Central Arkansas Showcase – The Old Mill

In North Little Rock, Arkansas, just down the road from McCain Mall, Starbucks, and all the other good shopping is a quiet, beautiful little place.

View of The Old Mill from one of the foot bridges

The Old Mill is gorgeous.  It may just be the most beautifully kept landscaping I’ve seen around here.

Some of the beautifully kept grounds

But for parents with lots of little ones, let me say, you should either have an extra helping hand, an immobile baby that you can wear (strollers are nearly impossible), and only one toddler in tow.  There are lots of narrow, high places that children can fall from, there is water all around, and flowers you’ll not want the kiddos picking.  There’s not a playground.  All of this will keep you on your parenting toes.

But there are lots of upsides.

It’s free, peaceful, and have I mentioned, beautiful?

The Old Mill Fountain

It’s a great place to stop off for a picnic if you’re having a busy day in the city.  There are some picnic tables and they do have a nice fairly flat grassy place just as you come in to let your little crawlers down on the ground.

There is a fenced in area that your olders can climb up.

The area my kids liked climbing up

A mini-amphitheater that your middles can run and jump on – all to get that energy out.

A place to burn energy!

It’s wonderful for photo opportunities.

All my kiddos with their sweet Daddy

It’s a good place to learn a little history, some botany, and to relax.  You can see it in the opening scene of Gone With The Wind.

The history of The Old Mill

Oh, and for the really important stuff, there is a public potty on the premises!

We, somehow, didn’t get a picture of the actual millstone in the building, but this is a great place to bring home a visual understanding of the verse “But if anyone causes one of these little ones who believe in me to sin, it would be better for him to have a large millstone hung around his neck and to be drowned in the depths of the sea.”  Matthew 18:5-7

Where the actual millstone is located

We loved it and will be going back.  We took some of our favorite pictures lately there.  You can see them here, here, and here.

Here is The Old Mill’s location on Google Maps to make it easier to find.