Travelers flock to Northwest Arkansas for solar eclipse

BENTONVILLE, Ark. ( KNWA/KFTA ) — With the 2024 total solar eclipse on Monday, travelers from around the country are beginning to arrive in Northwest Arkansas.

Ashley Schindewolf and her three children landed at Northwest Arkansas National Airport on Friday as part of a weekend that has been planned since Christmas.

“We’re from near Tampa, Florida,” Schindewolf said. “We are here to see the solar eclipse on Monday.”

Schindewolf is one of many who are coming to Northwest Arkansas to experience the eclipse, which will have more than four minutes of totality in Russellville, Arkansas, among other places. In Fayetteville, there will be 98.55% coverage of the sun by the moon at its peak.

Schindewolf said Northwest Arkansas wasn’t originally the destination she and her family had in mind, though.

“We were originally looking at Texas, and then we found this airport and flights from our area here,” Schindewolf said. “We decided to come here and check out this area. Never been here before.”

Air travel isn’t the only mode of transportation for people coming to Northwest Arkansas.

Lea Canady, the director of sales with Element Bentonville, said the hotel has seen “probably 20% of an increase” compared to a normal time. Canady said people’s check-in and check-out times coincide with the eclipse.

“They’re coming in on Sunday, and then checking out on Tuesday,” Canady said.

Schindewolf said this is her second total solar eclipse with her three children Nolan, Ian and Skye, going up the East Coast to South Carolina in 2017. She said it’s “special” this time around because all her kids are old enough to remember the historic event.

She said their final destination on Monday is weather-dependent.

“We’re going to get in the car, and we’re hoping the weather’s good,” Schindewolf said. “But if it’s cloudy, we’re just going to have to drive around and find clear skies.”

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