Crystal Bridges Maternity Photography | Maternity Sessions on the Trails

Crystal Bridges Maternity Photography | Maternity Sessions on the Trails

As a maternity photographer, I love taking my clients to some of the most gorgeous locations in Bentonville and Northwest Arkansas. One specific location my clients love is Crystal Bridges, located in the downtown area of Bentonville. They love their Crystal Bridges Maternity photography sessions as it’s local, easily accessible, and absolutely gorgeous with paved and gravel trails, creeks running through, and some amazing art pieces.

Crystal Bridges Maternity Photography | Art Trail

This is a gorgeous paved trail at Crystal Bridges and is great for maternity clients who need a more moderate trail. This trail is paved, has gorgeous art along the way, and so many different scenery locations. When you first step foot on this Crystal Bridges maternity photography trail, you are just coming out of the parking lot garage. With the Crystal Bridges art trail, you can either walk down the stairs to the lower level, or you can use the scissor trail to get to the lower level. Both are gorgeous and have some great qualities. The scissor trail on the Art trail at Crystal Bridges is great for maternity clients who want to have some movement in their images. With this image, Sarah and Corey walked and enjoyed each other’s company while I was at the bottom of the scissor walk.

When moving off of the scissor trail, you cross a bridge that passes directly beside the Crystal Bridges museum. This is one of my absolute favorite bridges to use at Crystal Bridges maternity photography sessions as it directly shows some blown glass art by Dale Chihuly.

Once you’ve moved past the amazing industrial bridge for your Crystal Bridges maternity photography session, you’ll begin seeing beautiful scenery all around you. When you get to the bottom of the trail, you’ll see the south lawn, which has the fun LOVE sculpture beside the Crystal Bridges museum, You can then walk south, and to your left, you’ll see a watershed area, that usually always has some artwork in it, to your right will be a creek, which is awesome to take your Crystal bridges maternity photography pictures beside.

Once you’re past this area, you can keep going south and at that point, you’ll cross over another bridge that crosses the creek. This is another beautiful location for Crystal Bridges maternity photography images.

The rest of the Crystal Bridges maternity photography trail past the bridge is lined with sculptures and foliage. I love taking my clients to one more hidden gem along the Art Trail. I wouldn’t recommend taking a momma who isn’t good on her feet to this specific spot, as she will need to gently climb down to the stone bridge and then climb out. I am with the mom the entire time, however, again, I want my clients to be safe during their Crystal Bridges maternity photography sessions.

 

Crystal Bridges Maternity Photography | Crystal Springs Trail

This is one of my absolute favorite trails to bring my Crystal Bridges maternity photography clients to. It may be really short, but, it’s absolutely gorgeous. At this Crystal Bridges maternity photography trail, it’s directly off of the Art Trail and you’re able to overlook Crystal Bridges. You look over the retaining area that is along the Art Trail, you have a small waterfall that you can pose over, and you are surrounded by foliage in a completely different light than down below on the Art Trail. I would highly suggest only taking moms who are comfortable with heights on this trail and are not easily winded, as you will have some steps to climb up and down to get to the best location in the area, in my opinion.

Crystal Bridges Maternity Photography | Orchard Trail

The Orchard Trail leads you from the overflow back parking lot up to Crystal Bridges itself. Although there isn’t anything other than trees along this trail, I have found one spot that I adore going to on this trail for Crystal Bridges maternity photography sessions. I have also found that along this trail you will also find some wildlife that may peek out at you, such as deer. They won’t scurry away from you as long as you are calm around them, however, they will not let you get close either. It’s a nice surprise for some mommas who are absolutely intrigued by deer and want to have their Snow White moment.

Crystal Bridges Maternity Photography | The North Forest Trail

The North Forest Trail is one of my client’s favorites, as it is one trail that is less traveled by a majority of the visitors at Crystal Bridges during the evening hours. You can access this trail from the overflow parking lot across from the Amazeum in Bentonville. The North Forest Trail at Crystal Bridges is also one of the largest trails they have, at a length of 1.4 miles. The North Forest Trail is lined mostly by paved trails, however, there are some gravel and dirt trails that are mainly used for bicycling. This trail has almost everything that you can possibly think of that a maternity client would love, from little areas to pop into for some quieter images, or along the trails with the awesome art pieces, you’ll find throughout. This trail is also a huge area for the wildlife in the area and you will definitely see some deer walking around – which is another great Snow White moment for my Crystal Bridges maternity photography clients.

 

Crystal Bridges Maternity Photography | North Lawn Trail

I have only taken one client down to the North Lawn Trail for her Crystal Bridges maternity photography session because it is a little difficult to get to by foot. You do have to walk through most of the North Forest Trail to get to it, however, it is small, yet gorgeous. It has an amazing Fly Eye’s dome that you can get into, or take your picture with it in the background. It partly looks like a giant golf ball as well. The client that I did take down to the North Lawn Trail, her Crystal Bridges maternity photography session was quite gorgeous in that area, with the watershed area to the background, as well as cliffs of foliage overlooking you, as you are down in a valley. This Crystal Bridges maternity photography trail is only .25 miles long, so you don’t have as much to choose from in the area.

With there being so many great locations for your Crystal Bridges maternity photography session – reach out today to make sure you have your session locked down!