With attention to the Northwest Arkansas region on a high mark with the opening of the Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art and the Sesquicentennial Commemoration of the Civil War, tourism leaders in the region have come together to develop the Arkansas Art Trail. The trail was designed to give visitors to the area an opportunity to see more of Arkansas-its natural beauty and cultural inspiration.

Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art is attracting a lot of national attention and is expected to draw large groups of art enthusiasts to its official opening. Welcoming all “to celebrate the American spirit in a setting that unites the power of art with the beauty of landscape,” Crystal Bridges opens November 11, 2011. With that on the horizon, the Arkansas Art Trail has been launched to help these enthusiasts discover other culturally significant sites and inspirational natural settings.  Simply put, the Arkansas Art Trail maps places in the Natural State where nature inspires art. 

Inspired by the well known Hudson Valley Art Trail in New York, the Arkansas Art Trail features breathtaking vistas, mountain views, nationally significant sites, and natural settings.  These points of visual interest are complimented by architectural features and made meaningful by local heritage and cultural sites.  The Arkansas Art Trail includes ten stops that include destinations like Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art and historic cowntown Eureka Springs but it also guides trail followers to lesser known but nationally significant points of interest like Boxley Valley and Inspiration Point.

ArkansasArtTrail.com provides resources to guide visitors on their actual or virtual journey along the Trail.  Trail travelers are encouraged to do three simple things: wear comfortable shoes, open their eyes widely, and prepare to be inspired. Realistically, viewing the Arkansas Art Trail in its entirety can take three to seven days depending upon how long visitors choose to linger at each site or how many side trips are taken. The Trail has been organized into three legs that take an average of one day to complete.  Side trips noted include additional inspirational sites with pictorial samples highlighting each leg of the trail.

Images from the trail seen on the website were provided by local Eureka Springs photographer Edward Robison III who owns and operates a gallery in Eureka Springs.