’t wait to get back out there and explore more of what it has to offer!

 

After exploring Little Rock, Arkansas, I can’t wait to explore some more of Americas lesser-known, less “Insta-famous” cities.

What are your favorite small cities and hidden natural wonders?

Let me know in the comments!