Welcome to part three of my trilogy of articles about smaller and unknown towns in Northwest Arkansas. If you haven’t already read parts one and two, definitely check those out, as I’ve already covered cities like West Fork, Salem Springs, Elkins, and many more. For this post, I’ve left all the “G” towns in the area to discuss.
Some smaller and unknown towns in Northwest Arkansas include Gentry, Gravette, Goshen, Garfield, and Gateway. These towns are great if you want the best of both worlds, owning lots of acreage while still being nearby larger, rapidly developing NWA cities like Fayetteville, Rogers, and Bentonville.
Keep reading, and I’ll tell you more about these small, unknown, but up-and-coming towns in Northwest Arkansas. Let’s get started!
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Gentry
Gentry is wedged between Salem Springs and Gravette (which I’ll talk about next). It’s somewhat hard to get to right now, but the town is a little bit up-and-coming because it’s on a main road called 59. I wouldn’t consider 59 a highway, but I presume it will become a bigger road within the next ten years because it will be an offshoot of 49.
Still, Gentry is definitely a small town. You’ll potentially find more affordable acreage, though the town is full of older-style homes, and you’ll probably deal with some gravel roads. Some developments are currently happening out there, but nothing too large-scale. Regardless, Gentry is on the map.
Probably the slowest-growing area on this list, it’s not growing at what I would consider a quick pace, but it’s growing nonetheless. To get an idea of what I’m comparing to, check out my article covering the big projects starting in Bentonville.
Oftentimes, people move to Genty because they want to be close to Northwest Arkansas, as they’re about a 30-minute drive from Bentonville and many other downtown sections.
The problematic thing about Gentry at the moment is that there’s no solid, good way to get over to Bentonville or down to Fayetteville. Gentry is more of a feed-off city of Salem Springs, to which you can probably get easier access. And honestly, you may find yourself going there more often than elsewhere. Still, Salem Springs is growing, and as it grows, Gentry will grow as well.
Gravette
I consider Gravette the potentially fastest-growing area on this list because it’s a short offshoot from 49. As I’ve mentioned in other articles, a bypass was recently built around Bella Vista, granting Gravette easy access to Bentonville and all the different parts of Northern Arkansas. So getting from Gravette to Bentonville is super easy now, just jump on 49 and head down.
Because of this, we’ll see much development in the next couple of years. Gravette will be a fantastic option for people moving here to work in Bentonville but don’t actually want to live in Bentonville or places like Center 10 or Bella Vista because it’s really close to all those places.
The area feeds off more metropolitan areas, like Fayetteville, Bentonville, Springdale, and Rogers. But it’s cool because you can be a hop-skip away from these places yet feel like you have some space. After all, you can have more acreage. And since it’s a smaller city, you’ll find some newer-style housing.
Once developers move into the area and see the potential of buying up parts of the land, and as people move there and get a couple of acres, it will become a hot spot for growth and development.
Also, I have a 3-day itinerary that can help you decide what activities to do if you’re overwhelmed by everything Northwest Arkansas has to offer.
It doesn’t matter if you’re a foodie, a sports person, a sightseer, or want to spend quality time with your kids; I have something for you. Check out the link below to learn more:
https://www.allthingsnwa.com/3-day-itinerary-northwest-arkansas
Goshen
Goshen is an up-and-coming town on the east side of Fayetteville with some large-scale developments in the works. It’s known for its immaculate, amazing, crazy homes that make you say, “Wow!” They’re quite large, to say the least.
Yet, the thing about Goshen is that it’s so pristine and gorgeous; you get all the views, the rolling hills, the sunrises, the sunsets, and you start looking over the Ozark Mountains. It’s such a beautiful place to be.
However, Goshen isn’t going to be a high-growth area because of its distance from 49. There are no simple, easy ways to get from Goshen to 49, and other places in NWA might be a bit of a stretch. That might change in the future, but probably not because Northwest Arkansas is growing to the west, not to the east. So keep that in mind if you’re looking at Goshen.
Garfield
Garfield is northeast of Rogers and Bentonville. It’s undoubtedly a great place for acreage and a great place if you want horses or cattle. You’ll find some homes that have been built in the last five years or so, while other homes are a bit older, to say the least.
The “easy” way to get to Garfield is taking 62, which cuts through downtown Rogers and then up to Garfield. Yet, it’s a winding road that creates a bit of distance to travel.
It’s interesting because it’s a wild area quite vast in space, and a lot is out there. But the landscape doesn’t make it very easy for builders or developers to buy up sections of land to build a large subdivision. Occasionally, developers buy up around seven acres and build up one little area of speck homes. But that is rare since it’s easier to land in West NWA.
I say all that to say that if you want acreage and to be tucked away in your own little tree heaven, you’ll probably need to get closer to Beaver Lake. I also wouldn’t say this is an up-and-coming town. It’s a place on the map. It has no downtown section, only acreage, horses, cows, some grazing land, hills, and mountains –that’s Garfield. So keep that in mind if you’re looking around up north.
Gateway
Gateway is on the fringe edges of Northwest Arkansas, acting like the gateway between Arkansas and Missouri, getting you closer to Eureka Springs and Branson. It’s also near Beaver Lake and the Devil’s Eyebrow Natural Area, an extreme hiking trail.
Similar to Garfield, Gateway is full of hills, mountains, and open land, so it’s a bit of a distance from NWA, with 62 as the direct connection. Because of this, you’ll probably end up in Eureka Springs more often than you will in NWA. If you go anywhere, it will be downtown Rogers because it connects right to it, but it will probably take a solid 30 to 45 minutes.
Final Thoughts
If you’re considering moving to Northwest Arkansas and looking for space, definitely check out these smaller, outskirt towns. You can have lots of acreage and be close to all the exciting things NWA offers, giving you the best of both worlds.