Arkansas Inland Maritime Museum
4.7(822)google
4.5(18)yelp
HistoryMilitaryWarshipEducationalGuided TourIndoor
Overview
The Arkansas Inland Maritime Museum, located on the riverfront of North Little Rock, offers an extraordinarily rare look at American naval history. It is the only place in the world where visitors can step inside two historic vessels from World War II: the submarine USS Razorback and the naval tugboat USS Hoga, which famously survived the Pearl Harbor attack. Guided historical tours take travelers down into the cramped, authentic quarters of the submarine, providing an unforgettable educational perspective on the intense daily lives of naval sailors.
Practical Info
MonClosed
TueClosed
WedClosed
ThuClosed
Fri10:00 AM – 5:30 PM
Sat10:00 AM – 5:30 PM
Sun1:00 – 5:30 PM
Suggested Duration1.5-2.5 hours
Best TimeYear-round appeal, with Friday through Sunday offering mandatory guided interior tours of the vessels. Touring between 10:00 AM and 1:30 PM is premium; bright morning sun lights up the riverfront missile park and allows sharp photography on the steel decks of the historic WWII submarine, USS Razorback, before crawling through its narrow torpedo hatches.
Getting TherePerfectly positioned right along the North Little Rock river wall at 120 Riverfront Park Dr. Drive north from Little Rock across the I-30 bridge, take the immediate exit for Riverfront Drive heading west, and proceed for 0.5 miles. The giant black submarine silhouette will rise on your left, featuring a spacious, complimentary paved front parking lot.
Travel Tips
- The flagship USS Razorback WWII submarine features highly constrained, airtight historical steel framing. Self-guided roaming is legally barred; access requires joining a guide-led interpretive rotation, and the final tour launches tightly at 03:30 PM daily.
- Entering the hull requires backing down a vertical 14-foot historical watertight steel ladder with narrow clearance. Open sandals and high heels are critical safety violations; technical non-slip closed footwear is mandatory, and the interior layout is fully inaccessible to wheelchairs.
- Moored directly on the live Arkansas River channel, the non-insulated vintage steel hull absorbs intense solar radiation during summer middays, sending interior indices past 100°F. Claustrophobic individuals should book early morning rotations and carry factory-sealed water flasks.
Reviews
Positive
- A highly authentic, hardcore naval history experience! You can personally climb inside the actual WWII USS Razorback submarine.
- Guided tours are led by knowledgeable naval veterans who share incredible historical anecdotes and explain what each valve did vivid detail.
- Beyond the sub, the museum displays a historic Pearl Harbor tugboat and rich combat logs at a very cheap, budget-friendly ticket price.
- Prime location right along the scenic North Little Rock waterfront, paired with a spacious free public parking lot and crisp directional signage.
Heads up
- To preserve naval authenticity, the submarine interior is extremely cramped and narrow, with low hatches that challenge taller visitors.
- The vessel relies strictly on near-vertical steel ladders, offering zero accessibility for wheelchairs, seniors, or strollers down into the hull.
- The vintage ventilation struggles against peak summer humidity, leaving the sealed iron hull feeling stiflingly hot with a faint smell of diesel oil.
- The operational calendar is quite limited, with public tours only available on select days weekly; pre-checking the live schedule online is vital.