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DAY 2
Start the next day with a novel bike ride to the sixth-floor rooftop of The Ledger building, which you can reach by cycling up the wide ramps that wrap around it. Once there, take the opportunity to spot some of the murals the city’ s known for, like Lakes and Rivers by Stefan Sagmeister, which you’ ll find on the side of a nearby parking garage. It features two silver smallmouth bass that glimmer in the wind, a nod to Arkansas’ abundance of wildlife. The installation forms part of the NW Oz Art trail of‘ museum quality art in surprising places’, which visitors can find dotted around northwest Arkansas.
Cycle back down and head to Bentonville’ s new 21c Museum Hotel, with its 104 boutique rooms, art museum, cultural centre and bright, airy restaurant called The Hive. It’ s a great option for all those favourite breakfast dishes like big stacks of buttermilk pancakes,
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freshly-baked pastries, plates of eggs and sides of hash browns. Afterward, outside on the front drive, take some time to admire the shiny Fleetwood Cadillac limo covered in nickels, dimes and pennies. The car was built in 1962 when the first Walton’ s 5-10( five and dime) opened— hence the design.
Back on the Razorback Greenway, make your way to the region’ s crown jewel: the Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art, set in a series of shell-like buildings designed by architect Moshe Safdie. It’ s only three miles from downtown Bentonville, and allow yourself time to check out all the public art scattered around it— like the giant eroded copper paper airplane, another NW Oz Art trail stop called Launch Intention by Griffin Loop. Crystal Bridges opened in 2011 with the personal collection of Alice Walton— daughter of the Walmart founder. It’ s currently in the midst of a major expansion project due to be completed in 2026. Today, it presents a snapshot of American art through the ages,
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From left: Mural at 8th Street Market; reading room at the Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art Previous pages, clockwise from top left: Crystal Bridges exterior; Bentonville Bike Fest; sunflower against the sky; display inside The Walmart Museum; the Bentonville water tower in downtown; vintage merchandise at The Walmart Museum; The Bubble by Harriet Whitney Frishmuth, Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art; mural at 8th Street Market; a Wagyu sando at Junto Sushi |
images: Drager Creative Courtesy of Visit Bentonville |
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