What to know
This route takes travelers through the scenic heart of the Diamond Lakes Region: it connects the quartz-mining regions of Jessieville and Mount Ida, the diamond mine at Crater of Diamonds State Park in Murfreesboro, the geologically-unique Magnet Cove area, the historic salt-mining community of Arkadelphia–now a thriving college town, the brick-making city of Malvern, and the beauty of the Ouachita Mountains in Mena and all along US 270.
Along the way, visitors will find one-of-a-kind experiences and destinations, like the headquarters of the International Concatenated Order of Hoo-Hoo (a business association for the timber industry) and the mysterious Gurdon Light, both at Gurdon; the beautiful DeSoto Bluff Trail at Arkadelphia, which interprets the history of indigenous Caddo peoples, early US explorers Hunter and Dunbar, and settlers in the Arkadelphia region along an easy 0.25-mile trail; and the Cinnabar Mine Nature Trail at Parker Creek Recreation Area in Murfreesboro, which allows hikers to safely come close to five cinnabar mines alongside scenic Lake Greeson on a 0.75-mile trail.
Museums along the route include Crater of Diamonds State Park museum in Murfreesboro, Heritage House Museum in Mount Ida, Lum and Abner Jot ‘Em Down Store and Museum in Pine Ridge, KCS Historic Depot and Museum in Mena, The Hot Spring County Museum (The Boyle House) in Malvern, and the Clark County Museum in Arkadelphia. The city of Hot Springs has several museums, including Fordyce Bathhouse Visitor Center and Museum in Hot Springs National Park, Mid-America Science Museum, Arkansas Alligator Farm and Petting Zoo, Mountain Valley Spring Water Visitor Center and Museum, and the Gangster Museum of America.
