NORTHWEST ARKANSAS

Hobbs State Park - East of Rogers:
www.arkansasstateparks.com/hobbsstateparkconservationarea
www.friendsofhobbs.com

The park trail consists of 4 loops, which are:

Little Clifty Creek Loop - 9 miles (most popular, has 200 – 300 foot elevation gain)
Dutton Hollow Loop - 3 miles
Bashore Ridge Loop - 3 miles
War Eagle Loop - 5 miles

The trails are technically easy to moderate, however, the elevation changes on the trails make the rides a little more difficult.

Driving directions from Rogers: Take Highway 12 E. from Rogers approximately 12.5 miles to Townsend Ridge Road (just before War Eagle Road). Turn right onto Townsend Ridge Road and go two miles to the Hidden Diversity Multi-Use Trail parking lot (on the right). Expect a 25 minute drive from east Rogers.

Slaughterpen - Bentonville
This is one of the newest mountain bike trails in Northwest Arkansas. This area now has over 10 miles of trails. The original area, consisting of about 5 miles, includes a lower loop for beginners, with the remaining trails being more intermediate. There is also a BMX riding area and a "pump track" which is a great place for kids to learn riding skills. A new 5 mile area has just been completed as well, and it is our understanding that about 4 miles are for intermediate riders and 1 mile being more for advanced riders.

To get there, take Highway 71B North in Bentonville, to NW "A" Street. There is parking behind the Hidden Springs Medical Clinic, and also a little further south along 71B. This area is connected to the multi-use trail system mentioned earlier. Once you're there, there will be maps and signs of the trails. print map

Lake Fayetteville
http://trails.accessfayetteville.org
This is a 5.5 mile trail (loop), next to the Springdale Lewis & Clark store. The mountain bike trail is mostly dirt, with a paved area extending across the dam/spillway (If heading clockwise on the trail, when you come to the parking lot at the end of Lake Fayetteville Rd make sure to take the dirt path closest to the fence line. If you do not take the dirt path you will end up riding about 2.75 miles of the loop on a paved path). This trail is a great place for beginner mountain bikers to get started and we would rate it as easy to moderate in difficulty. Expect to encounter plenty of other bikers, runners and hikers – so please be courteous and share the trail.

Riders can begin: one, at the softball field parking lots in front of the Lewis & Clark store; two, at the end of Lake Fayetteville Road; or three, on the south side of the lake at Veterans Park. To get to the south entrance, turn east on Zion Road off of U.S. 71B, and go to the entrance of Veterans Park on your left. You can ride either clockwise or counter-clockwise on the trail (the ride is less physically demanding clockwise). There are bathroom facilities at all three parking areas.

Devils Den - approx. 25 minutes south of Fayetteville.
www.arkansasstateparks.com/devilsden

The Fossil Flats Trail head is located at the end of camping area A. Riders can choose from three different loops ranging from 3- 5 miles. If you are a beginner, you can keep looping back in the area before crossing the creek – these trails wind in and out of the trees and are a great place for kids to ride. Across the creek, the ride becomes a little more technical, and is moderate in technical difficulty, while the climb up Racer's Hill would be strenuous. There are two creek crossings, a fast paced single-track, and some big climbs. Racers Hill loop (extending the trail to 5 miles) starts with a big climb, followed, of course, by a big downhill.

Holt road is the other trail system at Devils Den. To get there, take the Winslow exit off of I-540 and turn right on to Highway 74. Stay on Hwy 74 for about 3 miles until you come to the Holt road trailhead (there is a small parking lot at the trail head right off the road). This trail has great views and includes a few creek crossings, dirt roads, a single track and some big climbs and descents. We would rate this as moderate to strenuous in difficulty. The trail is divided into three different loops outside the park in the Ozark National Forest, ranging from 3 to 15 miles. Riders must get a back woods permit before riding the trail, which can be obtained at the park visitor center.

Lincoln Lake - Lincoln
www.lincolnarkansas.com/attractions

Mountain bikers now have a new place to play, thanks to David Justice, who designed and built the trail. This is a newly designated, 400 acre city park and a very beautiful area. To get there, take Hwy 62 West from Fayetteville. Go 20 miles to Lincoln. Turn North on county 669 (watch for Lincoln Lake signs) Drive about 4 miles to the lake.

The completed trails are:
Eagle View Loop, which is an out and back with two loops near Eagle View Overlook that will take you between two bluff lines with an exciting ride along the edge. This trail will also test your balance skills in places. Trail length is about 3 miles.
Piney Loop, which is an out and back with one loop that shoots through a pine forest with great slalom type trails. You will find many bog bridges here. Piney Loop is about 4 miles.

These two trails are technical in places and easy in places. There are rocks to go over in areas and smooth piney trails in others. The trails are open to hikers and bikers. The lake is also open to kayakers, and the area is one of the few places to climb in NWA.

---

CENTRAL ARKANSAS

Alsopp Park - Little Rock:
This park is conveniently located in the Hillcrest area. To get to the north section of the park, Take Cantrell Road to Allsopp Park Road. To get to the south section, go west off Cantrell Road onto Cedar Hill Rd, then turn right onto Park Drive. We would rate the trails at this park as moderate in difficulty, due to technical climbs and a few fast descents.

The south trail is the main trail and it begins near the entrance to the park providing about 3 miles of riding. The north loop is about 1 mile. You can ride in different loops, going different directions to change things up.

Camp Robinson - North Little Rock:
This trail system includes about 35 miles of single track. To ride on this trail you will need a CARP membership, which costs $10/year and can be purchased at www.carpclub.com. To get to the camp, take I-40 to the Burns Park Exit, go north until to Military Drive, which will take you to the base of the camp. You must sign in at the guard station. Do not ride at the camp without your CARP card, unless you want to pay the $160 fine.

Once there, you can ride as much or as little as you want, as the trail system includes numerous, connected loops. We could spend pages describing them, but the easiest thing to do is download the map off their website (using the link above). The map includes color coded trails and difficulty ratings.

Burns Park - North Little Rock:
Park Maps & Info
This trail is about 7 miles of single track, with multiple loops. We would rate the trail from easy to moderate. The trail has some good views of the park and the Arkansas River. In the northwest part of the trail, the terrain is flatter, which is good for beginners, but watch out for horses as this specific area allows horseback riding. The entire trail is open to hikers, so please be mindful of other pedestrians as you are riding.

Burns Park is located in North Little Rock on the north side of the Arkansas River. Take I-40 to exit 150, then follow the signs to Burns Park. The best place to park is at the picnic area, from there you can ride in either direction. If you are a beginner mountain bike rider, try the horse trails to the north first, as there are some steep climbs in the south part of the trail.

Lake Winona Loop - West of Little Rock (review written by Jeff Snodgres)
This trail is located about 35 miles west of Little Rock, off State Highway 9. This little gem was discovered by a small group of mountain bike enthusiasts in the early 80's, not to give away my age but yours truly being amongst this small group, and I still enjoy riding there every opportunity I get... While finding the lake can pose a challenge, the trip is well worth the effort and rewarded with your choice of 21 and 25 mile loops of fire and logging roads with great climbing rewarded by spectacular vista views. While the 21 mile loop is great for beginning enthusiasts, though it does include some great climbs and vista views of the underlying valleys, the 25 mile version will incorporate some narrow, rough roads across the mountainside above the lake. The old Marquis De Sade ride was once held annually from the Lake Winona Ranger Station parking lot and encompassed a 100 mile out and back odyssey, usually held in August, for which only a bumper sticker was awarded to those finishing with, of course, bragging rights!