Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art

Crystal Bridges was the vision of Alice Walton, whose family founded Walmart in nearby Bentonville, and who set out to build a museum of American art of national importance in her Ozark hometown. Opened in 2011, it quickly became one of the most significant art institutions in the region, bringing masterworks of American painting and sculpture to a part of the country that had never had anything like it.

The collection spans the full sweep of American art, from colonial portraits and Hudson River School landscapes through the great modern and contemporary movements. Works by many of the most celebrated American artists hang in its galleries, and the museum has committed to keeping its permanent collection open to all visitors without charge, an extraordinary gift for an institution of its stature.

The building was designed by the noted architect Moshe Safdie to fit into the wooded ravine rather than dominate it. Its pavilions of glass, concrete, and wood step down the slopes and span two spring-fed pools, so that walkways and galleries bridge the water, an arrangement that gives the museum its name and its unforgettable form.

Inside, the galleries open onto walls of glass that frame the surrounding forest, dissolving the usual boundary between the art within and the landscape without. The result is a museum where the setting is inseparable from the experience, and where a rainy day or a snowfall in the ravine becomes part of the visit.

The museum grounds extend far beyond the building, with miles of woodland trails winding through the ravine and connecting to the wider network of paths that lace northwest Arkansas. Sculpture is placed along the way, so that a walk in the woods becomes an unfolding art experience, and the trails draw runners, cyclists, and families as well as museum-goers.

Among the treasures on the grounds is a Frank Lloyd Wright-designed house, carefully relocated and rebuilt at the museum, letting visitors step inside one of the great American architect's Usonian homes. Together the trails, sculpture, and house make the outdoors as much a part of Crystal Bridges as its galleries.

Crystal Bridges anchors a remarkable cultural flowering in Bentonville, a town transformed by the growth of the region into a hub of art, food, and outdoor recreation. The historic town square, a short walk from the museum, holds shops, restaurants, and the original Walmart museum, and the area has become famous among cyclists for its extensive mountain-bike trail network.

The wider Ozarks of northwest Arkansas offer clear rivers, big lakes, and forested ridges, with Eureka Springs and the Buffalo National River within reach. Crystal Bridges makes a natural centerpiece for a visit to this fast-changing corner of the state, pairing world-class art with the beauty of the surrounding hill country.

The closest Boutel™ stays, so you can turn this stop into an overnight. Each is an independently owned, editorially selected place to stay.