Why everyone shows up here.
NW Arkansas is the most underrated weekend in America. You're ten minutes from the center of it.
Twelve Picks
Hand-curated by
people who actually live here.
Mountain biking, museums, gristmills, glass chapels — and one of America's most intact Civil War battlefields, thirty minutes north.
All Twelve
Beyond the gates.
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01
Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art
World-class American art on bridge-pavilions over a ravine, plus Frank Lloyd Wright's Bachman-Wilson House. Admission is free.
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02
Bentonville MTB Trails (OZ Trails)
550 miles of IMBA Gold-Level singletrack across Slaughter Pen, Coler, and the new bike park. Bentonville is "Mountain Bike Capital of the World" — earned, not claimed.
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03
Bentonville Town Square + Walmart Museum
Sam Walton's original 5-and-Dime anchors the most charming small downtown in the South. Walk it on a Saturday morning during the farmers market.
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04
Eureka Springs + Thorncrown Chapel
Victorian mountain village (downtown on the National Register) and E. Fay Jones's transcendent glass chapel — an AIA top-10 building of the 20th century.
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05
Beaver Lake & Hobbs State Park
Arkansas's largest state park hugging a 31,700-acre Ozark reservoir. Kayak tours, 54 miles of trails, and some of the prettiest swimming water in the state.
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06
Pea Ridge National Military Park
4,300 acres of one of America's most intact Civil War battlefields, with a 7-mile auto tour and original cannon positions.
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07
The Momentary
A converted Kraft cheese factory turned contemporary art hub, with a rooftop bar, music festivals, and a constant artist-residency churn.
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08
Tanyard Creek Nature Trail
Easy 2.2-mile loop with NWA's most photographed waterfall. Pet-friendly, donation-funded, the kind of walk that fits between breakfast and lunch.
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09
War Eagle Mill
The only working undershot gristmill in Arkansas, perched on a 1907 truss bridge over War Eagle Creek. The bi-annual craft fair is legendary.
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10
Devil's Den State Park
CCC-built canyon park with the iconic Yellow Rock overlook and crevice caves that kids actually fit inside.
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11
Scott Family Amazeum
50,000 sq ft of hands-on STEAM right next to Crystal Bridges. The rainy-day savior for families with kids under 12.
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12
Razorback Regional Greenway
40 paved, car-free miles connecting Fayetteville to Bella Vista. Rent a bike at the office and roll between attractions without ever touching a road.
Plan Your Trip
NW Arkansas events worth planning around.
These are the big draws. If your trip lines up with one of these, you'll know.
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APR·
Bentonville Farmers Market opens
Saturdays through October. Coffee, biscuits, fresh flowers.
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MAY·
War Eagle Spring Fair
Craft fair at the historic mill. The other one's in October.
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JUN·
Bentonville Film Festival
Geena Davis chairs. Books out early.
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SEP·
Bikes, Blues & BBQ
Half a million motorcycles roll into Fayetteville. Book early or way late.
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OCT·
OZ Trails MTB Race
UCI race during foliage peak. Two of NWA's best weeks in one.
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NOV·
Lights of the Ozarks
Fayetteville downtown lights up mid-November through New Year.
Make Us Your Basecamp
Reserve your stay.
We're ten minutes from the center of NW Arkansas. Stay here, see everything else.