Things to Do in Northwest Arkansas
In the fall of 2022, we spent about seven weeks exploring Northwest Arkansas (NWA). If you are planning a trip to the area, here are some fun things to check out.
#1: Visit the Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art (Bentonville) (it's FREE!)
#2: Bike the Razorback Greenway
#3: Get Political at the Clinton House Museum (Fayetteville)
#5: Be Crafty at One (or More) NWA Breweries
Here’s what you can expect:
#1: Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art (Bentonville)
Although we haven’t been to all of the major art museums, there’s no doubt in my mind that the Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art (Bentonville, Arkansas) is a true national treasure. Alice Walton, the daughter of Walmart founder Sam Walton, funded much of the museum, which opened in 2011. She is currently the second wealthiest woman in the world, and she spared no expense with this museum. This isn’t just “a” museum though. It’s really a campus of art and learning, and new buildings were being constructed during our visit so it is bound to be even bigger and better.
There’s so much to do at Crystal Bridges that visitors should plan on 1-3 days (yes, I said “DAYS”) to truly appreciate the museum. The building itself, designed by renouned architect Moshe Safdie, is a work of art! The entrance is intentionally unassuming, but then wow…..this is nature-centric architecture at its best.
For nature lovers, the outdoor attractions are a must-see. During our multiple visits in the fall of 2022, we enjoyed the “Architecture at Home” exhibition, the Bachman-Wilson house (a Frank Lloyd Wright home originally built in New Jersey), and the outdoor sculpture walk. Those activities were all free. For an extra fee, the museum offered a nighttime light and sound display on the museum’s trails, but because we had already experienced the “North Forest Lights” on a prior visit in 2019, we opted to forego “Listening Forest” in 2022 (~$22/person).
Most of Crystal Bridge’s indoor collection is free to view as well. The collection is vast enough that some aspect will probably appeal to most folks. There’s familiar works like Flag by Jasper Johns, No. 210/211 (Orange) by Mark Rothko, and White Flower No. 1 by Georgia O'Keeffe. Much of the museum’s collection is not on display, and the new buildings will hopefully offer a new home to many of those works.
For me, the highlight of Crystal Bridges was the museum’s “We the People” temporary exhibit. Talk about a true bucket list experience! Here, the history books came to life. On display were the Articles of Confederation (1777), a “facsimile” of the Declaration of Independence commissioned by John Quincy Adams (1820), a first edition of the Constitution (1778), a draft Bill of Rights with 17 amendments (1789), the Federalist Papers by John Jay, Alexander Hamilton, and James Madison (1787), Abraham Lincoln’s Emancipation Proclamation (1863), and the Thirteenth Amendment, which abolished slavery (1865). I was simply in awe. I read about these documents in grade school. I studied them in law school. And now, here they were in front of me. How much did I love this exhibit? I visited the museum on another occasion just to see these amazing documents again!
“We the People” exhibition at Crystal Bridges in Bentonville, Arkansas
Declaration of Independence original facsimile (1823) at Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art in Bentonville, Arkansas
Draft Bill of Rights wiht 17 Amendments (1789) at the Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art in Bentonville, Arkansas
Because I was in a patriotic mood during my visits to Crystal Bridges, my favorite piece of art was the “Monument to the Constitution of the United States” by Sandow Birk. The text of the Constitution and the Bill of Rights are brought to life in this drawing with a sense of humor, and I actually giggled out loud when I noticed the Supreme Court next to Tacos Supreme and the White House right by the House of Pancakes.
“Monument to the Constitution of the United States” by Sandow Birk - at Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art in Bentonville, Arkansas
The musuem has a gift shop, restaurant (the “Eleven”), coffee bar, an area for kids to get artsy as well. On one of our visits, we decided to try the Eleven burger (two patties, sharp white cheddar, pickled red onion, tomato, BBQ-spiced mayo on a brioche bun) with french fries (small “f” because we are AMERICAN - ha ha!), which were quite tasty.
I will forever tout Crystal Bridges to anyone who is visiting Northwest Arkansas. Each time I visit, I come away inspired. If you haven’t been, go. If you have been, go again.
Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.
#2: Bike the Razorback Greenway
Razorback Greenway in Fayetteville, Arkansas
The Razorback Regional Greenway is a ~40-mile shared-use trail that extends from south Fayetteville to Bella Vista. There are several off-shoots from the main artery as well. Simply put, the trail system in Northwest Arkansas is one of the best that we’ve encountered to date.
We stayed at Southgate RV Park in Fayetteville, which is conveniently located close to this extensive multiuse trail system. The northwest section of the RV park connects up with a side street that provides direct access to the Cato Springs Trail so the trail system is a great way to explore the city. Because vehicle parking in downtown Fayetteville and the University of Arkansas is quite sparse and expensive, I found that biking was a much better way to get around town when visiting those areas.
