Eureka Springs, Arkansas, is Branson's great day trip: 50 to 55 winding miles — a little over an hour — to a Victorian town with no straight streets, where the whole downtown is on the National Register. This page folds the town's major stops into the trip, as the brief planned.

Branson Missouri | Day Trip to Eureka Springs Arkansas

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The definitive day trip: 50 to 55 winding miles from Branson (a little over an hour), the 1886 Crescent Hotel, the pedestrian bridge between Spring Street and Main Street, the old railroad depot, and Christ of the Ozarks on the Great Passion Play grounds.

Key takeaways
  • Branson to Eureka Springs is about an hour on winding Ozark roads
  • The Crescent Hotel opened in 1886
  • Christ of the Ozarks stands on the Passion Play grounds

Exploring Eureka Springs Arkansas | Branson the Long Way

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FindUsHere drives the long way home through Eureka Springs: the Highway 62 lodging strip, Main Street (Highway 23 through town) and its shops, and the Crescent Hotel — 'America's most haunted hotel,' ghost tours and all.

Key takeaways
  • Main Street is the historic center — and Highway 23 through town
  • The Crescent Hotel markets ghost tours
  • Lodging lines Highway 62 east of downtown

Top 14 Things to do in Eureka Springs, Arkansas | Eureka Springs AR travel Guide | 4k

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A Top-14 countdown of Eureka Springs: historic downtown first, then the Victorian streets and art galleries, and Thorncrown Chapel — 425 windows and 6,000 square feet of glass standing in the woods.

Key takeaways
  • Historic downtown tops the list
  • Thorncrown Chapel opened in 1980
  • The chapel has welcomed more than 7 million visitors

The drive and the town

FindUsHere's definitive day-trip film leads: the 1886 Crescent Hotel, the Spring Street–Main Street pedestrian bridge, the old railroad depot, and Christ of the Ozarks. Their long-way-home film adds the Highway 62 lodging strip and the Crescent's second life — 'America's most haunted hotel,' ghost tours and all. A Top-14 countdown covers the Victorian streets and art galleries.

The Passion Play grounds

The Great Passion Play's own films tour its campus: the 4,000-seat outdoor amphitheater, the 67-foot Christ of the Ozarks, the Holy Land Tour's 40-plus exhibits and full-scale Moses Tabernacle, the Bible Museum and the petting zoo. A roadside-attractions film adds the town's quirks — a kaleidoscope-only store, a gift shop where bunnies deliver your change.

More Than a Play: Experience it All

Great Passion Play

The Great Passion Play's own film: the 4,000-seat outdoor amphitheater, the 67-foot Christ of the Ozarks, the Holy Land Tour, the Bible Museum, the Moses Tabernacle replica and the Noah's Ark petting zoo — a full day on the grounds.

Turpentine Creek Tiger Sanctuary TOUR and OVERNIGHT Stay in Eureka Springs

Doodle the Travel Bug

Doodle the Travel Bug sleeps over at Turpentine Creek Wildlife Refuge — in a suite beside the tigers — and rides the open-air tram tours past big cats rescued from roadside zoos and backyard breeders.

Key takeaways
  • Turpentine Creek rescues big cats from roadside zoos and breeders
  • Open-air tram tours run several times a day
  • Guests can stay overnight on the property

Blue Spring Heritage Center | Eureka Springs Arkansas | Branson the Long Way

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FindUsHere stops at Blue Spring Heritage Center on the long way around from Branson: gardens, trails and a deep blue spring outside Eureka Springs.

Cats and glass

Turpentine Creek Wildlife Refuge gets a stay-over film — sleeping in a suite beside rescued tigers, tram tours all day. Thorncrown Chapel gets two: the Top-14's stop and a silent walk inside E. Fay Jones's 1980 glass chapel, 425 windows in the woods. Blue Spring Heritage Center closes the loop on the drive back.

Sources: the 9 videos on this page.

Watch: Eureka Springs Day Trip, guided

3 videos · summaries from the actual guides

Eureka Springs MUST SEE Roadside Attractions - Ozarks Unique Things To Do.

Doodle the Travel Bug

Doodle's must-see roadside list for Eureka Springs: the store that sells only kaleidoscopes, the gift shop where bunnies deliver your change, and at number three the colossal Christ of the Ozarks on Passion Play Road.

Key takeaways
  • Christ of the Ozarks stands on Passion Play Road
  • Downtown has a kaleidoscope-only store
  • The East by West gift shop uses bunnies as change runners

Step Inside Thorncrown Chapel—A Hidden Gem in the Arkansas Woods!

Caboose Adventures

A quiet walk inside Thorncrown Chapel: E. Fay Jones's 1980 glass chapel in the woods — 425 windows, Ozark Gothic trusses, piano on the soundtrack and not a word spoken.

Great Passion Play - Holy Land Showcase

Great Passion Play

A 2014 showcase of the Holy Land Tour at the Great Passion Play: more than 40 exhibits — a Sea of Galilee set, the woman at the well, Jesus walking on water — and the full-scale Moses Tabernacle in the Wilderness.

Key takeaways
  • The Holy Land Tour holds more than 40 exhibits
  • It runs on Passion Play performance days
  • The Tabernacle replica is a tour highlight

More Branson essentials

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