Arkansas: Live Like Dawn Olivieri
The “Yellowstone” and “1883” star shares what she loves about living in The Natural State.
Dawn Olivieri found a frontier as grand as those her characters explore in the hit TV shows “Yellowstone” and “1883.”
“It felt like wild country,” Olivieri says of Western Arkansas, “and that’s what I wanted.”
The actor is going on year two of living in her rural sanctuary in Mena, a small city in Arkansas with a population of less than 6,000.
Olivieri was in the process of moving from Southern California to The Natural State while playing Claire Dutton, the stern sister of Tim McGraw’s character in “1883” – a prequel to “Yellowstone” that she was later cast in as Sarah Atwood, a provocative corporate fixer intent on taking down the Dutton family’s ranching empire.
Olivieri’s interest in Arkansas grew after the COVID-19 pandemic hit while she was staying with her parents in neighboring Oklahoma. Since moving, her acting career has continued to flourish, and she started a nonprofit in Mena rescuing horses called Moon Mountain Sanctuary in 2023.
Read on to learn about Olivieri’s move and what she loves about living in Arkansas.
How has it been since you moved? You’re near the end of a scenic byway and the Ouachita National Forest, right?
The property that I’m on actually butts up against it, so it’s got national forest boundary, which was part of the reason I wanted to live here. It was always my dream to saddle the horse and ride it straight out of the backyard right into national forest – that’s what I want to do. I call it a land hack. I also have a herd of around 40 head of goat that just wander free range and clear edges for me. They’re just always working.
What do you love about living in Mena?
The people have really been a highlight, to be honest, especially with the advent of this horse rescue. I feel like the people, the community, have really shown up in so many ways. I have met so many fun people – and [received] so much support – and so many people that are willing to work. They want to put some time in and help out, and [they are] good people, too. I love how animal-centric they are, and it just feels like I’m in the right place.
For fellow horse lovers, do you have any recommendations for horse-friendly trails or destinations in Arkansas?
One thing I can share is that there is a trail ride that I have gone on with my mom and sister for the last eight years, and it’s called the Okie-Arkie Trail Ride. It starts in Oklahoma and ends in Arkansas, and it has been one of the most incredible adventures that we keep going on as a family every single year.
I would recommend it to anyone who loves a good trail ride. It doesn’t cost much to do it, there are a lot of real cowboys on it, and man, it’s so fun to bring your family, horses and kids to the ride. You can go for the day or go for the week – however you want to do it. I’m a big advocate for that ride. I’ve fallen in love with all the people who put it on, and if there’s one ride to hit, it’s that one.
Do you have any other recommendations for activities or events in Arkansas?
I did hear about [the Arkansas Goat Festival in Perryville] … it’s definitely on my calendar for next year. I want to make sure I hit the goat festival. And there is also, like I told you, the Okie-Arkie Trail Ride that happens twice a year – in the fall and in the spring – so I always go to that.
I want to go dig for crystals – that’s a neat thing that Arkansas offers, that you can go dig around in the dirt and find diamonds and crystals. That’s right up my alley. I’d love to go check out the hot springs in Hot Springs, so that’s going to be on our list of adventures to be had while here in Arkansas. Those are at the top of my list, for sure.
For others interested in following in your footsteps, do you recommend any neighborhoods, or do you have any words of wisdom?
I like the term “homestead hybriding” because I feel like, nowadays, you can move out – far out – and still get Amazon. So I feel like you can be a lot more removed from society now and still be able to live in a way that is comfortable to you, as long as you don’t need your coffee shops and your yoga studios like right out your door.
I feel like now is the time to go find land that’s affordable in these outskirt towns and make it your own. I think it’s been so fun for me to find this small town and sort of inject myself into it the way that I have. You just feel so empowered. You can do so much in a small town, where in all the big cities that I’ve ever lived, I never got that same sense that I do in a small town.
Is there anything else within the state that you would recommend?
It’s called The Natural State, and it has so much of that natural landscape to offer, whether it’s the rivers or the creeks or the lakes, and all of the activities to do within those places. I’m really looking forward to exploring more of it, and I love that lifestyle. I love going out on a river boat or on a creek and hanging out with family or with your friends and riding horses through the woods. Arkansas has it all.
Is there anything you want to share related to “Yellowstone” and “1883” and Arkansas?
When I was shooting “1883,” I was actually in the process of moving out to Arkansas, so I felt like not only was I playing a woman on the frontier on that show, but I felt, in that moment, that I was actually a woman moving to the frontier in real life, so I had so many parallels happen around that particular moment in time that were really interesting.
(This article was edited for length and clarity.)
This article was sponsored by Arkansas Tourism.