Blue Spring Heritage Center, near Eureka Springs, AR is an important historical and archaeological site and one of Arkansas’ deepest springs.

Formerly Eureka Springs Gardens, Blue Spring Heritage Center preserves a historically and archaeologically important site that also happens to be one of the most scenic in the Eureka Springs area.

Blue Spring bubbles up here, filling its famous trout-filled lagoon with some 38 million gallons of water a day. The spring is said to be more than 500 feet deep! The overflow, some of the purest water in the region according to a recent study, drains into the White River.

The spring has been drawing visitors since before there was a center or even the name. Native Americans used Bluff Shelter, which overlooks the spring, for thousands of years before Europeans ever visited the continent.

Blue Spring remained important to Native Americans for thousands of years. Before settlers crowded them out, the Osage claimed the spring as their trading post. During the infamous Cherokee Trail of Tears march that sent the Cherokee away to “Indian Territory,” the spring was an important stopping point for many an unfortunate.

The lush, scenic spring attracted the attention of European settlers of the 1800’s just as readily as it had their native predecessors. The area became the centerpiece of a small but prosperous community, its flow powering a corn mill. Destroyed during the American Civil War, the mill was rebuilt, and eventually abandoned. Remnants of the building can still be seen.

Today, Blue Spring is on the National Register of Historic Places. Visitors will enjoy the landscaped pathways that lead through the grounds and around the clear, deep water of Blue Spring. One of the most scenic historic sites in Arkansas, you’ll relish the natural beauty of the native gardens.

Blue Spring Heritage Center offers exhibits and displays of artifacts relating to the history the spring. Interpretive signs on the grounds provide insight into historical events as well as the unique natural setting itself. There is also a monument to President Bill Clinton on the grounds.

If you’re in the Eureka Springs area, don’t miss a chance to stop by!

Blue Spring Heritage Center

1537 Co Rd 210, Eureka Springs, AR 72632
Open 9am to 6pm, March 15th through the second Sunday in November
For more information and directions, be sure to visit: bluespringheritage.com

Blue Spring Heritage Center Lodging
5 Ojo Inn Bed & Breakfast has 9 guest rooms between two historic homes and two cottages in the historic district of Eureka Springs. Every guest enjoys an elegant, three-course breakfast each morning at our Eureka Springs B&B. Let us be your home away from home during your Eureka Springs getaway – you’ll be so very glad you did! Book your stay at 5 Ojo Inn Bed & Breakfast today!