What About Arkansas?

There are no reliably cool places in Arkansas between May and October. I live in Hot Springs, and it is a Hot Box this time of year. We love it, the area is beautiful, but that's the truth!

welove2drive wrote:
It is 544 miles from Dallas to Echo Bluff State park or Alley Spring SP near Eminence, MO. If you like to do float trips the Current and Jacks Fork Rivers are national scenic riverways. Many large springs and very cold water. Nice and cool. You can just float along, no effort required except an occasional "fun" spot (rock or tree). Beautiful area.

I spent a couple weeks at Echo Bluff last September. It’s more like an Aspen resort than a typical state park. The resident herd of (not very) wild horses wanders freely through the park.

I don’t know about the OP, but 544 miles is a lot longer than I want to drive on a Friday night after work, and drive home on Sunday.

And is is about that distance from McKinney - US-380 and US-75- to Ruidoso NM where at 5,000 ft elevation it will definitely be cooler.

Though I don’t know exactly in McKinney the OP lives so that could add another 80 miles to lake he round trip.

About an hour west of Petit Jean SP is Mount Magazine SP. Mount Magazine State Park is on the state's tallest mountain and said to be cool year round. We only drove through the campground and although it was nice weren't that impressed with it. Petit Jean is far nice campground in our opinion, but maybe not as cool.
Just a thought.

agesilaus wrote:
Ah maybe I'm missing something, but Mammoth Cave is in Kentucky not Arkansas.

Hahaha! Yes, you are absolutely correct! We did both that trip, LOL.

Thanks for the polite correction ;)