April 4, 2025 • 13 mins
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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Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Natalie Stika (00:10):
Welcome to A New American Town.
I'm Natalie and I'm Allison,and we're with Visit Bentonville
.
Today's episode is a specialfeature where we wanted to share
our local insights with you onhow to maximize your experience
in Bentonville, arkansas,allison has lived in Northwest
Arkansas for over 20 years andhas seen this place continue to
(00:31):
grow from a small town to abustling hub for creativity,
cycling experiences and more.
I've lived here in Bentonvillefor two years and I have
completely dived into the insand outs of the city through my
role at Visit Bentonville.
So let's get into it.
Alison Nation (00:45):
All right.
Natalie Stika (00:45):
So obviously you've seen Bentonville change a
lot over the years, but whatare a couple things that have
stayed the same?
Alison Nation (00:51):
Oh, okay, stayed the same.
I think the most consistentaspect of Bentonville are the
people and our welcome andenthusiasm for art and outdoors
and enthusiasm for art andoutdoors.
I started working inBentonville at Crystal Bridges
before the museum opened aroundthe very end of 2008, so early
(01:13):
2009.
And we were running a littlegallery space for Crystal
Bridges in the old Massey Hotel,what's now Fat Tire Bike Shop.
So we got to meet with peoplefrom the community, talk to them
about art, do programming, arttalks, art making, and that was
(01:33):
when I really found that theBentonville community was
embracing art and excited forchange and growth, and I think
that is continuing to this day.
Wow.
Natalie Stika (01:44):
Yeah, that's exactly the vibe that I got when
I moved here, and it's stillthe same way.
I remember moving here andeveryone was like, oh, are you
going to be a mountain biker now?
And I didn't come from a placewith mountain biking, so I was
completely thrown off and had noidea that Bentonville was a
mountain biking capital of theworld.
And now I can successfully saythat I have ridden a mountain
bike and it is so thrilling andso cool how encouraging the
(02:05):
community is.
And they want you to be a partof the sport, they want you to
be a part of the art and all ofthe things going on.
It's really exciting.
What are some of the yourfavorite three things that
happen here in town?
Alison Nation (02:17):
Oh, my gosh.
Okay, number one is definitelyCrystal Bridges Museum of
American Art.
I love art.
I love art museums, and being apart 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 thingsCrystal Bridges.
(02:37):
I think the second thing that Iabsolutely love is live music
at the momentary and our growingkind of scene of live music
around town.
I love to see musicians, bandsplay, I love to travel for music
, and so when the Momentary cameonline in 2020 and we saw the
(02:58):
types of bands we'd be bringingin, it was just a dream come
true.
I still can't believe theartists that we've been able to
see here in Bentonville, likeBig Boi from Outkast or the
Australian folk singer JuliaJaclyn Even John Legend and
Megan Maroney coming up.
Natalie Stika (03:16):
We just had Michelle Moore from Crystal
Bridges and the Momentary on totalk all about what they're
offering this spring, so you canlearn more about that all the
listeners who are watching rightnow.
If I could chime in one of the,my other third favorite thing
is our culinary scene here.
It's really, really special howquote unquote small this town
(03:38):
is, but the flavors here are bigand bold and local and so
unique.
We have some of the mostawesome chefs in this whole
state and I probably shouldn'tsay that, but they're super cool
.
Alison Nation (03:50):
And there's a wide variety of gluten-free
options in the city more thanpeople realize, which I know is
very special to many of us.
Natalie Stika (03:58):
Yeah, yeah, it's cool, and now three of our
local chefs are James Beardnominated, which is a really
huge honor.
Every year, every week, itseems like a new place is
opening up, so you can't reallygo wrong with what you eat here.
So true of itineraries fortravel creators and content
(04:21):
creators, and I would love topick your brain, allison, on how
you set up their visits andmake sure that they have a
wonderful time so that they cantell the story of Bentonville.
Alison Nation (04:32):
Well, step number one, with anyone who's planning
a visit to write about us ormake content, the first question
is to ask if they haveexperience riding a bicycle,
Because biking Bentonville isthe best way to see our city and
(04:53):
I am on a crusade to get anyrider who maybe is even remotely
comfortable on a bike on a biketo see our city from our trails
and throughout the woods andneighborhoods that you can ride.