#3: Get Political at the Clinton House Museum (Fayetteville)
The Clinton House Museum is located at 930 W. Clinton Drive, just south of the University of Arkansas. On one afternoon, I biked to the museum to learn more about Bill and Hillary’s time in Fayetteville. The couple did not reside in the area long, but some very key moments in their lives happened in Fayetteville.
Bill and Hillary met at Yale law school. After graduating from Yale, in 1973, Bill accepted a job as a professor at University of Arkansas School of Law, in Fayetteville but Hillary decided to stay behind on the East Coast to work at the Children’s Defense Fund in Cambridge, Massachusetts. While on vacation to England that summer, Bill proposed to Hillary. While she said “no,” she promised to visit Fayetteville and take the Arkansas bar.
When Bill first moved to Fayetteville, he rented in a small one-bedroom home off Highway 16 (6725 Huntsville Road) for $150/month. Unfortunately, a fire destroyed the home in 2017.
Bill Clinton for Congress sign (1975) at the Clinton House Museum in Fayetteville, Arkansas
Ballot Box from the Bill Clinton’s 1974 Congressional Primary (Clinton House Museum, Fayetteville AR)
While employed by the University of Arkansas School of Law, Bill taught a wide variety of subjects: constitutional law, criminal procedure, trade regulation, federal jurisdiction, and admiralty law; he earned $14,709/year. Keeping her promise, Hillary visited Bill in Fayetteville during the 1973-1974 Christmas and New Year’s holidays.
That year (1974) was a big one for Bill and Hillary politically. At just 28 years old, Bill ran for Congress. Bill led the multi-candidate primary with 44% of the vote, and then beat well-known Arkansas state senator Gene Rainwater in a run-off election with 69% of the vote.
In the general election, Bill suffered is first political defeat, losing to a popular Republican incumbent, John Paul Hammerschmidt, who held the Congressional seat from 1967 to 1993. Bill came close though — capturing 48.2% of the vote. One of my favorite parts of the Clinton House Museum is a video of one of Bill’s old campaign ads, which features Bill glad-handing the locals to a country tune:
“Bill Clinton’s ready, he’s fed up too. He’s a lot like me, he’s a lot like you. Bill Clinton’s gonna get things done, and we’re gonna send him to Washington.”
Bill didn’t make it to Washington that year, and instead, Hillary moved to Fayetteville that summer. She taught at the law school, making roughly what Bill did. In addition to teaching criminal law, criminal procedure, trial advocacy and prison project, Hillary founded the Legal Aid Clinic and taught it every semester. Hillary lived in a house just west of campus in the Markham Hill area.
Hillary Clinton purchased this Jessica McClintock dress for just $53 the night before her wedding. She didn’t want to wear a dress, but her mother insisted. (Clinton House Museum in Fayetteville, Akansas)
In May 1975, while Bill was driving Hillary to the airport, they passed the tudor-revival-style house at 930 California Drive, and Hillary commented that she really liked the house. Just a month later, when Bill picked Hillary up from the airport, he told her he had bought her “dream house” and proposed. This, time she says “yes.” Bill paid $17,200 for the home.
The couple moved into the 1931 Tudor-Revival style home that summer. On October 11, 1975, Bill and Hillary got married in the living room in a small ceremony with just 10-12 family and friends in attendance. Hillary didn’t plan to wear a wedding dress, but her mother insisted. So, on the night before the wedding, Hillary and her mother went to the local Dillards and bought a $53 Jessica McClintock dress. The museum houses a replica of Hillary’s wedding dress, with the original at the Presidential Center in Little Rock.
The dining room served as the “War Room” for Bill Clinton’s 1976 campaign for Arkansas Attorney General. (Clinton House Museum in Fayetteville, Akansas)
While living at the “new” Fayetteville home, the couple plotted Bill’s next political battle — a run for Arkansas Attorney General. The dining room was used as the campaign headquarters and is nicknamed “The War Room.” In May 1976, Bill won his primary for Arkansas Attorney General. He did not have a Republican opponent in the general election so in in December 1976, they left their home and moved to Little Rock.
In 2005, the University of Arkansas acquired the former Clinton home and established the Clinton House Museum. In 2010, the Clinton House was listed on the National Register of Historic Places, and the Fayetteville City Council voted unanimously to rename the street to Clinton Drive.
