Trails Part Of Draw

Lookout Point Still A Highlight On Crystal Bridges Path

A sign indicates the multiple trail routes visitors can take to an entrance at Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art on Wednesday in Bentonville. The museum grounds have more than 3.5 miles of trail for visitors.
A sign indicates the multiple trail routes visitors can take to an entrance at Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art on Wednesday in Bentonville. The museum grounds have more than 3.5 miles of trail for visitors.

— Curious people walked for years to an observation deck along a newly opened trail to peer at the progress as the Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art formed in the valley below.

The museum turns a year old Sunday, but its trails have been open far longer.

That lookout point is still a highlight on the Crystal Bridges Trail. Observers now overlook an integration of architecture and nature instead of construction equipment and half-finished buildings.

“I would come out here just to see its progress,” remembered Teresa Mills as she looked down at the museum Thursday.

At A Glance

Museum Trails

Scott Eccleston, grounds director for the Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art, shares the “must see” spots on the museum’s many trails:

Crystal Bridges Trail

1 1/2 miles, paved and mountain bike trail

Don’t Miss: Overlook, “A Place Where They Cried”

Art Trail

1/3 mile, paved

Don’t Miss: “The Way of Color,” “Shore Lunch”

Dogwood Trail

1 mile, soft surface hiking trail

Don’t Miss: Peace and serenity in the quietest part of the Crystal Bridges forest

Rock Ledge Trail

1/2 mile, crushed granite hiking trail

Don’t Miss: Native stone and beam Rock Ledge shelter; also look for drill marks cut along the bluff line from the old railroad spur

Tulip Tree Trail and Crystal Spring Trail

1/2 mile, crushed granite hiking trail

Don’t Miss: The museum’s “most awesome” old-growth trees

Orchard Trail

1/2 mile, paved

Don’t Miss: The first view of Roxy Paine’s “Yield” when approaching the museum

Source: Staff Report

The Crystal Bridges Trail was a collaboration between Bentonville and the museum. The 10-foot-wide paved trail also doubles as a portion of the Razorback Greenway. The 1 1/2-mile trail features a single-track mountain bike path beside it and a walk through Compton Gardens, a 6 1/2 acre woodland garden in downtown Bentonville.

City officials counted about 22,000 users on the Crystal Bridges Trail in just six weeks in August and September.

Katie Spice said she and her family use the trail at least once a week. She and Mills were enjoying the fall day with co-workers from General Electric, who were spending their lunch break walking the trail. The two said the trail has encouraged more people to get out and exercise in nature, rather than sitting at home.

“My husband rides his mountain bike on the trails down to Slaughter Pen, and we come out here to hike,” Spice said. “As long as the weather is nice, we’re here every weekend.”

The museum supports 3 1/2 miles of trails that showcase nature mixed with art. The trails vary in length and offer paved surfaces for runners and bikers or more rugged hiking trails for adventurers.

Scott Eccleston, director of grounds and facilities for the museum, said museum staff knew the trails would be popular when they counted 3,500 users a week before Crystal Bridges opened.

“We knew people loved the paved trails, and we saw a lot of bikes, strollers and walkers,” Eccleston said. “We took a risk when we started moving into nature trails. We branched out to more hiking and exploration.”

He said he gets messages every week from people who enjoy the more secluded trails like the Rock Ledge and Tulip Tree.

“They tell me they feel like they are in the middle of the forest. They find it to be a place of refuge, a place where they can collect their thoughts and get away from bad times,” Eccleston said.

James Turrell’s Skyspace “The Way of Color” has been wowing visitors who stop inside the circular stone building set in the smooth green hillside on the Art Trail since it opened about a year before the museum. A look upward reveals a unique perspective of the sky that differs with light and weather conditions.

Sculpture is scattered along the Crystal Bridges Trail, some more obvious than others. Users aren’t likely to miss “Group of Bears,” a bronze sculpture of three bears near the trailhead. Less obvious is “Tour de Apple Tree,” a cast bronze sculpture of a bicycle that blends into the branches of a tree.

David Wright, director of Bentonville’s Parks and Recreation Department, called the Crystal Bridges Trail the “heart and soul” of the city’s trail system.

“Not only is it such a pleasant walk or ride for a trail user, it has access to the square, Lawrence Plaza, Compton Gardens and Crystal Bridges,” Wright said. “It’s hard to find another trail anywhere in the region that can compare.”

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