From Wikitravel

Fort Smith is located in northwest Arkansas and borders Oklahoma and is the county seat for Sebastian County. The city has a population of 80,286 which makes it the second largest city in Arkansas behind Little Rock. It is located in the River Valley of Arkansas between the Ouachita mountains in the south and the Boston and Ozark mountains of the north and a gateway city to the Ozarks.

Contents 1 Understand 2 Get in 2.1 By plane 2.2 By train 2.3 By car 2.4 By bus 3 Get around 4 See 5 Do 5.1 Festivals 6 Learn 7 Work 8 Buy 9 Eat 10 Drink 11 Sleep 12 Contact 13 Stay safe 14 Cope 15 Get out

Understand

In 1817 Fort Smith was established as a military fort next to Indian territory in Oklahoma. It is located at the junction of the Arkansas river and the Poteau river at a place that early French explorers called Belle Point. This location was a good place to build a fort guarding the wilderness to the west and the Indian territory of Oklahoma.

Get in

By plane

Fort Smith has a small regional airport (FSM) with service by two regional carriers, American Eagle/American Airlines and Northwest Airlink/Pinnacle. There are several flights each day to both Dallas/Fort Worth and Memphis. Service is also available from the Northwest Arkansas Regional Airport [1] (XNA), located near Bentonville, Arkansas.

By train

There is no rail access to Fort Smith.

By car

Access by car on Interstate highway from the East and West is by I40 and from the North by I540. Access to the South is by US71.

By bus

The Jefferson Lines services the city with bus service to the east, west and north.

Get around

The best way to get around and see Fort Smith is by car. Also Fort Smith Transit is available.

See

• Miss Laura's Social Club and Visitor Center, 2 N "B" St., (479) 783-8888, A house of ill-repute from Fort Smith's past, now a visitor center. It is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. This is a good starting point for any visit to Fort Smith.
• Fort Smith National Historic Site, South of Garrison Ave., near the Arkansas river. Parking and Park entrance near 3rd St. and Garland Ave. [2] This site includes both the original Fort sites and the reconstructed gallows of Hanging Judge Issac Parker.
• Trolley Museum, 100 S. 4th, (479) 783-0205 [3] Take a ride on the trolley past the Judge Parker court and the National Historic Site.

Do

Festivals

• The Fort Smith Jazz Festival [4] - The Jazz Fest started in 2005 and is held in October.
• Riverfront Blues Festival [5] - Annual in August each year. Free.
• Old Fort Days Rodeo [6] - Annual event in late May/Early June.

Learn

• UA Fort Smith, 5210 Grand Ave., (479) 788-7000 [7] University of Arkansas - Fort Smith

Work

There are several major employers in Fort Smith, including Whirlpool Corporation, Rheem, Beverly Enterprises and Arkansas Best Corporation (ABF).

Buy

Eat

You will find the standard chain restaurants spread out for 2 miles on Rogers Ave. to the east of Interstate 540. They include Friday's, Applebees, Chili's, Outback Steak House, Red Lobster, Olive Garden, Arby's, Chick-fil-A, KFC, Wendy's, Schlotzsky's Deli, IHOP and Village Inn.

• Bella Italia Restaurant, 407. N. 8th St., Phone: (479) 785-1550
• Calico Country, 2401 South 56th, Phone: (479) 452-3299, [8] Family style restaurant with great cinnamon rolls.
• Catfish Cove Restaurant, 1615 S. Phoenix Av., (479) 646-8835, Catfish, Seafood and frog legs on a all you can buffet.
• Doe's Steak House, 422 N. 3rd Street, Phone (479) 784-9111, [9] Great steaks and tamales.
• Emmy's German Restaurant, 602 N. 16th St., (479) 783-0012, Yes, this is a great German food restaurant.
• Hamburger Barn, 317 Garrison Av., (479) 782-0233, Design your own hamburger.
• Jerry Neel's BBQ, 1823 S Phoenix Av., (479) 646-8085, Very good BBQ.
• Lin's Garden Chinese Restaurant, 7308 Rogers Ave., +1 479 484-5090. Good Chinese buffet.
• Ole Feed House, 3801 Planters Rd., (479) 649-9525, Seafood and BBQ Buffet, don't miss out on the homemade cinnamon rolls.
• Taliano's, 201 North 14th Street, Phone: 479-785-2292, Very good Italian food.
• Varsity Sports Grill, 318 Garrison Ave., Phone: (479) 494-7173, [10] TV's with all the games, pool and great homemade potato chips.

Drink

• Rooster's Blues Bar, 801 Garrison Ave., +1 479 783-2625.

Sleep

• Aspen Hotel & Suites, [11] 2900 S. 68th St., +1 479 452-9000, Fax: +1 479 484-0551, mailto:erosenfield@thesummitgroupinc.com
• Holiday Inn, 700 Rogers Ave., +1 479 783-1000, [12].
• Holiday Inn Express, 6813 Phoenix Ave, +1 479 452-7500, [13].
• Residence Inn Fort Smith, 3005 South 74th Street, +1 479 478-8300, Fax: +1 479 478-8302, [14].
• Motel 6, 6001 Rogers Ave., +1 479 484-0576, Fax: +1 479 484-9054.
• Hampton Inn, 6201-C Rogers Ave., +1 479 452-2000, Fax: +1 479 452-6668, mailto:fsmar_hampton@hilton.com
• Baymont Inn & Suites, [15] 2123 Burnham Rd., +1 479 484-5770, Fax: +1 479 484-0579.

Contact

Stay safe

Check the Tornado safety page if you are visiting Fort Smith. A tornado ripped through downtown Fort Smith on April 21, 1996 killing two people.

Cope

Get out

• Talimena Drive[16] from Talihina, Oklahoma to Mena, Arkansas 54 Mile scenic drive in Oklahoma and Arkansas along the ridge of the Ouachita Mountains and the Ouachita National Forest. The drive has frequent turnouts so you can enjoy the scenery.

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