There's an app for that in Arkansas
Technology makes the world easier to navigate. In The Natural State, trip planning is at your fingertips through numerous mobile apps providing details about Arkansas museums, rivers, art, national parks, hunting and fishing, trails and more.
Start exploring Arkansas by downloading these mobile apps and viewing these online resources. Most apps are free and available for Android and Apple.
Headed to the Buffalo National River? Download the National Park Service mobile app for a one-stop shop for planning your adventure. The app was created by park rangers and includes features such as interactive maps, self-guided tours, park amenities, accessibility, offline use, virtual postcards, things to do, and news, alerts and events.
Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art in Bentonville has both an Indoor (CB Museum) and Outdoor (CB Outdoors) app offering audio tours and interactive maps. You’ll also find detailed images and in-depth information about artworks, architecture, and nature in and around the museum. The apps have audio tours highlighting key artworks. One tour lets you walk through Crystal Bridges as Founder Alice Walton shares personal stories and thoughts about acquisitions, artists and subjects of some of her favorite artworks. You can even learn about plants, birds and other wildlife on the museum grounds. The information is in both English and Spanish.
Discover the Ozark National Forest with an interactive forest map app. You can view the map online or via a mobile app to view Forest Service roads, trails, recreation sites, wilderness areas, and wild and scenic rivers. Additionally, it contains geo-located tweets from Forest Service Twitter accounts, complementary layers such as wildfire and weather warnings/watches, and capabilities to share the whole map or just your favorite spot to email or social networks. Find the mobile app for your Android (Google Play) or Apple device (Apple App store). While not an app, you can find free downloadable Forest Service Topography Maps online that overlay Forest Service assets, such as roads and campgrounds, on USGS's topographic maps. They are available for download by quadrangle.
Are you an Arkansas Razorbacks fan? Are you or your son or daughter headed to “The Hill” in Northwest Arkansas to seek a degree at the University of Arkansas in Fayetteville? Download this app to keep up with all the Razorback sports events that you’ll want to attend. You know what they say about all work and no play.
Even small towns are up to date with technology. The Arkansas Museums Association awarded the Calico Rock Museum with the 2020 AMA Award for Outstanding Achievement in Media. The museum won the award for an app it produced for the community of Calico Rock. The app features local businesses, helpful information for visitors, and a virtual tour of the museum. The Calico Rock Museum & Visitor Center is located on historic Main Street. Located along scenic Highway 5, Calico Rock is between Mountain View and Mountain Home amid beautiful mountains, along the White River and near Lake Norfork.
The AGFC Mobile app is the official mobile tool for the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission, enabling hunters, anglers, and shooters to obtain licenses, submit game checks, and communicate with the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission from mobile devices. Click here for detailed information on using the app, including setting up your account, checking game, adding a partner or child to your account, adding or checking a Deer Management Assistance Program (DMAP) Tag, and setting up auto-renew on your license profile. While not an app, the AGFC also provides GPS files of where it places fish attractors made of cane, brush, trees and PVC in various Arkansas lakes to help anglers find fish throughout the year. Watch this AGFC YouTube video on how to download and install fish attractor files on your GPS unit.
The excitement of horse race wagering is found at Oaklawn, Hot Springs, where you can watch and wager on the top racing action. Don’t miss the fun of the Arkansas Derby and the Racing Festival of the South or the Oaklawn Anywhere app that makes it easy to place a bet. The app has information to help you make more informed decisions and strategize your wagers from your spot standing at the finish line, the infield, or wherever your favorite spot is to watch the horses run.
Arkansas Tourism has an Arkansas Craft Beverage Pass for those who enjoy a good brew. The free pass has been created for mobile devices and features a collection of Arkansas breweries, wineries and distilleries offering deals and discounts to redeem during your visit. There are no apps to download to get started though. When you sign up, the pass is instantly delivered via text and email and is ready to use immediately. When visiting a participating location, hit the check-in button at the bottom of the venue’s listing to earn points and redeem any available discounts. The pass can be saved to a phone home screen for easy one-tap access, which makes it feel like an app.
Pea Ridge National Military Park has a tour app of the park that provides visitors with short informational videos that follow along with the driving tour stops. Access the app tour by logging into the website www.peri.oncell.com. Or if you’re using a cell phone or iPad to sign into the site, click here for the URL code that links to the tour website.
Located in Little Rock, the Clinton Presidential Library and Museum is located within the Clinton Presidential Center and Park. Download the Clinton Presidential Center mobile app for access to a museum audio tour narrated by President Clinton, exclusive additional tours and content, general information and more.
If you’re looking for trail information (hiking and biking), visit arkansas.com, but also look for details on the AllTrails app, although this one costs money. Additionally, Avenza PDF App offers a free mobile map app that enables you to download maps over a Wi-Fi or cellular network to read on your smartphone or tablet. Use your device’s built-in GPS to track your location on the map. The bonus is that you can access these maps and locate yourself even when you’re not connected to WiFi or cell service because they’re saved to the device’s memory. See for yourself by trying this list of all Avenza maps for the Ozark-St. Francis National Forests.
When traveling to various Arkansas cities, you may find they have apps such as ParkMobile, which is free, for pay-by-phone parking.