There’s a handful of memorable stories about Bill and Hillary’s first home together that are probably familiar to many couples. The museum docent told me that Bill reportedly laid the green tile in front of the fireplace in a couple of weekends. Hillary recalled the story differently such that it took bill months to complete the project. Bill also tried to wallpaper the breakfast nook, but he did such bad job that the couple took it down shortly thereafter. There’s a photo of the effort in one of the built-in shelves in the breakfast nook.
Fireplace at the Clinton House Museum in Fayetteville, Arkansas
Breakfast Nook at the Clinton House Museum
Most of the house has been remodeled and updated since the Clintons lived there so it’s hard to get a good feel for what the place really looked like. For example, the screened-in porch where Bill and Hillary would put their mattress during the hot summer months was enclosed in the late 1980s. Likewise, the home’s library, which was once filled from floor-to-ceiling with books on shelves made from 2x4s and cinder blocks, now houses the museum store. The master bedroom contains Hillary-specific artwork and memorabilia instead of bedroom furniture.
The master bedroom at the Clinton House Museum in Fayetteville, Arkansas.
The home’s back yard needs some TLC. The museum tried to plant a garden with the favorite flowers of every First Lady back in 2010, but the most plants didn’t survive, and many of the signs seemed to be missing or had fallen over. A fiberglass pig leftover from the 2012 Pigshibition adorns the front lawn, and seems a little out of place.
The museum is free (donations are welcome) so it’s hard to be too critical. For political junkies like me, I really enjoyed it overall. It’s fun to imagine the couple’s life in this house, and how it changed so much and so fast. Visitors do have to use their imagination quite a bit though. Much of the memorabilia is from the couple’s political life after Fayetteville. The docent at the museum suggested that many artifacts from Bill and Hillary’s time in Fayetteville are at the Presidential Library and Museum in Little Rock. Regardless, I think that if you have an hour or so to spare, the Clinton House Museum is worth a visit.
#4: Hike a Colorful NWA Trail
Northwest Arkansas is filled with numberous mountain biking and hiking trails. Here were our favorites:
Lana’s Favorite: Tanyard Creek Nature Trail (Bella Vista)
Arkansas is known as "The Natural State" and for good reason. If you are looking for a relatively short scenic, informative hike with a suspension bridge and easy access to gorgeous 15-foot waterfall, then look no further than the Tanyard Creek Nature Trail in Bella Vista, Arkansas. A short paved walking loop lies next to a network of larger trails, with the largest loop being about 2.2 miles. The trail meanders along Tanyard Creek much of the way. Volunteers have placed hundreds (that is no exaggeration!) describing the plants, trees, and other artifacts along the trail. The waterfall was created by run off from nearby Windsor Lake, and is an Instagram favorite – whether you are taking photos from the side or from above. There are also great photo ops among the rock formations and bridges. We hiked this trail in 2019, and loved it so much that we explored it again on our trip to the area in 2022. This was my (Lana’s) favorite hike during our stay in Northwest Arkansas.
Watch our video of TANYARD CREEK here.
Suspension Bridge at the Tanyard Creek Nature Trail in Bella Vista, Arkansas
Wildlife at the Tanyard Creek Nature Trail in Bella Vista, Arkansas
Kasie in 2019 at the Tanyard Creek Nature Trail
Kasie’s Favorite: Devils Den State Park
Devils Den State Park is located about 25 miles southwest from Fayetteville. The park offers numerous hiking trails, and popular one is Yellow Rock Trail. The park is accessible by a very windy narrow Highway 74 (do not take in an RV) on the east OR by Highway 170 on the west. We went on a weekend in October, and saw probably 50+ hikers on the trail, as well as a few mountain bikers. The massive rock formations ultimately lead to a bluff that sits roughly 300 feet above the valley and provides panoramic views. Simply put, when the leaves are turning, this hike is amazing! Btw, this was Kasie’s favorite hike during our six-week stay in Northwest Arkansas.
Watch our video of DEVILS DEN STATE PARK here.
Yellow Rock Trail map at Devil’s Den State Park in Northwest Arkansas
Rock formations at Devil’s Den State Park in Northwest Arkansas
Honorable Mention: Kessler Mountain Regional Park (Fayetteville)
For folks staying in the Fayetteville area who don’t want to make a 25-30 minute drive to Tanyard Creek or Devil’s Den state park, Kessler Mountain is a great alternative for a hike. Kessler Mountain Regional Park is named for the Kessler family who owned 13 acres near the peak in 1866. The family owned a home and stone wine cellar on the property and operated Kessler’s Wine Hall on West Center Street in Fayetteville. The park has been a long-time favorite for mountain bikers and hikers. Its conveniently located just off I-49 about five miles south of downtown Fayetteville.
