Trails for everyone, all the time

Bentonville is surrounded by the wooded foothills of the Ozark mountains, and that terrain provides something for riders of all styles and abilities.

“Our terrain changes considerably between different areas,” said Custer. “We’ve got something for everyone.”

The town’s oldest trail system, called Slaughter Pen, is scattered around town in three independent sections. The system contains 23 miles of trail, but most of those trails are less than a mile long. That makes it a tight, flowy trail system with high berms and wide turns—perfect for intermediate riders who want to run a few laps before or after work. It’s also popular among trick and BMX riders for its jump lines and wooden features.

(No one interviewed for this piece could remember how this trail system got its name. When asked, all stressed its relative safety).

Those seeking longer rides generally head north of town to the Back 40: a 40-mile system that stretches all the way to the Missouri Border. The trails there are longer and wilder, if not overly technical. Most include sustained climbs and offer scenic vistas and smooth, fast downhill travel as a reward.

Technical riders will get their own area later this summer, when the Coler Mountain Bike Preserve fully opens. Located on the northwest side of town, this area is designed especially for full-suspension downhillers. Expect jump lines, rock drops, and other features of black diamond and double-diamond trails.

Northwest Arkansas’ older, more established mountain bike destinations can be found just outside of town. Devil’s Den State Park (the birthplace of Arkansas mountain biking) is just one hour’s drive to the south, and the world-renowned Upper Buffalo trails are two hours to the east.

And there’s the weather. When many other bike towns convert to ski destinations, Bentonville’s trails look like this:

“You can ride here 365 days out of the year,” said Visit Bentonville President Kalene Griffith. “Our winters are very mild. Our springs and summers are beautiful.”

The town’s knobby-trail offerings are supplemented by an extensive urban paved trail system, which connects residential and commercial districts to mountain bike trailheads. A 36-mile paved trail called the Razorback Greenway connects Bentonville to nearby Fayetteville.

The Walton element

Like most of Bentonville, this bike renaissance was built around the Walmart cornerstone. The Walton Family Foundation (WFF) donated the Slaughter Pen trail system in 2006, and has now spent more $59 million to help develop local trails.

“[Trails were] seen as a way to protect natural assets and to preserve public access to those assets,” said Karen Minkel, who directs the WFF’s Home Region Program.

They also serve a recruiting tool—part of the Walton family’s larger efforts to make Walmart’s corporate headquarters more appealing to potential new hires. And they’re working.

“It’s validating for the people who live here, but it also attracts interest. More and more we hear anecdotes from people who are moving here just because they like the quality of life,” Minkel said.

The Walton family’s philanthropy is a sort of institution in Bentonville. Alice Walton almost single-handedly launched the town’s art scene in 2002 by founding the sprawling Crystal Bridges Museum, and the WFF was a title sponsor of the International Mountain Biking Association’s 2016 World Summit in Bentonville.