How to best spend two weeks mountain biking The Natural State.
By Bob Robinson
Load up the bike and hit the road for a two-week adventure shredding singletrack across Arkansas. With only two weeks, you won’t have time to hit all of them — but it will be fun trying.
Begin this rambunctious undertaking in the state’s southern portion on the Iron Mountain Trails, near Arkadelphia. Dave Renko of Progressive Trail Design called me recently to say his company had added 10 miles of new trail that was “fast, both up and downhill.”
With camping and lodging within riding distance of what is now 30 miles of trails, this is an ideal cycling destination. Once camp is set up, pop in your earbuds and roll out onto the latest addition to the trail system, Joe’s Garage, named for a Frank Zappa tune. Fred Phillips, the trails’ designer, named the Iron Mountain trails after some of his favorite classic rock songs.
As advertised, this sweet, flowy singletrack was not too steep or too techie. A great trail to get your mountain bike buzz on.
Then feed this buzz by rolling onto White Zone with fantastic views across the blue waters of DeGray Lake. Knock out Clockwork Orange and the other trails located on the north side of Skyline Drive to complete the first day’s adventure.
Day two starts on the south side of Skyline Drive. These trails are either blasting downhill or grinding it out uphill. Jolly Green Giant drops riders to the bottom of the dam with a 500-foot descent. Then Yellow Snow takes you about 200 feet up an adjoining mountain to circle back around to climb back up Giant. Ride these trails counterclockwise. It makes for some fast, fun downhill and the climbs work better.
Pedal back to camp to grab some calories and treat yourself to a quick nap in the hammock, then load up the bikes for a 30-mile drive to the Northwoods Trail System in Hot Springs.
Park at the old waterworks plant, where the pumphouse building is looking good after getting a coat of bright colors as part of the 2021 OZ Art mural project. Head out on the east trail system first. These nice, easy paths flow gently across the mountainside through dense pine forest.
The west trails include some real gems — as in black diamonds.
Work your way to Bluejay. This is an intermediate/difficult downhill with plenty of double jumps and high-earthen banked-sharp turns. If this is to your liking and you’re interested in supersizing it, head back up the mountain to Lucky 13. This is a true black diamond, with plenty of tabletops, gaps and step-ups with big air opportunities for some styling.
Interested in a second helping of the meaty features on Lucky 13? Peel off early for a short hike back up a social trail for repeats, avoiding the long ride from the bottom.
If you’re up for more miles, hop on one of the connector trails that hook up with Cedar Glades Trails for another 10 miles of old-school trails.
MOVING ON
For day three, we are on the road again to Little Rock for a doubleheader on River Mountain Trail and Pinnacle Mountain State Park.
River Mountain is constructed on a mountain overlooking the confluence of the Little Maumelle and Arkansas rivers. At just less than 10 miles, it offers a fun assortment of trails. Riders can pump up the adrenaline factor with a run down the rocky, techie Narrows or schedule some airtime on Gravity Falls.
A short 8-mile drive links up with another 14 miles of trail at Pinnacle Mountain State Park. This is one of four trail systems constructed as part of the state’s Monument Trails project.
Start your ride at the visitor center parking area. Head out on Jackfork, then grab some Dynamite for a techie, rocky run, around an abandoned rock quarry and scenic river views. Pinnacle includes a pair of fast downhill-only trails: Glade Runner and Turkey Tracks. They are sprinkled with rock gardens, jumps and drops. The Pinnacle trails have an “old school” feel to them, honoring the state park’s request to retain the flavor of the original trails in the park.
Finish out the day driving to the next stop, Mount Nebo State Park. Reserve a campsite or one of the 1930s-era rustic Civilian Conservation Corps-constructed cabins for a couple of nights. You’ll want time to fully appreciate these 25 miles of prime mountain bike trails.
Roll out of bed predawn to jump on the strider-friendly Three-C’s Trail for the view of first sun at Sunrise Point. Follow Sunset Connector to reach a pair of trails that circumnavigate the mountain. Bench Trail is 3 miles on an old wagon road, and Miller’s Goat Trail is 5 miles of singletrack that weaves through boulders and pine forest.
After riding one or both of these trails, drop down the Chickalah Loop Trail. Literally. Two miles of downhill loaded with expert drops, jumps and gaps. The features are well marked with ride arounds, so riders of almost all skill level will love this downhill thrill ride.
The area’s interesting history is documented at the visitor center and kiosks. Take the remainder of the day to enjoy the park’s rich past, then enjoy a moment of zen at the end of the day at Sunset Point.
Begin the next day shredding the trails on the mountain’s opposite side. Two-mile-long Hayes Creek Run is steeper than Chickalah, with sharper turns and rocky sections. Plus, Ox Pull is a much more strenuous grind out. Enjoy the remainder of the trails across the mountain, and a few repeats on your favorite rides, then pack up for the next stop, Devil’s Den State Park.
