A world-class collection of American art, stunning architecture, and 120 acres of Ozark forest with five miles of trails. Admission to the museum is always free.
Planning a visit to Crystal Bridges? Use this page to learn about hours, parking, and what to expect while you’re here.
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Museum & Buildings
Trails and Grounds open daily sunrise to sunset.
On Bridge Day, taking place on the second Monday of each month, you’ll be able to experience Crystal Bridges Art Collection with enhanced accessibility with regard to sensory, communication, attention, focus, and social interaction necessities.
Specifically, you’ll experience increased wayfinding resources and signs throughout museum spaces—including this Know Before You Go guide. Additionally, direct access to Sensory Friendly Bags will be offered in the lobby, at the entrance to our latest special exhibition, and five interactive opportunities will be added in gallery spaces.
Lastly, increased seating will be available throughout our exhibition spaces, and the Bellows and Cassat rooms will be turned into Low Sensory spaces.
Read on to learn more about what to expect when you visit the museum on Bridge Day.
The museum is located in Bentonville, Arkansas, at the address below:
600 Museum Way Bentonville, AR 72712
If you have questions about getting to the museum, please call Guest Experience at (479) 657-2335 or email us at Info@CrystalBridges.org
You can park at the Campus Parking Complex (pictured) or at the museum’s attached parking garage.
ADA-accessible parking is available on the lower level of the attached garage. To access the garage, follow the signs on Museum Way for Upper and Lower Parking.
You can enter the museum through the Main Entrance, the Library/Administration Entrance, or the South Lobby Entrance.
When you go through the Main Entrance you will enter the Garrison Lobby (sometimes called the Main Lobby), which can be loud and produce a lot of echoes. If you wish for a lower sensory experience, please enter through the Library Entrance or the South Lobby Entrance.
In the Garrison Lobby, also called the Main Lobby, you can locate the areas and amenities listed below.
Additionally, museum admission, lighting, sound, seating, and the Sensory Friendly Bag Station in the lobby and other areas are described below. Lastly, our food and bag policies are also described.
General admission to the museum and to view the permanent collection galleries is always free. Some exhibitions and experiences may require a paid ticket.
General admission to the Frank Lloyd Wright Bachman-Wilson House is free, but requires a ticket due to limited space. Guided tours are ticketed, and cost $12 + tax per person.
Please speak to a Guest Experience associate (wearing a blue shirt) to reserve tickets in person, or visit the webpage for the exhibition or experience you’d like to see to reserve tickets online.
The lobby can be quite bright, as it consists largely of glass windows which let in a lot of natural light.
The Coffee Bar and Eleven Restaurant can also be very bright, as the windows are very large.
The lobby can be very loud, as the space produces many echoes and is usually highly trafficked.
The Coffee Bar and Eleven Restaurant can also be very loud, and the space can project sound and produce echoes.
In the Garrison Lobby, there are two couches and five single-seat comfy chairs that swivel. One couch is in an S-shape, is very long, and can fit around 20 people. The other couch is a smaller island and could fit about eight people.
In the Lower Lobby, there are three couches and eight single-seat chairs.
In the Coffee Bar, there are two tables with four swivel chairs with no back. In Eleven restaurant, there are several tables and chairs. The chairs all have backs, some are high bar stools, and some are shorter chairs. Both kinds of chairs in Eleven are hard.
There will be a Sensory Friendly Bag Station in the Garrison Lobby. At this station, there will be various materials available to borrow during your museum visit and other materials to keep. Sensory Friendly Bags contain fidgets, noise-canceling headphones, copies of the Sensory Friendly Map, and writing materials.
Please return these bags to the Sensory Friendly Bag Station at the end of your visit.
Service animals are welcome in the museum. Crystal Bridges abides by the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and allows service animals—animals trained to do work or perform specific tasks for the benefit of an individual with disabilities—into all the public areas of the museum.
The ADA does not currently recognize emotional support animals, therefore emotional support animals and all other animals not specifically covered in the Americans with Disabilities Act will not be permitted within the museum.
Other leashed pets must remain outside the building, which includes Walker Landing, but are welcome on museum trails and grounds.
There is no restroom in the Garrison Lobby. However, there is a restroom in the Lower Lobby.
You can access this restroom via the stairs right of the entrance to the Crystal Bridges Art Collection or by using the elevator next to the welcome desks and pressing the “LL” button.
There are restrooms in the beginnings of the Modern Art and Contemporary Galleries.
There are restrooms in the corridor between the South Lobby and the Garrison Lobby.
Lunch is served daily at the museum’s restaurant, Eleven, and the Coffee Bar offers “grab-and-go” options. Food, drinks, and chewing gum are not allowed in the museum galleries.
Backpacks should be worn on one shoulder or carried on your front side while inside the exhibit.
Lockers are available for use at no cost so that guests may secure items while enjoying the museum. These self-check lockers are in the Lower Lobby. Instructions for using lockers are posted on the wall, or you can ask a Guest Experience associate for assistance.
From the Main Lobby: Locate and face the museum’s restaurant so that the Coffee Bar is in front of you and to your right. Turning right 90°, you will be able to see the entrance to the galleries with a Protection Services Associates waiting to greet you (these associates wear grey shirts).
From the South Lobby: Enter the open hallway leading right. In this corridor, there will be windows on your left and Crystal Bridges architecture facts on your right. Eventually, you will make it to the Garrison Lobby and can keep walking forward to enter the collection.
Below is an outline of what you can anticipate as you move through our three gallery spaces. This outline is for those who would like to prepare for such components before entering the galleries.
The lighting, sound, seating, and content of each gallery is described, and a gallery guide is provided that explains movement through the rooms noting these components in each.
Throughout the galleries, the lighting goes between dim and bright. Please refer to the Sensory Friendly Map for details about the lighting in each space.
Spaces are bright between galleries and in the Modern Art Gallery because the walls are glass; depending on the day, cloudier weather will provide shade.
There is no music throughout the galleries, nor are there pieces that make sound.
You may notice that it is loud in galleries due to people’s voices echoing. Please ask a staff associate for a Sensory Bag which includes sound-proofing headphones if you would like a pair. These bags are also accessible throughout the rooms; just ask a Protection Services Associate.
Throughout the galleries, there are multiple opportunities to sit down, including hard benches, soft chairs, soft benches, and couches. The benches are hard wood with no backrest and could fit many people. The soft chairs are single seats for one person with back and armrests. Some single-seat chairs may swivel. The couches are soft and have backrests.
Additionally, there will be gallery seats available throughout the galleries and exhibition spaces. Gallery seats fold out into a mesh seat and have no back or armrests. You may carry these seats with you throughout the galleries and sit where you wish.
As you explore our collection, you may encounter themes such as nudity, violence, weapons, death, mythology, and abstract or conceptual art.
These elements are integral to the artistic exploration of human experience and history. They reflect diverse perspectives and the rich tapestry of our shared cultural and historical heritage.
While some of these themes may seem unusual or challenging, they are presented within a thoughtful and educational context. We encourage you to approach them with an open mind, as they offer valuable insights into the complexities of human nature and artistic expression.
The first gallery you enter will be the Early American Art Gallery
The second gallery you enter will be the Modern Art Gallery.
The third gallery you will enter is the Contemporary Art Gallery.
