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Explore American Art and Architecture at Crystal Bridges Museum
The first thing you must do in Bentonville is explore the Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art. Not only is it free to visit (barring special exhibitions at a cost), but the building is a work of art in itself, designed by architect Moshe Safdie. You could spend hours seeing everything this museum has to offer between the indoor exhibits and art trails through the Ozark woods outside.
One exhibit I was pleasantly surprised to discover at the museum was a Yayoi Kusama Infinity Mirror Room. It’s part of their permanent collection, unlike a lot of her pieces that travel (and can be hard to get tickets for).
Other famous artwork at the museum includes Rosie the Riveter by Norman Rockwell, Georgia O’Keefe’s White Flower #1 (which is the world’s most expensive painting by a woman and was bought at auction for $44.4 million!), a James Turrell Skyspace The Way of Color, Frank Lloyd Wright’s Bachman-Wilson House, and other works by famous artists such as Andy Warhol, Asher Brown Durand, and so much more.
Hit the Trails in the Mountain Biking Capital of the World
Have you ever tried mountain biking before? Well, there’s no better place to try it than Northwest Arkansas!
The International Mountain Biking Association ranked Bentonville as a Silver-Level Ride Center – the pinnacle of mountain biking communities. With more than 140 miles of trails, the area is known to be one of the best mountain biking areas in the country!
Definitely make sure to check out Coler Mountain Bike Preserve – whether you’re a beginner or an expert you’ll find trails to try. They also have campgrounds and a cool coffee shop along the trail, called Airship Coffee. Once you’re at the top of Coler Mountain, you’ll find the Hub, a 20-foot-tall steel and wood structure that leads riders into 3 downhill runs: Fire Line, Cease and Desist, and Rock Solid. You can find a comprehensive trail map for Coler Mountain Bike Preserve here.
If you’re looking for a handy list of mountain biking resources for Bentonville, check this out!
Dine in a Restored Church Turned Restaurant at The Preacher’s Son
Located right off Bentonville City Square and led by Executive Chef Neal Gray, The Preacher’s Son is a beautiful dinner restaurant inside of a restored historic church. I had the Parisian Gnocchi as my main, and it was quite possibly the best gnocchi I’ve ever had! Between the fantastic food and amazing atmosphere, this is a dining experience you can’t miss while in Bentonville.
Once you’re done there, head downstairs to the Undercroft, a speakeasy cocktail bar beneath the church. While it’s fun to visit any time of year, I visited during the holidays while they were running a special pop-up called Miracle on 2nd Street. I tried specialty holiday craft cocktails like the Bad Santa or the SanTaRex, of course, which are served in novelty Christmas mugs. Due to the popularity of both The Preacher’s Son and Undercroft, I highly recommend making reservations for both!
See the Amazing Architecture of E. Fay Jones’ Chapels
Have you ever heard of E. Fay Jones? He was an apprentice of Frank Lloyd Wright from Arkansas. E. Fay Jones is most famous for the architecture of his few amazing chapels in the state. You can visit Mildred B. Cooper Memorial Chapel in Bella Vista and Thorncrown Chapel in Eureka Springs, which is on the National Register of Historic Places. Both are free to visit! I also highly recommend exploring Eureka Springs while you’re at Thorncrown, as it’s one of the cutest towns in Northwest Arkansas.
If you want to see another chapel done in the same style of architecture while in Arkansas, you can also visit Anthony Chapel in Hot Springs – I have it as part of my Little Rock and Hot Springs itinerary!
Stay in a Museum That’s Also a Hotel
If you’re looking for a unique place to stay in Northwest Arkansas, then make sure to check out the 21c Bentonville! This quirky hotel contains a museum inside (which is free to the public), as well as a refined country cuisine restaurant, The Hive. You can make your way around different exhibitions along the ground floor of the hotel, and make sure to check back as exhibits do rotate out.
Another fun feature of the property is the Green Penguin. You’ll see these giant neon green penguin statues all over the hotel, and they frequently move around. We even had one moved to our table to dine with at The Hive! They’re just another thing that makes 21c such a fun and interesting place to stay.
One of the best parts of staying at 21c Bentonville is how close everything is. You can walk to everything in the historic square or over to Crystal Bridges quite easily. So there are loads of shopping and dining options nearby!
Learn the History of the World’s Largest Company at the Walmart Museum
Did you know that Walmart started in Bentonville, AR? That’s right! And you can learn all about it at the Walmart Museum, located in the Bentonville City Square inside the original Walton’s 5&10. It’s fascinating to see how far the company has come – from a local store to the world’s largest company! One of my favorite parts of the exhibit was a section on “Famous Walmart Returns” and the hilarious reasons why they were returned. But hey, their motto was “the customer is always right”, so the returns were accepted.
The museum is free to visit, and will probably take you about an hour to explore. You can also check out the attached Spark Café Soda Fountain, which is a tribute to Sam Walton’s love of ice cream. Make sure to try the Spark Cream, which is made especially for the cafe by local ice creamery, Yarnell’s!
Experience Modern Art at The Momentary
The Momentary is a smaller satellite of Crystal Bridges that focuses on contemporary art and only opened recently in 2020 inside of a decommissioned cheese factory! The museum is free to visit and you can check out their current exhibitions on display here.
Hike the Ozarks
There are so many wonderful trails and state parks to visit within Northwest Arkansas. I always recommend using AllTrails to see what the highest rated trails in an area are, and some great ones I found nearby include Yellow Rock Trail in Devil’s Den State Park, Whitaker Point Trail to Hawksbill Crag, Mount Kessler Loop in Fayetteville, and Tanyard Creek Loop. Some of the best state parks and outdoor spaces in the area to check out include Devil’s Den State Park, Hobbs State Park, Beaver Lake, and Withrow Springs State Park.
Delve Into Native American History
Northwest Arkansas was originally inhabited by the Caddo, Quapaw, and Osage Nations, and there are many opportunities to learn more about their life in the region, as well as visit historical sites that were of the Trail of Tears in the 1800s.
In Bentonville, you can visit the MONAH – the Museum of Native American History. You’ll delve into the history of Native American life over the past centuries to now – a journey of 14,000 years of Arkansas history.
Another great historical site to visit is the Blue Springs Heritage Center in Eureka Springs. The Osage people used the Blue Spring as their trading post, and later in 1839, it was also a place for hope and renewal for the Cherokee people during their march along the Trail of Tears from Georgia.
This guide is also a great resource for finding Native American heritage sites across the state of Arkansas.
Eat at the Historic War Eagle Mill
The War Eagle Mill was first built back in 1832 and has been rebuilt 2 times since the 1800s due to flooding and then the Civil War. From 1873 to 1924, the mill was operational, until it burned down again and then was rebuilt in 1973 using the same blueprints to preserve its history. Today, War Eagle Mill is the only working grist mill in Arkansas, and it is still powered by an 18-foot cypress undershot waterwheel (and they believe themselves to be the last undershot mill in the US).
When you visit the mill, you can tour the red mill to see how they grind grains into flour and corn meals. You can shop locally-made products at the War Eagle Mill General Store, like jams, flours, cereals, and more. And of course, on the top floor, you can check out their cafe for breakfast or lunch. You’ll find dishes served made with their War Eagle Mill products, like cornbread, beans, sandwiches, and more.
Got more tips for Northwest Arkansas? Let me know in the comments!
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