A New American Town - Bentonville, Arkansas

Insider's Guide to Bentonville, Arkansas: Maximize Your Experience

• Visit Bentonville • Season 9 • Episode 11

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Join Visit Bentonville as we share expert local insights on how to make the most of your time in Bentonville, Arkansas! Whether you're a first-time visitor or a frequent traveler to the MTB Capital of the World, this episode is packed with insider tips on top attractions, outdoor adventures, and must-visit spots around town.

From biking downtown and exploring world-class trails to discovering hidden gems and indulging in unforgettable dining experiences, we’ll help you plan an itinerary that showcases the very best of Bentonville. Get ready to experience the town like a local and uncover what makes it a top destination for outdoor enthusiasts, art lovers, and foodies alike!

A New American Town is here to help you plan your trip to Bentonville, Arkansas. From guides, events, and restaurant highlights. Find all this and more at visitbentonville.com and subscribe to our newsletter. Follow us on Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, X, and LinkedIn.

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Natalie Stika :

Welcome to A New American Town. I'm Natalie and I'm Allison, and we're with Visit Bentonville.

Natalie Stika :

Today's episode is a special feature where we wanted to share our local insights with you on how to maximize your experience in Bentonville, arkansas, allison has lived in Northwest Arkansas for over 20 years and has seen this place continue to grow from a small town to a bustling hub for creativity, cycling experiences and more. I've lived here in Bentonville for two years and I have completely dived into the ins and outs of the city through my role at Visit Bentonville. So let's get into it.

Alison Nation:

All right.

Natalie Stika :

So obviously you've seen Bentonville change a lot over the years, but what are a couple things that have stayed the same?

Alison Nation:

Oh, okay, stayed the same. I think the most consistent aspect of Bentonville are the people and our welcome and enthusiasm for art and outdoors and enthusiasm for art and outdoors. I started working in Bentonville at Crystal Bridges before the museum opened around the very end of 2008, so early 2009. And we were running a little gallery space for Crystal Bridges in the old Massey Hotel, what's now Fat Tire Bike Shop. So we got to meet with people from the community, talk to them about art, do programming, art talks, art making, and that was when I really found that the Bentonville community was embracing art and excited for change and growth, and I think that is continuing to this day. Wow.

Natalie Stika :

Yeah, that's exactly the vibe that I got when I moved here, and it's still the same way. I remember moving here and everyone was like, oh, are you going to be a mountain biker now? And I didn't come from a place with mountain biking, so I was completely thrown off and had no idea that Bentonville was a mountain biking capital of the world. And now I can successfully say that I have ridden a mountain bike and it is so thrilling and so cool how encouraging the community is. And they want you to be a part of the sport, they want you to be a part of the art and all of the things going on. It's really exciting. What are some of the your favorite three things that happen here in town?

Alison Nation:

Oh, my gosh. Okay, number one is definitely Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art. I love art. I love art museums, and being a part of the museum early on was such a just a gift in my career, so I still have a very tender spot in my heart for all things Crystal Bridges. I think the second thing that I absolutely love is live music at the momentary and our growing kind of scene of live music around town. I love to see musicians, bands play, I love to travel for music, and so when the Momentary came online in 2020 and we saw the types of bands we'd be bringing in, it was just a dream come true. I still can't believe the artists that we've been able to see here in Bentonville, like Big Boi from Outkast or the Australian folk singer Julia Jaclyn Even John Legend and Megan Maroney coming up.

Natalie Stika :

We just had Michelle Moore from Crystal Bridges and the Momentary on to talk all about what they're offering this spring, so you can learn more about that all the listeners who are watching right now. If I could chime in one of the, my other third favorite thing is our culinary scene here. It's really, really special how quote unquote small this town is, but the flavors here are big and bold and local and so unique. We have some of the most awesome chefs in this whole state and I probably shouldn't say that, but they're super cool.

Alison Nation:

And there's a wide variety of gluten-free options in the city more than people realize, which I know is very special to many of us.

Natalie Stika :

Yeah, yeah, it's cool, and now three of our local chefs are James Beard nominated, which is a really huge honor. Every year, every week, it seems like a new place is opening up, so you can't really go wrong with what you eat here. So true of itineraries for travel creators and content creators, and I would love to pick your brain, allison, on how you set up their visits and make sure that they have a wonderful time so that they can tell the story of Bentonville.

Alison Nation:

Well, step number one, with anyone who's planning a visit to write about us or make content, the first question is to ask if they have experience riding a bicycle, Because biking Bentonville is the best way to see our city and I am on a crusade to get any rider who maybe is even remotely comfortable on a bike on a bike to see our city from our trails and throughout the woods and neighborhoods that you can ride. It's just the most wonderful experience you see.

Natalie Stika :

Such a different part of our city too. I was able to do it with my mother-in-law and she was like this is a completely different Bentonville than what I've seen before. And it's so true, it's so special, especially when the trees haven't fully greened out, because you can see all of the mountain biking trails that we've been in and out through all the paved paths that we have.

Alison Nation:

It's really cool. So tip one is to book in downtown your hotel or your Airbnb. Rent an e-bike from one of the mini shops which you can find on visitbettenvillecom, slash bike on our resources tab and then cruise the city.

