We just got back from De Queen, Arkansas. If you’re reading this, you probably know where De Queen is, or at least are looking for more information about an upcoming stay. I’d never heard of it before, though…but it turned out to be a great spot right in-between two very popular vacation destinations (Broken Bow, which we were visiting for the second time, and Crater of Diamonds State Park, which had been on my bucket list for awhile). Also – we stayed at The Very Best Airbnb I’ve Ever Stayed At.. So, read on for some things to do and where to stay in De Queen, Arkansas.
Where to Stay in De Queen, Arkansas
OK first of all, I have stayed at many Airbnbs over the years and have had ALL THE EXPERIENCES, from stellar to rotten. Most of them fall somewhere in between. The reason we stayed in De Queen was because the owners of the Painted Bird Airbnb reached out and offered to host us. I almost didn’t go, because I just wasn’t familiar with the area. But we loved this place so much, I’d go back just to stay there again.
{super quick -and may save you some reading – I did a short reel that shows how beautiful this place is – you can see it here}
Tucked away in the trees (so many trees!) without a neighbor in sight (and yet, only a couple minutes from Walmart), this cute little house is brimming with the love and details that the owners clearly put into it. Here are some things we loved about it, that exceeded any other Airbnb experience I’ve had.
First of all, the craftmanship of the home was so high. It was just finished out beautifully, and everything was very high-end. Like an incredible mattress and a shower with an overhead shower head (in a huge shower). There were two porches overlooking the trees, one of which had an outdoor kitchen, comfy furniture, and the perfect lighting for sipping a glass of wine while enjoying being surrounded by nature.
Secondly, the details were just so, so thoughtful. Everything we needed was available and easy to find. There was a gorgeous stained glass bird window that I couldn’t get enough of. There was a scavenger hunt that was super tricky, but we got through it and were rewarded with a gift card to a local restaurant (seriously…so fun, and so thoughtful!). Oh! And there was an adorable little miniature gnome village tucked away behind the bottom porch.
And finally, you could just feel the love and thoughtfulness infused in this home! Cupcakes and a hand-written note greeted us. Everything we needed (wifi, remote, wine opener) was easy to find and worked (you’d surprised how many times we stay at places where things just don’t work). It was just perfect.
So now that you know where to stay…what are you going to do in De Queen?
You can book the Painted Bird Airbnb here.
What to do in De Queen, Arkansas
So, there isn’t a lot to do in De Queen. In fact, at dinner, the waiter must have sensed our “otherness” because he immediately asked if we were from around there, and then asked what in the world brought us to De Queen. Aside from being Collin Raye’s birthplace (I fangirled for a minute over this as we drove down Collin Raye Drive), I don’t think this is really a tourist destination – but it’s right in between two very popular tourist locations, making it a great home base for anyone who wants to explore Broken Bow or Hochatown, and then visit Crater of Diamonds State Park, too.
There is one thing we did in De Queen that I want to recommend, and that is getting Mexican food at La Media Luna. It was so delicious…10/10, and 100% recommend if you’re in the area.
De Queen is about 30 minutes from Broken Bow, and 40ish minutes from Hochatown. I’ve written about visiting Broken Bow in the past, so I won’t go into details here…you can read the full post about visiting Broken Bow here. Broken Bow and Hochatown are in Oklahoa. When we last visited Broken Bow, we wanted ot make the trip to Crater of Diamonds State Park (which is in Arkansas), but it was over an hour and a half drive. So, we didn’t make the trip last time.
Crater of Diamonds State Park was only about an hour from our place in De Queen, though, making it an easy trip for the day.
Crater of Diamonds State Park – is it worth going?
I did a short reel on IG that really shows the whole experience in like 20 seconds…you can see it here.
The big question – is Crater of Diamonds State Park worth it? I would say yes, but if you’re diamond hunting, keep your expectations in check.
Crater of Diamonds State Park is a beautiful state park with hiking trails, accomodations, a swimming pool…lots of fun state park things to do in a gorgeous setting. But this park in particular is know for diamonds, and you can dig for diamonds yourself (and, if you find any, you get to keep them!).
We bought our tickets online and drove in for the day. We did not bring our own tools, although you can. We chose to rent tools. The diamond mining area is a large field that gets tilled about once a month. Wear a hat and sunscreen and bring lots of water, because it gets hot out there.
We spent a few hours playing the dirt, basically. We did not find any diamonds, and the pieces of crystal quartz that we found were so small, we didn’t even take them home. We had fun, though…definitely glad we did it. We went at the end of June. I believe there had been 3-4 diamonds found for the entire month. So, again…just keep those expectations in check.
If you want to go crystal mining and go home with buckets of crystals, I recommend heading to Wegner Crystal Mines in Mt. Ida, Arkansas (worth the trip, but a significantly longer drive if you’re headed there from the Dallas area).
Questions? Let me know in the comments or, as always, shoot me an email or hit me up on social and I’ll be happy to help!