We had such a big day exploring Eureka Springs I broke it down into two posts, the first one being Exploring Northwest Arkansas: Thorncrown Chapel .
The first part of our trip was exploring the town of Eureka Springs . It is a gorgeous historic town, in fact the ENTIRE downtown area is on the National Register of Historic Places! The town has it’s original Victorian Homes built into the mountain cliffs, and so are the shops and restaurants.
The drive to Eureka Springs took about 45 minutes from my home through the Ozark Mountains, where the trees were turning color for fall and it was a breathtaking site.
Especially as we had just evacuated from Bayou Country Louisiana. My three part series, Living Hurricane Ida: Part One ,
Living Hurricane Ida:Part Two Evacuation
Living Hurricane Ida: Part III Fruition , details this. The day that we visited Eureka Springs, my medical condition that in my bad days, unfortunately requires my husband to push me in a wheelchair, was acting up, so I was unable to walk or climb stairs. We couldn’t fully experience the town as we would like too. Fortunately, there are days when I can walk, so we will be returning. I am a huge advocate for handicap accessibility, and I so proud to have been recognized by Google for this by being featured on their Instagram page for Disability Awareness Month
and here on Connect
as an Accessibility Champion. . At that time I never dreamed that I would experience the need for handicap accessibility first hand, but it is such an important calling. Since the structures in Eureka Springs are so old they don’t fall under the guidelines of the Americans’s with Disabilities Act. They have steep stone steps leading up the mountain to the restaurants. The one’s on the ground are on a steep mountain incline on rough sidewalks. My husband pushed my wheelchair a short ways, but I can tell you, it is not handicap accessible. But we still drove through the town and enjoyed viewing it.
After this we went to Christ of The Ozarks which overlooks the city. Again most of the attractions here were not handicap accessible. Also we were there during the day. There is a well renowned Passion Play that is only performed at night. It attempts to be historically accurate and true to Biblical Scriptures. The Play is performed on a 550 foot wide, outdoor amphitheater with 4,100 seats that have backrests. Also there is a two hour guided Holy Land Tour, complete with live biblical characters. That required you to get on a non-handicap accessible bus and get out to explore the various stations, so unfortunately we couldn’t do that on that day.
They have a petting zoo on the tour, but my daughter was able to pet plenty through the fence, lol.
We were able to visit the main attraction, the 67 feet high statue of Christ! The statue itself is made of 340 tons of concrete and welded with steel into Magnetic Mountain. They actually had to build an elevator up the side to build it. Christ’s face is about 15 feet high, his hands 7 feet, arms 65 feet from fingertip to fingertip. The statue is on Magnetic Mountain at an altitude of 1,500 feet, but on a paved pathway, and my gallant husband pushed me all the way! It is gorgeous! They also have a garden with a large wooden cross that simulates the crucifixion of Christ. This area was enough to visit.
After this we visited the gift shop and got a miniature statue, a magnet and some gift cards. I understand that some of the attractions are built into a mountain and can’t be made wheelchair accessible, but I hope in the future they will make the tour buses handicap accessible and did mention it in my review.
