Need Some trip help.

[Biggsly]

I am looking to take my wife somewhere for our anniversary in September. She loves to hike and be out in nature. We are looking for somewhere to relax and enjoy the views. This will be our first trip in many years with no kids. Our normal trip is to Red River NM "and we may still go." Here is the places I am looking at.
1. Branson Mo. I have not been there in about 15 years, so I know it has changed alot.
She will not care about the shows, and I am worried that it may be too crowded. "We are looking for a slow pace." I do know it should be pretty in September.
2. Hot Springs AR. I have never been there, but it looks like it has alot of beauty, caverns, and hiking trails.
3. Eureka Springs AR. Looks alot like Hot Springs.
I would love to find a place where we can hit the trails and caverns in the day and sip on some cold drinks and enjoy the view at night. I also want to have at least a couple of good places to eat dinner.

I would love to hear from people who have been to these places in the last couple of years and feel free to let me know about other good places to spend our anniversary.
Thanks everyone.

 

[okietool]

Guadalupe National Park

Eating places may be kind of thin, but the scenery s good. And Carlsbad Caverns are close by.

 

[excat]

Listing in order of my wife's and my preference on your list would be 1)Eureka Springs 2)Hot Springs 3)Branson

We spent 1 week in Hot Springs, and 1 week in Eureka in October last year for our 2 week vacation. I don't care for Branson much, but that is just my personal opinion.

You mentioned "slow place", which is pretty much all Eureka Springs is. If you stay in B&B there, you can pretty much walk anywhere around town, and I'd recommend getting a tram ticket for your entire stay, it is much easier than driving if you want to go to the entire town. The weather was really nice in Oct. when we were there. There's a lot of shopping in downtown Eureka, but there's not a plethora of great restaurants (but great drinks!), which is the nice part of the B&B's, is having a better breakfast than you can get at most of the local eats. There's also hiking, public cave tours (in the area, but you have to commute to them), and all sorts of other stuff. You can get lost in their little "world" there.

Hot Springs is pretty nice. Lots of spa's downtown, and a lot of history in the town. There is a pretty nice lake that you can take a tour boat ride of. Plenty of decent eats in the town. Also, when we stayed there, we rented a NICE 3 bedroom house for pretty cheap. They have a super nice nature center there, we spent almost an entire day out there on their trails walking them, taking pictures, etc. They were starting to set up for their Christmas display, and it looked like it would be pretty memorable. The part I disliked about Hot Springs is aside for the downtown area, which isn't really all the big, it is just another normal town. It seemed to me like a lot of people vacationing there were there for a very specific reason, either staying on the lake a boating, or staying in one of the Spa's/Bath houses.

I probably won't go back to Hot Springs anytime soon, but the wife and I definitely have Eureka Springs back in the books for next time we get a vacation to go back.

 

[Biggsly]

Thanks for the info. I am looking more into Eureka Springs. Would like to here from more people who have been there.

 

[Okiedog]

If you like folk music, try Mountainview, Ar. Home of the Ozark Folk Center and very nice scenery. Lots of cabins for rent and several B&B's.

 

[MrBaldy]

Thanks for the info. I am looking more into Eureka Springs. Would like to here from more people who have been there.

Try the Suchness Spa in Eureka, they have a cabin out on the lake. It's very secluded and relaxing and my wife loved it.

http://www.suchnessspa.com/suchness_cove_retreat.html

 

[TedKennedy]

the bavarian inn. tasty, tasty stuff, try the 1/2 duck.

 

[cody6766]

Depending on when you go in Sept, the weather may suck, but Rocky Mountain Ntnl Park is awesome. Estes Park is the little town near the park and offers some nice cabins. My wife and I went near the end of October, maybe early November (I forgot which) and it was already snowing and pretty cold. Early September seems to be a good time to go according to the forums I read up on prior to going. You'll definitely get quiet and some very scenic hiking/driving. The park is about an hour to an hour and a half NW of Boulder. The cabin we rented was nice, not too expensive, owned by a nice couple and close to food and the park. I'll pull the info on it if you're interested. Estes has some good restaurants and the drive to Boulder for a really nice place isn't too bad (if that's your thing). We went into town for dinner one night and a really nice place that would make a nice anniversary restaurant. It's stupid expensive and a little overrated compared to what you get at The Ranch or Boulevard, but it was a very nice night, service was perfect and the food was very good.

 

[Cohiba]

My vote: Go West!!!

Cortez, Durango, Telluride ...use to ride horses in the Telluride area and they use to have guided tours on horseback in the area. I use to rent a jeep and drive some old logging trails...you can drive then hike in the area....waaay up on the side of the mountains.

Flagstaff area.

It's been a few years but I'm sure Taos/Chama area has hiking.


Arkansas...I'm wanting to go over in the Fall and dig for diamonds at Crater/Diamond park.

 

[SMS]

The Smokies are nice...lots of getaway cabins up in the mountains away from the tourist traps, but still close enough to get out for some dinner.