It's just the most wonderfulexperience you see.
Natalie Stika (05:06):
Such a different part of our city too.
I was able to do it with mymother-in-law and she was like
this is a completely differentBentonville than what I've seen
before.
And it's so true, it's sospecial, especially when the
trees haven't fully greened out,because you can see all of the
mountain biking trails thatwe've been in and out through
all the paved paths that we have.
Alison Nation (05:29):
It's really cool.
So tip one is to book indowntown your hotel or your
Airbnb.
Rent an e-bike from one of themini shops which you can find on
visitbettenvillecom, slash bikeon our resources tab and then
cruise the city.
Natalie Stika (05:43):
You won't need to touch your car again we even
have some really fun cyclingthemed restaurants and eateries
that you can kind of play alongwith 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 thatyou have when you build out
itineraries?
Alison Nation (06:04):
I think budget time to sit and enjoy.
There's so many lovely greenspaces, as well as just the art
galleries.
So ride a bike about, park itand just sit on a bench and
enjoy the view of nature of theart, whatever, wherever you
might land, of nature of the art, whatever, wherever you might
land.
Natalie Stika (06:22):
Bentonville is a really great place to refresh
and revitalize and, yeah, natureis one of the best places.
We have so many parks.
We have Osage Park.
Alison Nation (06:32):
Coler Mountain Bike Preserve Creekside Park.
Natalie Stika (06:35):
There's dozens, tons, tons, kind of along those
lines.
Do you feel like there are somehidden gems that visitors often
overlook that you want peopleto know about more?
Alison Nation (06:46):
Well, I did just mention Creekside Park and it's
sort of on the southwest side ofour city on the road to the
airport.
They have an amazing splash pad, so summertime visitors should
(07:14):
definitely swing by there.
Visitors should definitelyswing by there, and the thing
about some of our outdoor spacesthat accommodate humans' needs
to get around, but keep natureat the forefront and at the
heart of the experience and itreally shows.
When you're in the parks youcan really tell that
intentionality.
Natalie Stika (07:34):
What parks?
Alison Nation (07:34):
have they done ?
Osage Coler, Mountain BikePreserve, Creekside Park.
They're working on the Quilt ofParks here downtown.
They're everywhere.
They're a local agency withsome really great skills.
Natalie Stika (07:47):
That's cool.
I love that.
I think one of my favoritethings that people often
overlook is the skyspace that'son the Crystal Bridges Trail,
which I know you can also nerdabout.
Do you want to tell us more?
Alison Nation (08:02):
So James Drell's Sky Space, the Way of Color, is
located on the Crystal BridgesArt Trail between Compton
Gardens and the south entranceto the museum.
It's open from dawn till duskand it's the most meditative and
beautiful place to spend alittle bit of time.
But what you want to do isbudget either a dawn visit or a
dusk visit, because there is alight experience that happens
(08:26):
around dawn and dusk, thattransforms the space and it
interacts with your eyes andyour brain to create a color on
the ceiling that is, it's trulyimpossible to describe and just
the most beautiful thing you canexperience.
Natalie Stika (08:43):
Yeah, and here in Bentonville it's free, that's
true, and it's permanent, whichis so exciting, because this
same artist has the sky space inplaces like Milan and other
crazy destinations, and, whetherit's free or not, most of the
time I don't think it'spermanent.
So it's really, really specialthat we have it here, right off
(09:04):
the downtown that you can walkto Kind of along the lines of
Hidden Gems.
Do you feel like there are anylocal flavors that people often
overlook?
Or maybe what are some of yourfavorites?
Alison Nation (09:17):
My go-to food stops are Two Friends Books and
Cafe.
They have fresh made baguettesand sandwiches.
They have a sweet potatosandwich that is my favorite in
the city.
I am a big sweet potato eaterand I can imagine people
thinking like why on earth wouldyou want sweet potato on a
sandwich?
You just have to trust me andgo and try it, and then we can
(09:39):
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 (09:49):
I feel like some of the smaller ones are Thai
Kitchen.
My husband and I love Thaikitchen.
We get it like at least twice amonth and they're so fast and
they're so friendly and the rushhour, like during lunchtime
it's so exciting how busy theyare all the time.
And then I think another one ofmy favorites is Chola Cafe.
(10:12):
It's a really wonderful Indianspot that's not downtown so I
feel like people forget about ita lot.