Devil’s Den is recognized as the birthplace of mountain biking in Arkansas. It is also home to the most recently constructed Monument trail.
These 19 miles of singletrack route riders behind waterfalls, through tight rocky crevices, along sheer bluff lines, and past other unique natural features not normally explored from a bicycle.
The majority of these trails are rated intermediate so most cyclists will find them fun and challenging. Even the mile-long descent on the park’s lone black diamond offers alternative B-lines around the more challenging drops and jumps.
After a long day of cycling bliss, load up once again for a short drive up I-49 for 20 miles of sweet trails atop Millsap Mountain at Centennial Park in Fayetteville.
These are some of the best groomed, professionally constructed trails in the state, peppered with countless purpose-built challenging features. The expertly designed earthen berms on Learner’s Permit are perfect. And many skilled riders have traveled to the park for the challenging gravity trails like Redrum.
At the end of the day, it’s on to another colorful, entertaining city — Eureka Springs.
With two mountain bike systems, plan for a double-night stay.
The Passion Play Trail system was constructed on hillsides surrounding the outdoor amphitheater where The Great Passion Play is performed. The 11 miles of trails that comprise what’s known as “Beginner’s Full Tour” is a great place to start your ride. Nothing techie, mainly sweet flow to get your legs warmed up.
This loop passes several intermediate-rated trails riders can drop into. Even though these trails have steeper descents, all the features have ride-arounds. The intermediates lead to several downhill-only, high-adrenaline black diamond trails.
Your next stop is Lake Leatherwood DH, just outside of town. You want to be fresh — physically and mentally — for these challenging trails, so take the remainder of the day off.
Lake Leatherwood features seven down- hill-only trails. They average about a 500-foot descent and are just under a mile in distance. The frosting on this mountain bike treat is the Ozark-style gondola shuttle back to the top.
THE HOME STRETCH
It is difficult to say goodbye to the Eureka Springs trails. However, you will get over them like a teenager leaving his high school sweetheart behind when heading off to college. That’s because you are heading to the Mountain Bike Capital of the World.
Begin your Northwest Arkansas Adventure on the Back 40 Trails, located in Bella Vista.
Plan ahead to score a campsite at the trailhead in Blowing Springs RV Park. This 50-mile trail system races through deep tree-filled hollows, up and over a ridgetop, then drops into the next drainage.
Back 40 Loop encircles the entire trail network. Like spokes on a wheel, there are fun interconnecting trails crisscrossing the middle. Trails like Flo Ride and SBAT are loaded with short, punchy climbs, rollers, rock gardens and small kicker jumps.
On the following day, jump onto Little Sugar Trails — which adjoins Back 40 — to explore another 50 miles of singletrack. The trails are a little wider than those at Back 40, and more vertical per mile, at 1,500 feet of ascent per 10 miles. This makes for some long sweet-flowing descents peppered with tons of fun jumps, drops and other optional features woven in. As with Back 40 Loop, Tunnel Vision Trail encircles this entire network of trails with interconnecting trails crossing the middle.
After completing your time at Bella Vista, head over to Coler Preserve in Bentonville — 20 miles of some of the most diverse trails in the state.
Start your adventure from the main parking area on the mountain’s west side. Pedal up Oscar to get this party started at The Hub. This is a beautiful steel and wood ramp, elevating riders 13 feet above the ground, then launching them headlong down one of two steep ramps into a buffet of exciting downhill runs.
Fireline is pretty much a downhill pump track. Rock Solid is a fast and furious slab fest of adrenaline-feeding frenzy. Cease and Desist includes a 12-foot drop sending you sailing over riders on an alternate trail below.
Before leaving Coler, enjoy a head-to-head matchup against your buds on a downhill dual-slalom, Thunder Dome.
On the final day of the MTB road trip, roll your knobbies onto Slaughter Pen Trails. A trail app like MTB Project is a must to follow the smorgasbord of trails branching off the core Slaughter Pen network. Most of these small pocket parks are beginner/intermediate trails, but they also include challenging black diamonds.
Begin the ride in bike-friendly downtown Bentonville on All American Trail. Peel off onto Rocking Horse for some fun short rides before continuing to experience some flowzone on Ozone, Angus Chute, the new Medieval, Medusa and many others.
Continue around to where it all began in 2007 with Phase I trails. Even though these were the first trails constructed, they have experienced numerous upgrades and enhancements over the years. The full list of fun trails at Slaughter Pen could fill this article, so just hit them all.
I know some great trails were left out of this road trip. Two weeks just isn’t enough time to ride them all. But there’s always tomorrow.