USA
Exploring Northwest Arkansas
Three refreshing towns in the Ozark Mountains
by Randy Mink
A region with inviting communities surrounded by vast stretches of Ozarks wilderness, Northwest Arkansas surprises many first-timers with its dynamic cultural scene and quality of life. No wonder this friendly neck of the woods is often rated as one of the best places to live in the United States.
The corporate headquarters of Fortune 500 companies like Walmart and Tyson Foods, along with branch offices of other powerhouse businesses, keep local economies strong. Not far from the Oklahoma and Missouri borders, this fast-growing corner of the Natural State also hosts the University of Arkansas’ flagship campus in Fayetteville, a place sizzling with college-town buzz.
Bentonville
This thriving city of 56,000 is the birthplace and nerve center of Walmart Inc., the world’s largest retailer. Bentonville is also recognized as a world-class arts center and mountain biking hotspot.
Fronting the Benton County Courthouse, a traditional town square hosts musical sessions, special events and a Saturday farmers’ market. Restaurants, breweries, coffee shops and boutiques keep the place hopping throughout the week.
On one side of Bentonville Square resides the storefront where Sam Walton, the founder of Walmart, got his start. Now the Walmart Museum, the building on Main Street occupies the original Walton’s 5 & 10, a variety store he opened in 1950, 12 years before establishing Walmart Stores, Inc.
Though the Walmart Museum is closed for renovations through spring 2024, visitors can catch the Walmart story a few blocks away at the shrine’s temporary home, called Walmart Museum Heritage Lab. Its most engaging feature is Mr. Sam the Hologram, an uncanny digitally-generated likeness of Walton sitting on a stool wearing his blue Walmart cap. Visitors to the renovated museum will be able to ask Mr. Sam questions and hear responses from a list of 240 things that he said or would have said.
A top-rated cycling destination, Bentonville bills itself as the Mountain Biking Capital of the World. Coler Mountain Bike Preserve, a five-minute bike ride from downtown, offers more than 17 miles of trails and is connected to more than 250 miles of natural-surface trails in Northwest Arkansas.
For walking and hiking, some 20 miles of urban trails meander through town. One trail goes from downtown to Bentonville’s most impressive visitor attraction—the free-admission Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art, a gift from the Walton family.
Uniting art, architecture and nature, Crystal Bridges is nestled in a ravine surrounded by gardens, sculpture-dotted trails and lush Ozark forest. Built over water, the stunning complex of pavilions and bridges is the brainchild of Alice Walton, the only daughter of Sam and Helen Walton. Most of the property originally belonged to the family, and it’s where the billionaire art collector and her brothers played as children.
Crystal Bridges’ galleries present more than five centuries of American masterworks. Museum-goers will see iconic paintings like Gilbert Stuart’s portrait of George Washington and Norman Rockwell’s Rosie the Riveter, plus works by the likes of Mary Cassatt, John Singer Sargent, Edward Hopper, Georgia O’Keeffe, Andy Warhol and Jackson Pollock.
In Bentonville, art seems to be everywhere you look—murals, sculptures, neon installations. The Momentary, a Crystal Bridges satellite occupying a former cheese factory, offers the latest in cutting-edge visual art.
Fayetteville
The university campus is a prime point of interest in this city of 92,000 permanent residents. Touring the grounds, you’ll encounter the Historic Senior Walk, whose five miles of sidewalks showcase the names of more than 200,000 graduates dating back to 1876, grouped by year of graduation.
Things go crazy on football weekends when the Arkansas Razorbacks compete at Reynolds Razorback Stadium. The mascot name Razorback comes from the wild hogs native to the Arkansas wilderness. Fans do the Hog Call, one of the most recognizable cheers in all of sports. You can purchase the latest Razorback gear at Hog Heaven in the stadium or at the Campus Bookstore, which is near Walmart on Campus, one of the smallest Walmart stores in the country.
The Dickson Street entertainment district, a short walk from both the campus and historic downtown square, reflects the town’s youthful vibe. The heartbeat of Fayetteville, it offers an eclectic variety of eateries, bars, music clubs and other places to hang out.
Fans of U.S. presidential history flock to the Clinton House Museum, the first home of Bill and Hillary Clinton. They were married in the living room of the one-bedroom English Tudor Revival-style cottage and resided there in 1975-76 when both were teaching at the University of Arkansas. Exhibits include campaign memorabilia and a replica of Hillary’s wedding dress.
Telling the story of the house purchase in his book My Life, Clinton writes: “When Hillary came back from her trip, I said, ‘Remember that little house you like so much? I bought it. You have to marry me now because I can’t live there alone.’ I took her to see the house. It still needed a lot of work, but my rash move did the trick.”
Eureka Springs
An artist colony and Arkansas’ most-talked-about tourist town, Eureka Springs is one of America’s truly distinctive destinations.
Here in this quirky Victorian village, cliff-clinging cottages appear to be stacked one on top of another. Crooked streets wind higgledy-piggledy through town, meeting at right angles only once. In some cases, steep stairways substitute for sidewalks, giving Eureka Springs the nickname “Stairstep Town.”
Founded in 1879, Eureka Springs soon established itself as a popular health resort, attracting visitors from around the country to the healing waters of its natural springs. Two of the early days’ stately hostelries, the Crescent and Basin Park hotels, are still around and combine modern amenities with touches of yesteryear. (Watch for a profile of the “haunted” Crescent Hotel in the magazine’s spring issue.)
Downtown’s limestone-and-brick buildings, dating from the late 1800s and early 1900s, house specialty shops purveying everything from kitchen gadgets to novelty socks. At Eureka’s Nut House you’ll find barrels of freshly roasted pistachios in flavors like lemon, jalapeno and chili lime. The store also offers bottles of funky craft sodas (peanut butter or lemon meringue, anyone?).
Arts and crafts galleries—and great antique shops—are part of the commercial scene as well. It’s said the hamlet of 2,278 people is home to some 300 artists and musicians. Examples of public art include the Rainbow Stairs, a steep, color-splashed staircase that connects Center Street with North Main.
On a hilltop outside of town, The Great Passion Play is elaborately staged in a 4,000-seat amphitheater on select evenings from May through October. The epic drama about Jesus Christ’s last days on earth features over 150 actors and dozens of live animals, including horses, camels and donkeys. Nearby is the must-see Christ of the Ozarks, a mammoth white statue visible for miles around. Visitors to the Passion Play campus also can tour The Holy Land, an area where they meet costumed characters at exhibits replicating the Jerusalem Marketplace, Sea of Galilee and other Biblical sites.
Among other area attractions are Turpentine Creek Wildlife Refuge, a sanctuary for rescued tigers and other big cats; and Eureka Springs & Northern Arkansas Railway, a scenic tourist train. For subterranean splendor, consider Cosmic Cavern, War Eagle Cavern and Onyx Cave.
