For a wealth of eclipse-viewing resources and tips, read our main guide here.
Where will you be on April 8? If you stay in Springfield, you’ll certainly experience significant atmospheric change with the 97.5% partial eclipse expected here — but it will pale in comparison to totality.
So where can you go to see a total eclipse?
As the largest Missouri community on the moon shadow’s path close to the center of totality, Poplar Bluff has received lots of attention, including a nod from NASA. With an eclipse duration time of 4 minutes and 8 seconds, the city coined the April 8 event as Total Eclipse of the Bluff and is planning for a crowd with a slate of weekend events. Doniphan, along the Current River, will experience the total eclipse even longer at 4 minutes and 12 seconds.
Poplar Bluff and Doniphan are more than three hours from Springfield, making an impractical day trip for most of us.
Not to worry: We used interactive charts at eclipse2024.org for Missouri and Arkansas to reveal locations you can more easily reach.
In this guide, you’ll find suggestions for the shortest drives to see at least two minutes of totality; several sweet spot locations you can reach in two hours for three minutes or more of totality; the shortest drives we could find in under two hours and 30 minutes to locations with more than four minutes of totality; and more!
Explore our suggested spots in each dropdown list below.
Quickest drives to experience totality
To reach totality in less than an hour and forty-five minutes, try one of these locations. You won’t see totality for long, but you’ll see it.
Click here for the location list
- In Missouri, head southeast to reach Pomona (just over 90 minutes away) or a little farther to Mountain View where totality lasts more than 2 minutes.
- Or head south through Harrison, Arkansas, to Western Grove or Valley Springs — about 90 minutes away — where totality also lasts more than 2 minutes. Pruitt, where totality is just shy of two minutes, is about an hour and 40 minutes away.
- Another area roughly an hour and 45 minutes away for more than 2 minutes of totality is the Pyatt, Yellville and Summit region of Arkansas.
Note: A few locations on the edge of the path can be reached in under 90 minutes, but we didn’t include them because you would experience totality for less than two minutes — and mere seconds in some areas like Willow Springs, Missouri, or Peel, Arkansas. Our advice? Drive a little farther!
Sweet spot locations in under two hours
There are several sweet spot locations you can reach in two hours or less to see more than three minutes of totality.
Click here for the location list
- The closest Missouri location for more than 3 minutes of totality is West Plains and its surrounding area, which you can reach in about an hour and 45 minutes.
- Koshkonong, Missouri, about two hours away, will see totality for nearly 3.5 minutes. A few other small Missouri towns you can reach in about two hours for more than three minutes of totality include Winona, Egypt Grove, Hocomo, South Fork, Brandsville, Cull, Fanchon and Rover.
- Or head south into Arkansas. St. Joe, just under two hours away, will experience 3 minutes, 14 seconds.
- A few other small Arkansas towns with more than 3 minutes of totality you can reach in two hours (or less) include Gassville, Cotter, Rea Valley, Ralph, Bear Creek (near Marshall) and Cave Creek (past Mt. Judea).
- Marshall, Arkansas, a bit farther than two hours away, will experience nearly 4 minutes of totality.
Nearest locations with at least 4-minute eclipse durations
Many communities promoted for being near the center of the path are more than three hours from Springfield, but we found a few spots you can reach in roughly two and a half hours that will experience more than 4 minutes of totality.
Click here for the location list
- In Missouri, try Thayer (4 minutes, 3 seconds), about two hours and 20 minutes away near the Arkansas border.
- The small towns of Couch and Jeff, just south of Alton, are roughly 2.5 hours away. And Myrtle, a few minutes southeast, has one of Missouri’s longest stretches of totality at 4 minutes, 10 seconds. Bardley, about 10 minutes east of Alton, will experience 4 minutes, 6 seconds.
- Or head for Arkansas. You can reach Mammoth Spring (4 minutes, 2 seconds) — just south of Thayer across the state border — in two hours and 20 minutes.
- And just south of Mammoth Spring, Hardy, Arkansas — about 2.5 hours away — is close to the path center. The eclipse will last 4 minutes, 12 seconds there.
- You can reach Dennard, Arkansas, in about two hours and 20 minutes (south of Marshall) to experience 4 minutes, 8 seconds of totality. Leslie is five minutes closer; or go to small towns of Alco, Thola or Oxley east of Mountain View for nearly the same durations.
- Clinton, just 15 minutes past Dennard, is practically in the center of the path. It will experience nearly 4 minutes and 15 seconds of totality.
More Missouri towns within reasonable distances
Locations are listed with distance in miles from Springfield and length of totalities.
