9.5 hours round-trip is a lot of driving just to ride one trail! But there’s been so much rain & flooding here in Dallas that mountain biking has been tough to come by lately. And Arkansas continues to build incredible trails! This time it’s not Northwest Arkansas, it’s Hot Springs!
This is yet another trail system funded by the Walton Family Foundation. When it is complete, it will feature 44.6 miles of trail. The first phase, that opened up on Saturday November 17th, is 14 miles worth of green, blue, and black trails. There’s a mix of more traditional singletrack and flow trails that mimic trails you’d find at a bike park. Sculpted berms, table top jumps, gap jumps, drops, rocks… this trail system has everything!
I spent most of my time on the blue flow trail. It reminded me a lot of some of the trails I’ve ridden at bike parks this year. I still need work on my jumping, as I wasn’t able to clear many of the table tops. But they were very well designed, and they are all roll-able if jumping isn’t your thing.
I never made it over to the black downhill trail. According to the shuttle driver at the event, this trail is pretty rowdy, and has some big gap jumps. I do wish I would’ve checked it out, but I’m not sure if there were bypasses for the gaps.
Either way, I’m pretty stoked to have another killer trail system less than 5 hours away from home! It makes for a long day trip, but it’s certainly possible, and that’s what I did for opening day!
On the 2nd day in Bentonville… we actually went to the neighboring town of Rogers, AR to check out the Railyard & Lake Atalanta. The Railyard is a skills/jump park, and right next to it is natural singletrack on the Lake Atalanta Trail system.
Unfortunately some of the lines at the Railyard were closed as a result of all the rain they’d had the previous week. The rain had left ruts in some of the jumps. Our only options were the novice line, and the intermediate line. Both of those were still fun, although the jumps on the intermediate line had extremely steep lips, almost vertical. This is better built for a bmx or dirt jumper bike than a mountain bike. It was difficult to even come close to clearing these jumps, because they send you straight up. Not to say that my jumping skills are top notch or anything!
All was good here until Kyle decided he wanted to try the wall ride on the intermediate line. I had skipped it myself. It takes a lot of speed, and the right angle of the bike. It didn’t go well for Kyle, who ended up rolling his ankle. He didn’t really crash that bad, he stayed upright, but when he put his foot down his ankle gave out. So his day was done. Chris also had to take off and head back down to San Antonio, so it was just myself, Andrew & Mike left to ride the trails.
I was actually surprised at how good those little segments were on this trail system, given that it doesn’t get a ton of fanfare. There were some fun downhill runs, and a little bit of chunk. We also took the scenic paved boardwalk around the lake. This whole area is just super nice! I really wish there was something similar close to me! I guess Arbor Hills is the closest thing to it, but around here we simply lack the elevation.
I wasn’t sure how the video would turn it, without a whole lot of footage to work with, and a lot of it being the same runs at the Railyard, but I ended up loving how I was able to put this together! It became a really fun video! Hope you enjoy it!
Over Labor Day weekend I returned to Bentonville, AR. The chance for some downhill flow & jumps is too good to pass up on a long weekend, and there’s no other place within a 5 hour drive from Dallas that has as much as Bentonville has to offer!
We met up at Coler Mountain Bike Preserve, a trail system that I had yet to check out on my previous trips to Bentonville. After going, I wish that I would have gone sooner! This is my best opportunity to get some practice on jump lines without having to take an extended trip. Once we climbed up to the hub, we ended up sessioning the first few jumps of Cease & Desist for a while. This is probably the best way to practice, as it didn’t require a long climb back to the hub.
It’s funny how I feel like I’m soaring through the air, but then I look at the photos and video of myself and the truth is revealed; I’m barely getting my wheels off the ground!
I really need to get bunny hops down, as that is the motion that allows you to get more air on jumps. I rely too much on speed to get me air, and on a lot of these jumps it’s difficult to get enough speed.
Once we were satisfied with our sessioning session, we went down the hill on Fireline. This is another jump line, but these jumps were a bit smaller than those on Cease & Desist. It was a super fun trail, though! I think the next time I’m in Bentonville I’ll be spending a lot more time at Coler, and checking out some of the other trails there.
After that we ventured down to the south end of the park to check out Thunderdome, the new dual slalom course. Andrew had warned us of two potential trouble spots; a decent size drop that sneaks up on you, and a ditch crossing where there’s a fairly narrow rock bridge.
In spite of those warnings, both of them still surprised me! The drop comes up after a turn when you’re actually going uphill a bit. It’s tough to carry any speed into it, which makes it quite a bit tougher. I was still able to land it, but it was very close to being a crash.
On the ditch crossing, I was not quite so lucky. In this case, you’re carrying a lot of speed into it after railing two berms. It is again uphill just a bit on the approach, which hides the ditch, and the rock bridge, until you’re right up on it. I was going too fast to make any adjustments, and I missed the rock bridge! I was somehow able to huck enough to land the bike in the ditch and not go OTB, but then I fell down the hillside, sliding on my back to the bottom. Luckily it was all soft, with nothing there to run into. So I was able to hop right up with nothing more than light scratches that didn’t even break the full skin layer.
