Flippin, AR

Flippin is a Marion County city in the Arkansas Ozarks, sitting between Bull Shoals Lake to the north, the White River to the east, and the Buffalo National River to the south. The Flippin family arrived in the area in the 1820s, and the settlement grew around a general store, flour mill, and cotton gin before incorporation in 1921. Water is still the town’s big geographic fact, but Flippin has turned it into a working economy as well as a recreation map.

ATTRJpowersok at English Wikipedia / CC BY 2.5

Flippin is the home of Ranger Boats, the bass-boat company founded by Forrest and Nina Wood, and newer boat manufacturers keep that shop-floor tradition going. Resorts, guides, and trout fishing line the White River, while Bull Shoals Lake and the Buffalo bring bass fishing, paddling, and weekend trips. The city is also a Purple Heart City, while the Benge Route of the Trail of Tears passed through Marion County. Flippin’s local scoop is that a town built around Ozark water now builds the boats people use to get on it.