Arkansas

 1. Hot Springs National Park, in western Arkansas, on U.S. Route 70. "Healthful mineral and hot springs; beautiful parks, gardens and lakes; magnificent view of four states from tower on top of Hot Springs Mountain."

This is supposed to be a pretty cool park, and the nearby town sounds like it is more in the tradition of the Bar Harbor or Banff type resort town than what is common around the parks out west, which in many instances looks to be nothing. Numerous of the bathhouses have been designated as National Historic Landmarks, and there is a racetrack (horses), and many elegant old hotels.

2. Buffalo River State Park, in the north between Yellville and Marshall, on State Highway 14. "Overlooks Buffalo River from sheer rock cliffs; beautiful scenery with canyons, caves, and waterfalls; fishing is the chief attraction." 

 

Absorbed into the newly established Buffalo National River federal park in 1972. The 1939 CCC structures are preserved as a historic district within the much larger new park. The old park also includes the 3 mile Indian Rockhouse Trail. 

 

3. Calico Rock, on the White River, in the north, about 12 miles northwest of Melbourne, on State Highway 56. "A bluff of limestone rock, whose high, smooth wall is variously colored with squares, stripes, spots, and angles."

This rock is located in a town of about 1,500 people of the same name. There doesn't appear to be much of a tourist industry there, though they sort of have a promotional web page, and I am sure they would like people to come visit, as the median household income, according to Wikipedia, is $23,000. The top restaurant in town is a cafe/ice cream parlor, the pictures of the inside of which are however inviting in an old-fashioned way, and not off-putting even to a pretty confirmed northeasterner like myself. If I ever had all the time in the world to go driving around exploring Arkansas, I would go see this place.

4. Diamond Cave, in the northwest, 5 miles south of Jasper, on State Highway 7. "No one has ever reached the end of this cave. Strangely shaped stalactites and stalagmites, which look like giant icicles, grow in the many beautiful chambers of the cave."

From the Encyclopedia of Arkansas (linked above): "During the 1920s and 30s, the cave was very popular, having a campground, hotel, restaurant, outdoor pavilion, and skating rink at the site. It officially opened for tours in 1925, though ownership and management of the cave have been transferred many times. Hundreds of tourists each day went through it. One of the most beautiful caves in Arkansas, it has several rooms, mineral formations, and clear pools. At the height of its popularity, the tour was approximately two miles long, but the cave still has many unexplored regions. It has been a source of study for geologists and students from every state in the country...Diamond Cave was operated as a tourist attraction until the mid-1990s. The cave is at present privately owned and is not currently operating tours in order to protect this natural environment."

So I guess this place is out as far our travel itinerary goes, for the time being. 

5. Big Hurricane Cavern, in the northwest, 7 miles south of Western Grove, on U.S. Route 65. "So named because many years ago a violent storm hurled uprooted tress into the mouth of the cave; once noted for the bears and wildcats killed within its shelter; has fantastic formations, including an onyx parrot and a stone airplane." 

It appears that this place (which I am thinking is now known as Hurricane River Cave) has been closed since around 2016 and is currently for sale. The hope is that new ownership would restore it and re-open it to the public, as people have fond recollections of the place. Most of the sites listed for this state are in the popular tourist region known as the Ozarks. Evidently some of the older attractions there are in a state of flux. 

6. Mammoth Spring, in the north, about 11 miles north of Hardy, on U. S. Route 63. "One of the largest springs in North America; a torrent of cold, blue water rushes from it at the rate of 200 million gallons a day."

This is contained within a state park, which was established in 1957. The outlet pool is located just 500 feet from the Missouri state line. This is the seventh largest natural spring in the world! There are only two hotels in Mammoth Springs. They aren't expensive, and they look decent enough that I would stay in them--I don't have high expectations for rural Arkansas. I don't know that I could get my wife to come here, but I got her to go to Tennessee and Alabama, and I know she liked Tennessee, and she liked the place where we stayed in Alabama, in Cheaha State Park, though the surrounding area that we drove through on the way in and out was rather poor and depressing-looking. The state park here doesn't appear to offer any accommodations; these often have good value lodges and cabins. 

7. Old Arsenal, in Little Rock, on U.S. Highways 67-70-65. "The birthplace of Douglas MacArthur."

The building is now known as the MacArthur Museum of Arkansas Military History. Though the general was born here, this was not a house but a military barracks, MacArthur's father being an army man, a captain, himself. The Arsenal, which was built around 1840, is part of the MacArthur Park Historic District, "a remarkably well-preserved collection of Victorian buildings in the heart of Little Rock." The museum is free and appears to consist primarily of military memorabilia, and is not primarily dedicated to the singular figure of Douglas MacArthur, whose celebrity has I think faded somewhat compared to what it was in the 1950s and 60s.