After a quick lunch, we headed over to the Slaughter Pen. The skills course here has a set of drops with three different levels. Even the small one made me nervous. There’s just something about drops. They scare me. You’re basically falling while on your bike. Gotta keep the feet on the pedals and land right, otherwise you’re going down!
After watching Andrew tow Kyle in to the small drop, I decided I needed to give it a shot. They made it look way too easy. Sometimes that’s the key. If you see someone do it, it gives you the confidence to do it, too. So I had Andrew tow me in. It felt like nothing. I landed as smooth as butter. Why was I so afraid to do that?!
That evening we all met up for dinner, and then stumbled upon karaoke at Bike Rack Brewing. If you really want to see that footage, you can check out Chris’s video!
It had been almost a year since I last visited the Slaughter Pen in Bentonville, AR, and I had been dying to go back! I had seen so many videos of new and improved trails that looked like tons of fun! Plus, I’m on a more capable bike now, and my skills have improved quite a bit since last summer.
The Slaughter Pen is a unique trail system, right in the heart of Bentonville. It’s a series of short trails that are all connected by a paved greenway. This is a super nice area, and each visit I saw numerous folks out and about, whether they were running, biking, or just out for a walk. There’s everything from beginner trails, to advanced, as well as a pump track and skills area.
Schroen Train was probably my favorite trail, but there is a lot of good stuff out there! Ozone is a new trail, and it was very fast, flowy, and fun as well! I ended up logging about 15 miles that morning. If you haven’t been to the Slaughter Pen or Bentonville, I’d highly recommend it!
After the ride (and a shower) I stopped and had lunch at a fantastic little place called MELD Kitchen + Sandwich Bar. I had the “Catch” which is a folded sandwich with grouper, and it was sooooo goooood!
After spending the afternoon relaxing in my hotel room, I headed back out for sunset to get some drone shots, as well as a couple photos, at nearby Beaver Lake. Nothing too fancy here.
That’s a pretty solid day, I’d say! Here is the video!
This past weekend I headed up north from Dallas to my favorite weekend getaway destination for mountain biking, Bentonville, AR! It’s getting to the point, however, where you just have to say Northwest Arkansas, because there are so many trails all over the place, with more new trails opening all the time, that Bentonville isn’t the only city worth a visit!
Just 20 minutes to the south in the city of Springdale, a brand new trail system had just opened up at Fitzgerald Mountain. 7 miles are currently open, with another 3 miles to be opened in the fall. As of right now, you park at Bayyari Park to access the trail, but they will be building a new trailhead and parking lot as well, I believe off Dodd Ave.
These trails were so much fun! There are many undulations that can be pumped to gain or maintain speed, or even get some air, as well as bigger jumps, gap jumps (that I skipped!), and so many berms! The rock work is like art, including a couple of rock berms that are unlike anything I’ve ever seen!
Here’s a list of the individual trails, their difficulty rating, and a short description:
1. Butterfield Trail – Blue – 2.4 miles – I’d describe it as a flow trail, with some jumps, berms, and a few rock features.
2. Best Trail Ever – Black – 3.0 miles – The name says it all! This trail is fantastic, with some beautiful rock work, including some technical sections, jumps, berms, and some good speed! It’s a blast!
3. Fitzgerald – Blue – 0.6 miles – A shorter loop, with very little elevation change, and more natural trail.
4. 1857 – Black – 0.1 miles – This is an alternate route off of Fitzgerald for those looking for some technical challenges. Lots of rocks to navigate here. I did not ride this trail, but got a good look at it.
5. Coyote Cave – Black – 0.6 miles – Best ridden from north to south so that it’s mostly downhill, this trail features more fantastic rock work, a small cave, more flowy berms, several jumps, and a big gap jump near the bottom.
Here’s how I’d ride it:
Starting at the trail head at Bayyari Park, go north on Butterfield. The first intersection you’ll come to will be with Coyote Cave. Save it for the way back. Next you’ll reach a split in Butterfield. Go right to take you to the hub of all the other trails (you’ll have to return to ride this section again later in order to cover all trails). You’ll climb up and reach another split, where you should stay right. This will take you to the center hub, where the trail circles around a tree in the middle, and the other trails branch off of this circle.
Go around to Fitzgerald. You’ll have two options, take the one on the left. Shortly after heading down Fitzgerald you’ll have the option of adding 1857 (on your left). Pick back up on Fitzgerald until you come to the entrance to Best Trail Ever on the left. Take it and head right (counter-clockwise). You’ll come back to this intersection and continue on Fitzgerald to the left, taking you back to the central hub.
From the hub, go back down Butterfield, and head right at the intersection. This will take you around the loop, allowing you to enjoy mostly downhill. You’ll meet up with the intersection you were at during the early stages of the ride, and take the same trail (to your left this time) that heads back up to the central hub.
Once you’re back at the hub, you can start your run down Coyote Cave. When that meets back up with Butterfield, head back south to the trailhead.
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