We have really amazing Indianfood here and I, yeah, really
love that.
Do you have any favoriteBentonville memories you want to
talk about, Like maybe yourfirst time you ever came?
Alison Nation (10:32):
My favorite Bentonville memory.
There are so many, mixed upbetween both my professional
life and then also living hereand raising a family here.
You know we talked aboutskyspace 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
(10:56):
amazement to the colors and theceiling and the skyspace.
So things like that, thosemoments of getting to share this
world-class art experienceevery day with my children in an
environment I could never haveimagined existed previous to.
This has been is probably justthe core of it.
What about you, Natalie?
Natalie Stika (11:15):
I think the first time I ever visited, we
went Coler Mountain BikePreserve and walked on an early
Saturday morning because someonetold us about Airship Coler and
we couldn't even believe that.
You had to walk to a coffeeshop and we were just blown away
.
How wonderful and magical feelslike a fairyland and it does
not feel like you're near any ofthe city amenities that we have
(11:39):
.
And to see the community comingtogether.
That was what made me reallywant to move here was how happy
everyone was and talking torandom strangers and enjoying
nature.
Yeah, do you have any last tipsor advice for someone planning
a trip?
Alison Nation (11:58):
Even if you are on a bike for a while,
definitely walk around downtown.
We have over 150 artworksthroughout our city.
A lot of them are downtown,between murals, hidden in
alleyways, neon art tuckedaround corners.
Take some time to just explorein a leisurely fashion and find
(12:21):
a new favorite piece of art.
Natalie Stika (12:23):
Yeah, I agree.
My tip is to make your way tothe Crystal Bridges parking
garage at sunset and see theirhuge deck with this phenomenal
artwork on top of it thatoverlooks the forest.
It is so special and no onetalks about it, and it's such a
great way to spend the evening.
Alison Nation (12:44):
Great tip.
Natalie Stika (12:45):
So if you guys want to get connected to all of
these tips, all the things thatwe referenced, you can see them
in the show notes.
Or don't forget to go toVisitBentonvillecom to learn
more about your stay.
Don't forget to follow us onsocial media and sign up for our
newsletter and subscribe tothis podcast for more.
Welcome to A New American Town.
I'm Natalie and I'm Allison,and we're with Visit Bentonville
.
Today's episode is a specialfeature where we wanted to share
our local insights with you onhow to maximize your experience
in Bentonville, arkansas,allison has lived in Northwest
Arkansas for over 20 years andhas seen this place continue to
(00:31):
grow from a small town to abustling hub for creativity,
cycling experiences and more.
I've lived here in Bentonvillefor two years and I have
completely dived into the insand outs of the city through my
role at Visit Bentonville.
So let's get into it.
Alison Nation (00:45):
All right.
Natalie Stika (00:45):
So obviously you've seen Bentonville change a
lot over the years, but whatare a couple things that have
stayed the same?
Alison Nation (00:51):
Oh, okay, stayed the same.
I think the most consistentaspect of Bentonville are the
people and our welcome andenthusiasm for art and outdoors
and enthusiasm for art andoutdoors.
I started working inBentonville at Crystal Bridges
before the museum opened aroundthe very end of 2008, so early
(01:13):
2009.
And we were running a littlegallery space for Crystal
Bridges in the old Massey Hotel,what's now Fat Tire Bike Shop.
So we got to meet with peoplefrom the community, talk to them
about art, do programming, arttalks, art making, and that was
(01:33):
when I really found that theBentonville community was
embracing art and excited forchange and growth, and I think
that is continuing to this day.
Wow.
Natalie Stika (01:44):
Yeah, that's exactly the vibe that I got when
I moved here, and it's stillthe same way.
I remember moving here andeveryone was like, oh, are you
going to be a mountain biker now?
And I didn't come from a placewith mountain biking, so I was
completely thrown off and had noidea that Bentonville was a
mountain biking capital of theworld.
And now I can successfully saythat I have ridden a mountain
bike and it is so thrilling andso cool how encouraging the
(02:05):
community is.
And they want you to be a partof the sport, they want you to
be a part of the art and all ofthe things going on.
It's really exciting.
What are some of the yourfavorite three things that
happen here in town?
Alison Nation (02:17):
Oh, my gosh.