Natalie Stika :

You won't need to touch your car again we even have some really fun cycling themed restaurants and eateries that you can kind of play along with the biking theme and feel like a true cyclist for the day, um, and really get immersed in our culture in that way. Are there any other tips that you have when you build out itineraries?

Alison Nation:

I think budget time to sit and enjoy. There's so many lovely green spaces, as well as just the art galleries. So ride a bike about, park it and just sit on a bench and enjoy the view of nature of the art, whatever, wherever you might land, of nature of the art, whatever, wherever you might land.

Natalie Stika :

Bentonville is a really great place to refresh and revitalize and, yeah, nature is one of the best places. We have so many parks. We have Osage Park.

Alison Nation:

Coler Mountain Bike Preserve Creekside Park.

Natalie Stika :

There's dozens, tons, tons, kind of along those lines. Do you feel like there are some hidden gems that visitors often overlook that you want people to know about more?

Alison Nation:

Well, I did just mention Creekside Park and it's sort of on the southwest side of our city on the road to the airport. They have an amazing splash pad, so summertime visitors should definitely swing by there. Visitors should definitely swing by there, and the thing about some of our outdoor spaces that accommodate humans' needs to get around, but keep nature at the forefront and at the heart of the experience and it really shows. When you're in the parks you can really tell that intentionality.

Natalie Stika :

What parks?

Alison Nation:

have they done ? Osage Coler, Mountain Bike Preserve, Creekside Park. They're working on the Quilt of Parks here downtown. They're everywhere. They're a local agency with some really great skills.

Natalie Stika :

That's cool. I love that. I think one of my favorite things that people often overlook is the skyspace that's on the Crystal Bridges Trail, which I know you can also nerd about. Do you want to tell us more?

Alison Nation:

So James Drell's Sky Space, the Way of Color, is located on the Crystal Bridges Art Trail between Compton Gardens and the south entrance to the museum. It's open from dawn till dusk and it's the most meditative and beautiful place to spend a little bit of time. But what you want to do is budget either a dawn visit or a dusk visit, because there is a light experience that happens around dawn and dusk, that transforms the space and it interacts with your eyes and your brain to create a color on the ceiling that is, it's truly impossible to describe and just the most beautiful thing you can experience.

Natalie Stika :

Yeah, and here in Bentonville it's free, that's true, and it's permanent, which is so exciting, because this same artist has the sky space in places like Milan and other crazy destinations, and, whether it's free or not, most of the time I don't think it's permanent. So it's really, really special that we have it here, right off the downtown that you can walk to Kind of along the lines of Hidden Gems. Do you feel like there are any local flavors that people often overlook? Or maybe what are some of your favorites?

Alison Nation:

My go-to food stops are Two Friends Books and Cafe. They have fresh made baguettes and sandwiches. They have a sweet potato sandwich that is my favorite in the city. I am a big sweet potato eater and I can imagine people thinking like why on earth would you want sweet potato on a sandwich? You just have to trust me and go and try it, and then we can discuss how good it is. So good, Yep. I also love Crepes Paulette, such as a great standard for Bentonville. What about you, Natalie? What are your favorite?

Natalie Stika :

I feel like some of the smaller ones are Thai Kitchen.

Natalie Stika :

My husband and I love Thai kitchen. We get it like at least twice a month and they're so fast and they're so friendly and the rush hour, like during lunchtime it's so exciting how busy they are all the time. And then I think another one of my favorites is Chola Cafe. It's a really wonderful Indian spot that's not downtown so I feel like people forget about it a lot. We have really amazing Indian food here and I, yeah, really love that. Do you have any favorite Bentonville memories you want to talk about, Like maybe your first time you ever came?

Alison Nation:

My favorite Bentonville memory. There are so many, mixed up between both my professional life and then also living here and raising a family here. You know we talked about skyspace and I have photos of my children, who are now 12 and 9, but when they were toddlers in their strollers, sitting back, gazing and reacting with amazement to the colors and the ceiling and the skyspace. So things like that, those moments of getting to share this world-class art experience every day with my children in an environment I could never have imagined existed previous to. This has been is probably just the core of it. What about you, Natalie?

Natalie Stika :

I think the first time I ever visited, we went Coler Mountain Bike Preserve and walked on an early Saturday morning because someone told us about Airship Coler and we couldn't even believe that. You had to walk to a coffee shop and we were just blown away. How wonderful and magical feels like a fairyland and it does not feel like you're near any of the city amenities that we have. And to see the community coming together. That was what made me really want to move here was how happy everyone was and talking to random strangers and enjoying nature. Yeah, do you have any last tips or advice for someone planning a trip?

Alison Nation:

Even if you are on a bike for a while, definitely walk around downtown. We have over 150 artworks throughout our city. A lot of them are downtown, between murals, hidden in alleyways, neon art tucked around corners. Take some time to just explore in a leisurely fashion and find a new favorite piece of art.

Natalie Stika :

Yeah, I agree. My tip is to make your way to the Crystal Bridges parking garage at sunset and see their huge deck with this phenomenal artwork on top of it that overlooks the forest. It is so special and no one talks about it, and it's such a great way to spend the evening.

Alison Nation:

Great tip.

Natalie Stika :

So if you guys want to get connected to all of these tips, all the things that we referenced, you can see them in the show notes. Or don't forget to go to VisitBentonvillecom to learn more about your stay. Don't forget to follow us on social media and sign up for our newsletter and subscribe to this podcast for more.