Biking Bentonville

It seems as though Bentonville has achieved a mythic status when it comes to mountain biking…and now I understand why. 

For 7 days we stayed near Bentonville in the next town over called Bella Vista. This is a distinction by name only as far as I’m concerned. For the visitor it is the same community. The group we had was diverse. Myself and two sons are intermediate mountain bikers who are comfortable on blue and some black trails. My wife is more of a beginner, preferring the green trails. My father in law is most comfortable on green and some blue trails and my mother in law likes the paved trails. 

A couple other notes on our stay, it was hot! Our riding days were from July 4th through the 10th with high temps each day in the 90’s. In the end I don’t think this mattered too much, if anything it made us slow down a little bit, enjoy the rides and not burn ourselves out early in the week. 

As far as bike setups go we were all riding full suspension mountain bikes (with the exception of MIL) of different makes and models. In my opinion the most important part of your rig when headed to Bentonville is the tire selection. A good tire with sidewall protection is a must. This area is full of chunky sharp rocks that could wreak havoc on cheaper tires. My father in law had cheaper stock tires that came on his bike that were setup tubeless. After just a couple rides there were about 10 small pinhole leaks where sealant could be seen leaking out and one big enough that required a bacon strip. By the end of the week sealant was weeping through the sidewall of his rear tire. On the other hand, my boys had Maxxis tires (Aggressor and Assegai) and had no issues all week. The biggest surprise for me was the Bontrager Gunnison Pro XR tires that I had on. These were also setup tubeless, but at $55 each I was not sure how they would hold up. After 145 miles of riding over the week, I can honestly say I am quite impressed. These tires showed no signs of premature wear, no pin holes, no leaks, etc. While there were a couple sections where a little more tread could have helped, that is on tire selection not on the tire. I will definitely look at Bontrager tires in the future. 

Getting back to tire tread. While many of the trails in Bentonville might be classified as XC trails, even the green trails have some loose sections. I would really recommend a trail tire that has some good tread and cornering ability. 

OK, on to the trails and the riding. What makes Bentonville such a special place is the accessibility of the trails and the variety of trails that provide for riding of all levels. It was easy for all 6 of us to park in the same spot, disperse in different directions, ride for several hours and meet back with different routes and stories to tell. 

While nearly all of the trails can be accessed via bike path, the most central trail cluster is Slaughter Pen. This trail system is literally dispersed through the community, offering a wide variety of climbs, descents, difficulty and jump lines. In general the Slaughter Pen trails loosely follow the paved greenway trail and they can all be ridden right into downtown Bentonville. Slaughter Pen is also home to the OZ Castle, which is a great system of flowy jumplines with a central hub (The Castle). 

Coler and Hand Cut Hollow can also be ridden to from Bentonville, with each of them sitting just East and West of Slaughter Pen respectively. Coler is home to the unique Airship Cafe, a ride-in cafe where a mid-ride coffee or beer can be enjoyed. Hand Cut Hollow, is home to the insidious Zone 4 trail, touted as the toughest climb in the area. While it was probably a bit out of our league, the boys and I thought we should give it a try. While we did finish the trail, it certainly lived up to the hype! 

North of Bentonville (technically Bella Vista, where our Air B&B was) lies the extensive Back 40 and Little Sugar trail systems. Together these trail systems are nearly 100 miles of wonderful trail that feel like back country but still wind through homes, lakes, waterfalls, and golf courses. Personally, the Back 40 and Little Sugar trails were my favorite. I love getting out and “getting lost” on a trail systems, even if only metaphorically. While preparation needs to be considered, one welcome feature is several trailside locations to fill water. In fact on one 4 hour tour of the Little Sugar trails, my older son was just fine with his two on-bike water bottles. 

While a slight drive from Bentonville, the next town over of Rogers, has another unique location called the Railyard. This is an all paved bike park that has green, blue and black jumps and flow lines. Like other parts of the area, The Railyard also has connecting trails and a paved greenway trail that leads around the lake. I have never been a great jumper, but I know that I improved after spending a couple hours at the Railyard. There is something to be said for being able to take the same predictable jump over and over again when learning something new. 

As mentioned earlier, there is something for everyone in Bentonville and the surrounding communities. There is great shopping, art, food, kayaking and swimming. With how hot the weather was, a favorite activity after a long hot bike was to take a refreshing dip in the creek behind Buddy Pegs bike shop. 

If you are a mountain biking enthusiast, then Bentonville should definitely be on your list and don’t be afraid to bring the whole family!