Okay, number one is definitelyCrystal Bridges Museum of
American Art.
I love art.
I love art museums, and being apart 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 thingsCrystal Bridges.
(02:37):
I think the second thing that Iabsolutely love is live music
at the momentary and our growingkind of scene of live music
around town.
I love to see musicians, bandsplay, I love to travel for music
, and so when the Momentary cameonline in 2020 and we saw the
(02:58):
types of bands we'd be bringingin, it was just a dream come
true.
I still can't believe theartists that we've been able to
see here in Bentonville, likeBig Boi from Outkast or the
Australian folk singer JuliaJaclyn Even John Legend and
Megan Maroney coming up.
Natalie Stika (03:16):
We just had Michelle Moore from Crystal
Bridges and the Momentary on totalk all about what they're
offering this spring, so you canlearn more about that all the
listeners who are watching rightnow.
If I could chime in one of the,my other third favorite thing
is our culinary scene here.
It's really, really special howquote unquote small this town
(03:38):
is, but the flavors here are bigand bold and local and so
unique.
We have some of the mostawesome chefs in this whole
state and I probably shouldn'tsay that, but they're super cool
.
Alison Nation (03:50):
And there's a wide variety of gluten-free
options in the city more thanpeople realize, which I know is
very special to many of us.
Natalie Stika (03:58):
Yeah, yeah, it's cool, and now three of our
local chefs are James Beardnominated, which is a really
huge honor.
Every year, every week, itseems like a new place is
opening up, so you can't reallygo wrong with what you eat here.
So true of itineraries fortravel creators and content
(04:21):
creators, and I would love topick your brain, allison, on how
you set up their visits andmake sure that they have a
wonderful time so that they cantell the story of Bentonville.
Alison Nation (04:32):
Well, step number one, with anyone who's planning
a visit to write about us ormake content, the first question
is to ask if they haveexperience riding a bicycle,
Because biking Bentonville isthe best way to see our city and
(04:53):
I am on a crusade to get anyrider who maybe is even remotely
comfortable on a bike on a biketo see our city from our trails
and throughout the woods andneighborhoods that you can ride.
It's just the most wonderfulexperience you see.
Natalie Stika (05:06):
Such a different part of our city too.
I was able to do it with mymother-in-law and she was like
this is a completely differentBentonville than what I've seen
before.
And it's so true, it's sospecial, especially when the
trees haven't fully greened out,because you can see all of the
mountain biking trails thatwe've been in and out through
all the paved paths that we have.
Alison Nation (05:29):
It's really cool.
So tip one is to book indowntown your hotel or your
Airbnb.
Rent an e-bike from one of themini shops which you can find on
visitbettenvillecom, slash bikeon our resources tab and then
cruise the city.
Natalie Stika (05:43):
You won't need to touch your car again we even
have some really fun cyclingthemed restaurants and eateries
that you can kind of play alongwith 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 thatyou have when you build out
itineraries?
Alison Nation (06:04):
I think budget time to sit and enjoy.
There's so many lovely greenspaces, as well as just the art
galleries.
So ride a bike about, park itand just sit on a bench and
enjoy the view of nature of theart, whatever, wherever you
might land, of nature of the art, whatever, wherever you might
land.
Natalie Stika (06:22):
Bentonville is a really great place to refresh
and revitalize and, yeah, natureis one of the best places.
We have so many parks.
We have Osage Park.
Alison Nation (06:32):
Coler Mountain Bike Preserve Creekside Park.
Natalie Stika (06:35):
There's dozens, tons, tons, kind of along those
lines.
Do you feel like there are somehidden gems that visitors often
overlook that you want peopleto know about more?
Alison Nation (06:46):
Well, I did just mention Creekside Park and it's
sort of on the southwest side ofour city on the road to the
airport.
They have an amazing splash pad, so summertime visitors should
(07:14):
definitely swing by there.
Visitors should definitelyswing by there, and the thing
about some of our outdoor spacesthat accommodate humans' needs
to get around, but keep natureat the forefront and at the
heart of the experience and itreally shows.
When you're in the parks youcan really tell that
intentionality.
Natalie Stika (07:34):
What parks?
Alison Nation (07:34):
have they done ?
Osage Coler, Mountain BikePreserve, Creekside Park.
They're working on the Quilt ofParks here downtown.
They're everywhere.