Click here for the location list
- Gainesville — 91 miles; 1 minute, 34.9 seconds
- Dawt Mill — 101 miles; 2 minutes, 16.9 seconds
- Tecumseh — 101 miles; 2 minutes, 22.9 seconds
- Siloam Springs — 107 miles; 1 minute, 58 seconds
- Alley Spring — 126 miles; 2 minutes, 24.8 seconds
- Winona — 127 miles; 3 minutes, 17 seconds
- Eminence — 136 miles; 2 minutes, 40 seconds
- Alton — 139 miles; 3 minutes, 53.4 seconds
- Turner Mill — 146 miles; 3 minutes, 54.7 seconds
- Van Buren — 148 miles; 3 minutes, 47.9 seconds
More Arkansas towns within reasonable distances
Locations are listed with distance from Springfield and length of totalities.
Click here for the location list
- Jasper — 96 miles; 2 minutes, 6.6 seconds
- Mount Sherman — 101 miles; 2 minutes, 50.4 seconds
- Parthenon — 102 miles; 2 minutes, 12.6 seconds
- Yellville — 105 miles; 2 minutes, 48.5 seconds
- Deer — 112 miles; 2 minutes, 50.4 seconds
- Flippin — 112 miles; 2 minutes, 50.4 seconds
- Mountain Home — 117 miles; 2 minutes, 56.6 seconds
- Bull Shoals — 119 miles; 2 minutes, 23 seconds
- Cozahome — 129 miles; 3 minutes, 44.1 seconds
- Witt Springs — 131 miles; 3 minutes, 47.2 seconds
- Big Flat — 138 miles; 3 minutes, 55.6 seconds
Popular Ozarks outdoor locations and why to pick or skip
If you’re an outdoor enthusiast looking for things to do leading up to the eclipse, these locations within the totality path and less than three hours away might look appealing. However, some are better than others.
Click here for the location list
- Ponca and Boxley Valley near the Buffalo National River. We love the Upper Buffalo, but eclipse totality will last under a minute here. You’re better off going to the Buffalo River areas of Tyler Bend (3 minutes, 24 seconds) or Dillards Ferry (3 minutes, 32 seconds).
- Bull Shoals Lake. It’s easy to reach and if you go to Bull Shoals-White River State Park near the town of Lakeview — about two hours away — you’ll experience the total eclipse for roughly 2 minutes, 30 seconds. If you go to another part of Bull Shoals Lake, be sure you’re east of Peel or you’ll miss it!
- Norfolk Lake. East of Mountain Home, it’s an even better option than Bull Shoals. That’s because Norfolk Lake in Arkansas (and a bit of Missouri) is entirely within the eclipse path. The farther south you go, the longer it will last.
- Echo Bluff, Round Spring and Current River state parks. While beautiful areas within the eclipse path, you’ll experience less than two minutes of totality in these Current River areas. We advise you to go farther south, at least to Eminence (2 minutes, 40 seconds) or Alley Spring (2 minutes, 25 seconds) where it will last longer.
Travel and location tips
There are several helpful tools to help you discover eclipse details, including durations and start/end times, for various locations in Missouri and Arkansas.
- To search for a specific town along the eclipse path, find it on a chart at eclipse2024.org. Click here for Missouri and click here for Arkansas.
- If you’re more visual, click here for an interactive map from NASA Science. It comes with a pop-up eclipse calculator. Just plug in a zip code to get the duration of the eclipse, plus start and end times.
- If you want to click onto a map location without knowing the zip code, try this great interactive map. When you find a potential location, click on that spot to get a pop-up with detailed eclipse information there.
Plan ahead
- Many towns, parks and other destinations within the path of totality are planning events and activities. Arrive early; expect crowds and limited parking. Small towns along the path are likely to be less congested.
- If watching from a national forest or back country roads, find a public place to park. Do not park on private property without permission or block a road.
- Avoid driving during the partial or total eclipse. Not only could there be increased traffic, the changes in light during an eclipse make it less safe.
Did you know?
- Poplar Bluff, with an eclipse duration of 4 minutes, 8 seconds, will have the longest totality of any sizable Missouri community.
- The Fourche Creek Conservation Area in Ripley County, about 15 miles southwest of Doniphan and right on the eclipse path center line, will see the longest totality in Missouri at 4 minutes, 13 seconds. Doniphan will experience 4 minutes, 12 seconds.
- Hot Springs National Park in Arkansas is one of only two national parks within the path of totality. Its duration time is 3 minutes, 43 seconds.
- Gillham, more than five hours away, is the Arkansas community with the longest duration of totality at 4 minutes, 18 seconds.
