Things to Do in Mount Ida, Arkansas
The best things to do in Mount Ida, Arkansas, are digging your own quartz crystals, getting out on Lake Ouachita and riding the Womble Trail. Mount Ida is a town of 996 people and the seat of Montgomery County, on the South Fork of the Ouachita River.
Granville Whittington opened the first post office here in 1842 and named it after a hill near his old home in Massachusetts. Under the topsoil around town lie countless tons of clear quartz, which is why Mount Ida calls itself the quartz crystal capital.
Wegner Crystal Mines
This is one of the best-known places to dig for quartz around Mount Ida. Like the area’s other pay mines, it lets you keep the crystals you find, and there are trails on the property. The shop also sells finished crystals and minerals.
★ Good to know It’s open Tuesday through Saturday; bring your own tools or buy them on site, and wear clothes you don’t mind getting muddy.
Crystal Vista
High on Gardner Mountain in the Ouachita National Forest, this 4-acre former commercial mine lets you pick quartz crystals right off the ground surface. It’s managed by the Forest Service’s Caddo-Womble Ranger District.
★ Good to know From Mount Ida, take Highway 27 south 3.8 miles, turn left on County Road 2237 (Owley Road) and go 4.1 miles to the trailhead.
Lake Ouachita
The Army Corps of Engineers built Lake Ouachita between 1946 and 1954, and it’s Arkansas’ largest lake. It covers 40,000 acres, with more than 200 islands and 975 miles of undeveloped shoreline, and ranks among the cleanest lakes in the country. There are 20 boat ramps and 10 full-service marinas.
★ Good to know Houseboating is popular because the water is deep; the Corps’ Denby Point campground on the lake has a Mount Ida address.
Womble Trail
This singletrack runs more than 37 miles from Northfork Lake to the Ouachita National Recreation Trail, and parts of it follow bluffs above the Ouachita River. The Forest Service calls it one of the best singletrack trails in the region, for hikers and mountain bikers alike.
★ Good to know For a shorter outing, combine the Womble Cutoff, the Womble and the Ouachita Trail west of Highway 27 for an 8-mile loop.
Heritage House Museum of Montgomery County
This free museum opened in 1998 and covers county life from 1800 to 1975. Rooms cover quartz mining, logging, Lake Ouachita and the 2003 Arkansas state quarter, which Mount Ida’s Dortha Scott designed. Outside are an 1880s log house, a 1938 WPA outhouse and the Owley Swing, a horse-drawn merry-go-round from the early 1900s.
★ Good to know It’s open every day of the year, with shorter afternoon hours on weekends.
World Championship Quartz Crystal Dig
Each October, contestants dig in two divisions, points and clusters, and report each day to an assay office at the Montgomery County Fairgrounds. Winners keep their crystals and split the prize money. The event grew out of a Quartz Crystal Festival the local chamber promoted in the 1980s.
★ Good to know It’s held in the second week of October, the same week as the museum’s Sorghum Festival, so one trip can cover both.
Sorghum Festival
The Heritage House Museum has held this festival since 2010. Volunteers squeeze locally grown cane in a tractor mill and a mule-driven mill, then cook it down to syrup you can taste on hot buttered biscuits. There are also blacksmithing, weaving and rope-making demonstrations, plus live music.
★ Good to know It’s always the second Saturday in October.
Also in town
Avatar Crystal Mine, formerly Arrowhead, is another pay-to-dig site outside town, and the Front Porch Stage puts on free concerts on the courthouse lawn.
Can you dig for crystals for free near Mount Ida?
Yes. Crystal Vista, a former commercial mine on Gardner Mountain in the Ouachita National Forest, lets you collect quartz from the ground surface. Private mines like Wegner charge a fee but let you keep what you find.
Why is Mount Ida called the quartz crystal capital?
The hills around town hold huge deposits of clear quartz under a thin layer of topsoil, and several mines let visitors dig. The town also hosts the World Championship Quartz Crystal Dig each October.
How far is Mount Ida from Lake Ouachita?
Close. The Corps of Engineers’ Denby Point campground on Lake Ouachita has a Mount Ida address. The lake has drawn visitors to town since it opened in the 1950s.
What other Arkansas towns pair with Mount Ida?
Murfreesboro, home of Crater of Diamonds State Park, makes a natural rockhounding pair. See our full list of small towns in Arkansas for more.
Where to find them
- Wegner Crystal Mines 82 Wegner Crystal Ranch Rd., Mount Ida, AR 71957 Website Directions
- Crystal Vista County Road 2237 (Owley Rd.), Mount Ida, AR 71957 Website Directions
- Lake Ouachita 119 Ouachita Shores Pkwy., Mount Ida, AR 71957 Website Directions
- Womble Trail Website Directions
- Heritage House Museum of Montgomery County 819 Luzerne St., Mount Ida, AR 71957 Website Directions
- Sorghum Festival 819 Luzerne St., Mount Ida, AR 71957 Website Directions
Plan your trip: for events and current visitor info in Mount Ida, see Mount Ida Area Chamber of Commerce →
Some links in this section are affiliate links. If you book through them, Best Small Towns in America may earn a commission at no extra cost to you.
Where to stay in Mount Ida
Keep exploring
Murfreesboro, ARAbout 34 miles as the crow fliesThe town next to the diamond field where finders keep.Things to do in Murfreesboro →
Washington, ARAbout 54 miles as the crow fliesA preserved 1800s town that served as Arkansas' Confederate capital.Things to do in Washington →
Dardanelle, ARAbout 54 miles as the crow fliesRiver town below Mount Nebo, where True Grit's Mattie Ross set out.Things to do in Dardanelle →Also nearby: Jasper · Heber Springs