They're a local agency withsome really great skills.
Natalie Stika (07:47):
That's cool.
I love that.
I think one of my favoritethings that people often
overlook is the skyspace that'son the Crystal Bridges Trail,
which I know you can also nerdabout.
Do you want to tell us more?
Alison Nation (08:02):
So James Drell's Sky Space, the Way of Color, is
located on the Crystal BridgesArt Trail between Compton
Gardens and the south entranceto the museum.
It's open from dawn till duskand it's the most meditative and
beautiful place to spend alittle bit of time.
But what you want to do isbudget either a dawn visit or a
dusk visit, because there is alight experience that happens
(08:26):
around dawn and dusk, thattransforms the space and it
interacts with your eyes andyour brain to create a color on
the ceiling that is, it's trulyimpossible to describe and just
the most beautiful thing you canexperience.
Natalie Stika (08:43):
Yeah, and here in Bentonville it's free, that's
true, and it's permanent, whichis so exciting, because this
same artist has the sky space inplaces like Milan and other
crazy destinations, and, whetherit's free or not, most of the
time I don't think it'spermanent.
So it's really, really specialthat we have it here, right off
(09:04):
the downtown that you can walkto Kind of along the lines of
Hidden Gems.
Do you feel like there are anylocal flavors that people often
overlook?
Or maybe what are some of yourfavorites?
Alison Nation (09:17):
My go-to food stops are Two Friends Books and
Cafe.
They have fresh made baguettesand sandwiches.
They have a sweet potatosandwich that is my favorite in
the city.
I am a big sweet potato eaterand I can imagine people
thinking like why on earth wouldyou want sweet potato on a
sandwich?
You just have to trust me andgo and try it, and then we can
(09:39):
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 (09:49):
I feel like some of the smaller ones are Thai
Kitchen.
My husband and I love Thaikitchen.
We get it like at least twice amonth and they're so fast and
they're so friendly and the rushhour, like during lunchtime
it's so exciting how busy theyare all the time.
And then I think another one ofmy favorites is Chola Cafe.
(10:12):
It's a really wonderful Indianspot that's not downtown so I
feel like people forget about ita lot.
We have really amazing Indianfood here and I, yeah, really
love that.
Do you have any favoriteBentonville memories you want to
talk about, Like maybe yourfirst time you ever came?
Alison Nation (10:32):
My favorite Bentonville memory.
There are so many, mixed upbetween both my professional
life and then also living hereand raising a family here.
You know we talked aboutskyspace 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
(10:56):
amazement to the colors and theceiling and the skyspace.
So things like that, thosemoments of getting to share this
world-class art experienceevery day with my children in an
environment I could never haveimagined existed previous to.
This has been is probably justthe core of it.
What about you, Natalie?
Natalie Stika (11:15):
I think the first time I ever visited, we
went Coler Mountain BikePreserve and walked on an early
Saturday morning because someonetold us about Airship Coler and
we couldn't even believe that.
You had to walk to a coffeeshop and we were just blown away
.
How wonderful and magical feelslike a fairyland and it does
not feel like you're near any ofthe city amenities that we have
(11:39):
.
And to see the community comingtogether.
That was what made me reallywant to move here was how happy
everyone was and talking torandom strangers and enjoying
nature.
Yeah, do you have any last tipsor advice for someone planning
a trip?
Alison Nation (11:58):
Even if you are on a bike for a while,
definitely walk around downtown.
We have over 150 artworksthroughout our city.
A lot of them are downtown,between murals, hidden in
alleyways, neon art tuckedaround corners.
Take some time to just explorein a leisurely fashion and find
(12:21):
a new favorite piece of art.
Natalie Stika (12:23):
Yeah, I agree.
My tip is to make your way tothe Crystal Bridges parking
garage at sunset and see theirhuge deck with this phenomenal
artwork on top of it thatoverlooks the forest.
It is so special and no onetalks about it, and it's such a
great way to spend the evening.
Alison Nation (12:44):
Great tip.
Natalie Stika (12:45):
So if you guys want to get connected to all of
these tips, all the things thatwe referenced, you can see them
in the show notes.
Or don't forget to go toVisitBentonvillecom to learn
more about your stay.
Don't forget to follow us onsocial media and sign up for our
newsletter and subscribe tothis podcast for more.
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