The park is also readily accessible on bike via the Cato Springs Trial, which connects up with the Razorback Regional Greenway. We could easily bike to the park from our campground Southgate RV Park in about 20 minutes, but because we aren’t mountain bikers, we explored Kessler Mountain on foot. The fall foliage was on full display, and so were some mountain critters. We had some of our best hikes at Kessler Mountain during our 6-week stay in Fayetteville, Arkansas.
Kessler Mountain Regional Park in Fayetteville, Arkansas
Terrapin Station and Last Call trail signs at Kessler Mountain Regional Park in Fayetteville, Arkansas
#5: Be Crafty at One (or More) of these NWA Breweries
Northwest Arkansas is home to some stellar craft breweries. Did we go to them all? YES! In alphabetical order:
Apple Blossom Brewing (Fayetteville) is a good option for those looking for food. It is more of a restaurant than a brewery, but served its purpose when we were hungry on one of our bike rides.
Bentonville Brewing (Bentonville, duh) had a beer called “Lawyers, Hogs, and Money” so as a recovering attorney and fan of bacon, I had to sample that. Aside from good beer, another bonus about Bentonville Brewing is that there are usually couple of food trucks out back as well as a indoor gastropub.
Bike Rack Brewing (Bentonville) is the best place to go after a broken collarbone. Long story. Watch our video.
Boston Mountain Brewing (***) (Fayetteville) gets our vote for the best flight in Fayetteville. We both loved each of the beers, especially the Pecan Pie Brown Ale. The brewery is tucked in back in a strip mall, but don’t let that stop you from visiting.
Columbus House Brewery (Fayetteville) is not just dog friendly, also broad-friendly. We very much enjoyed our time with the beertender there. We visited on a cold day, and the Spottie Ottie Oatmeal Stout hit…(you guessed it)…. the spot.
Core Brewing (Lowell) is the official craft brewery of the University of Arkansas. We tried a really good Toasted Coconut Brown Ale, and ended up sharing three pints of that on or visit. I got excited when I saw cheap case of Core’s Black is Beautiful IPA, but our sample of that beer was pretty bad. Turns out there’s a reason why it was $15/case.
Crisis Brewing (Fayetteville) seemed to be a local favorite as the parking lot quickly filled up after its 4:00 opening time. I had the Major Milk Stout and the Fustercluck IPA, and enjoyed both. The brewery has a red phone that links directly to the BBQ joint next door for folks get hungry.
Fossil Cove Brewing (***) (Fayetteville) has one of the larger taprooms, and a tented outdoor space makes the brewery feel even bigger. The brewery still has a great neighborhood vibe and is bike-friendly. Check out the Blackberry Cream if you visit.
Goat Lab Brewing (Lowell) gets my award for best brewery name in the area. Who doesn’t like goats? Who doesn’t like dogs? We liked it enough to visit twice. There’s a wood fired pizza oven in the brewery as well.
Hawk Moth Brewing (Rogers) has a yuppy vibe with just okay beer. It wasn’t my favorite, but we only went once so perhaps it deserves another visit.
Natural State Beer Company (Rogers) is located right by a small lake near Osage Creek. The brewery’s Octoberfest was a perfect pairing to the patio. Say that again three times: perfect patio pairing.
New Province Brewing (Rogers) offered a Pina Colada IPA, which was a nice change to the classic. There’s not much to the brewery in terms of a vibe though. This is probably another brewery that I need to visit again to give it another shot.
Ozark Beer Company (***) (Rogers) is probably my overall favorite brewery in the area, with their canned Crème Stout being my go-to take-home stout. We also always seemed to strike up a nice conversation with someone at the brewery during our visits. Lastly, the brewery gets a nod for having a blackberry sour called “Like and Subscribe.”
Rendezvous Junction (Rogers) gets my vote for the overall best flight in Rogers. The brewery has a pretty cool train theme and space, including an upstairs sitting area.
Social Project Brewing (Springdale) deserves a shout-out for having a pickle beer (Big Deal) and enough other good beers to complete a nice flight.
West Mountain Brewing (Fayetteville) is located on the town square in downtown Fayetteville. We tried the Octoberfest and Blood Orange IPA while snarfing down some Tiny Tim’s pizza available for order from the bar.
Of course, all of the breweries have their plusses and minuses. We’ve noted our top three breweries with a little asterisk (***) and think you won’t go wrong visiting one of them. For more info on these breweries, check out this video.
#6: Go to Walmart
Bentonville his home to the Walmart Museum. If you are a frequent Walmart shopper like me, you will probably enjoy the museum. Check out my blog on the Walmart Museum and video.
Spoiler alert: For me, the best part of the Walmart museum is learning about Sam Walton, the founder of Walmart!
