Today, we decided to explore the city of Eureka Springs. On our historic trolley tour yesterday, we observed the narrow streets and limited parking so we decided to avoid those issues and ride the hop on hop off Trolley. It has 4 different routes. Fortunately, the line that stopped in front of our B&B took us directly to the historic district. 

Mostly, we wandered up and down the steep streets of the historic downtown district enjoying the local architecture and vibes. It was amazing to see how well the land is used. Houses are built on multiple levels to accommodate and utilize all available space of the the steep land. There is one corner building which has 3 different addresses because it has 3 different entrances on 3 different levels on 3 different streets. We went into the courthouse which was built in 1908. Since it is a working courthouse and houses county offices, we couldn’t really see much of the interior, but the exterior is impressive. We were interested in seeing the railway station and possibly take a train ride, but it wasn’t open today. 

We enjoyed seeing the unique architecture and steep sets of stairs that connect 2 parallel streets. After tiring ourselves out walking up and down the hills, we decided to hop on the Trolley and check out the Crescent Hotel. The stop is very close to the bell tower of the Church of St. Elizabeth of Hungary. Because the church is built on a hill, the only entrance is through the bell tower. The grounds are limited but are lovely and include an outdoor Stations of the Cross.

The hotel entrance by the trolley stop, is actually the original rear entrance where there was a train stop for the luggage to be brought into the hotel. Originally, guests had to walk up two street levels of very steep steps so that they could get the full impact of the view of the hotel and its entrance. The interior of the hotel is quite grand. We had drinks on the patio of the 4th level. The views of the surrounding area were quite pretty. 

View from top of Crescent Hotel

After soaking in some sunshine and the ambiance of the hotel, we boarded the trolley and headed back to our home for 1 more night, We were very fortunate that we arrived in the middle of the week instead of Friday as this weekend there is a bike fest and a Corvette rally. The crowds and noise will be horrific. As it turned out, we had a very quiet, peaceful stay in Eureka Springs.

Tomorrow, we are back in the saddle heading homeward.