START PLANNING FOR FALL
Discover it. Try it. Share it.THE LOCAL EDITUPDATED SEPTEMBER 9
YOUR LOCAL SHORTLIST
More good days.
Right here.
The family-tested guide to what’s worth doing, eating, and exploring in Central Arkansas.
501Discover it.
Try it. Share it.
Try it. Share it.
EAT
PLAY
GO
LITTLE ROCK
ARKANSAS
ARKANSAS
THE ARKANSAS RIVER · DOWNTOWN
HANDPICKED FOR YOU
This week’s
best finds.
A short list of the outings we’d actually text a friend about.
A curated preview of the latest finds.
See all events →501
TESTEDHONESTLY
TESTEDHONESTLY
WE WENT FIRST
Not sponsored.
Actually tested.
We bring the kids, pay our own way, and tell you the useful stuff: where to park, what to order, when to go, and whether it’s worth wrangling everyone into the car.
“The kind of details only another local parent would think to tell you.”Explore 501 Tested →
PLANS, MADE EASY
Local guides for
better days out.
Start with a plan. Leave room for the good kind of detour.
↗
COOL AIR. GOOD SHOES. GO.
Fall days belong outside
Trails, bikes, pumpkins, picnics, and the best kind of tired.A FULL, HAPPY DAY
The perfect Saturday in SoMa
Coffee, play, lunch, and one very good scoop.FOR LITTLE EXPLORERS
8 playgrounds worth the drive
Slides, shade, bathrooms—and our honest take.More plans are on the way.Browse all guides →
NO SPECIAL DATE NEEDED
Good ideas,
any day.
Reliable Central Arkansas outings to keep in your back pocket whenever you need a plan.
TG501 FINDS / GO ANYTIME
PLAY · EAT · GATHER
Topgolf Little Rock
Southwest Little RockAll-weather golf games, food, and room for up to six players per bay.Plan your visit ↗BR501 FINDS / GO ANYTIME
FAMILY FUN · ALL AGES
Big Rock Mini Golf & Fun Park
Little RockMini golf, go-karts, bumper boats, batting cages, arcade games, and more.Plan your visit ↗SK501 FINDS / GO ANYTIME
ICE · ROLLER · YEAR-ROUND
Arkansas Skatium
West Little RockPublic ice and roller skating sessions at Arkansas’s only dual ice-and-roller skating facility.Plan your visit ↗ME501 FINDS / GO ANYTIME
BOWL · PLAY · EAT
Main Event Little Rock
West Little RockBowling, laser tag, more than 100 arcade games, food, and all-weather entertainment under one roof.Plan your visit ↗Museums, attractions, parks, and dependable family outings.Explore things to do →
KNOW SOMETHING GOOD?
Put it on
our radar.
Community events, pop-ups, new trails, neighborhood gems—if Central Arkansas should know, send it our way.
OUR FIRST UNEXPECTED FIND · THE PURPLE COWOUR STORY
We missed the fireworks.
Then found the Purple Cow.
One missed event—and one unexpected find—sparked the local guide we wished we’d had.
JULY 4, 2025Southeast Missouri → Central Arkansas
When a job with Success Vision brought our family from Southeast Missouri to Central Arkansas on July 4, 2025, one of our first plans was simple: find a fireworks show. But the calendar we found online was out of date. The display had happened the night before, and we missed it.
The evening wasn’t a total loss. While we were out, we stumbled upon the Purple Cow—our first unexpected Central Arkansas find and proof that even a missed plan can lead to a good memory.
Since then, friends from work and church have generously pointed us toward places we “must see, must visit, and must eat.” Their recommendations helped a new place begin to feel like home. But we also realized that not everyone has people nearby to guide them—and even longtime locals can use a little help finding what’s happening next.
That’s the vision behind 501 Finds: one useful place for timely, relevant events and genuinely good local recommendations. We’ll do the legwork so you can spend less time searching and more time going, connecting, making memories, and discovering something new about the place we all call home.