Bentonville, AR is the latest region to lay claim to being “The Mountain Bike Capital of the World”. While there are certainly a number of contenders for the crown, Bike World News made a visit to Northwest Arkansas (NWA) to look at this destination from a family perspective and see if it is truly worthy of the title.
In the United States, there are a lot of mountain bike destinations that don’t even need to mention their state: Marin, Crested Butte, Pisgah, Moab, Winter Park, Park City, Aspen. Several of those regions have been granted Gold level status from the International Mountain Bike Association (IMBA).
Bentonville has achieved Silver level status with IMBA and the neighboring NWA towns of Fayetteville and Hot Springs are close on its heels with Bronze level status. Taken as a whole, Bentonville and the NWA region starts to bubble to the top.
Are there areas with more miles of trails? Certainly. Are there places that more strongly embrace the rustic, mountain town feel? Definitely. But if you’re looking for somewhere that has completely embraced the mountain bike lifestyle in a way that is family friendly, has plenty of food and lodging options to choose from, and lots of other things to do as well, Bentonville may well be on it’s way to earning the crown of Mountain Bike Capital of the World.
Corporate Investment
While there was mountain biking in the NWA region before Wal-Mart got involved, the trail network in the area would certainly look different than it does today without their passion and financial support.
Thanks to the Walton Family Foundation (WFF) and the specific involvement of Tom and Steuart Walton, the Bentonville region has been transformed. As of 2018, the WFF had poured $74 million dollars into the cycling infrastructure of the region. And the investment has paid off: so far, the region around Bentonville boasts more than 250 miles of mountain bike trails and another 150 miles in paved trails. That alone is significant, but the investment has more than paid back in economic gains. Cycling generates $51 million dollars a year for area businesses.
The trail network is not only attracting visitors. Part of the Walton brothers’ goals is to increase the attractiveness of the region to a professional workforce that is looking for a hometown that can support their active lifestyle. And it seems to be working – in just two years, the population of Bentonville grew from 47,000 to 51,000.
Bentonville: A Ski Town for Bikes
Both of the Walton brothers went to college out West – Tom to Northern Arizona University in Flagstaff, Steuart to the University of Colorado at Boulder – and the ski town model they saw there definitely influenced their vision of Bentonville as ‘A Ski Town for Bikes’.
“Flagstaff really opened my eyes to how trails can be woven into the fabric of a community,” Tom told The Wall Street Journal in 2019. “When I came back from school, it became obvious…there was an opportunity to build trails.”
And that’s just what they’ve helped to create. Bentonville is a bike town. Thanks to its location, the weather is generally temperate, with temperatures in the mid-40s in January and the high 80s in August. That means 12 months of riding and plenty of time to keep trails well groomed for visitors.
The weather alone helps to support Bentonville’s claim to be the MTB Capital of the World . While you can ride in Bentonville all year round, the riding season for some of its competitors, like Winter Park, Park City and Crested Butte, is three to five months at best.
What’s more, the trails are easily accessible. Where mountain towns often require a shuttle or gondola right to the trailhead, we started our day in Bentonville’s charming town square and rode just a block to the entrance to the Slaughter Pen Trail Network – an IMBA Silver Level Ride Center.
Riding Slaughter Pen
With just two days of ride time available to us, our family focused our time on the 40+ miles of trails in the Slaughter Pen network. While my wife focused her riding on the paved Razorback Greenway that runs through Slaughter Pen, the kids and I trailed Bike Bentonville’s Aimee Ross on All-American, a flowy, machine-built trail through the trees with rock features, berms, and jumps that took us past public art installations and the Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art. The trail’s rolling hills allowed us to get our legs warmed up for the rest of the day’s adventures. We tried a fun alternate jump line before connecting onto Rocking Horse and the Urban Trail.
As we made our way north, we took a detour into Slaughter Pen’s skills park. With jump lines, skinnies and drops, the skills park was a great place to take the family as the kids (and I) are still building our confidence with skinnies, drops and berms.
After a visit to the skills park, the Seed Tick Shuffle trail, with fun man-made rollers and small rock obstacles, took us towards the north end of the trail system where me met back up with my wife near the Bike Playground and Dog Park for some rest and hydration. Looping back on the Greenway, we reconnected with the Urban Trail, made our way south past the Bush Push (more about that later) and took portions of the Razorback Ridge and Angus Chute trails back south towards downtown.
On the way, we took a side trip to check out Masterpiece, a recent addition to the trail system. Masterpiece, located just north of the Crystal Bridges Art Museum Complex, is a jump line unlike any other. Befitting its location near Crystal Bridges, the short trail is a work of art unto itself. A straight dirt run uphill takes you to the trailhead. From there, a short drop and hard left leads to rollers constructed of metal with industrial chain guardrails that transition into some bigger dirt rollers that include kicker jumps for the brave. The trail finishes with a pair of berms that wound back under themselves before kicking us back out onto the Greenway.
We wrapped up our morning on the trails but made plans to come back the following afternoon.
We started our ride the following day at the north end of the Slaughter Pen complex with the aim of taking in more hills and ridges in the network. We had more than our fill of challenges venturing further away from the Razorback Greenway. Indeed, it’s safe to say that the further you get east or west of the greenway, the more technical the trails get.
Once again, we passed the Bush Push. The trail got its name from former President of the United States and avid mountain biker George W. Bush. When he visited the Bentonville area, he spied the short, 35% grade and wanted to give it a try. The word is that his Secret Service detail tried to discourage him, but he persisted, even challenging some of the younger officers to make it to the top. One version of the story says that he nearly made it and that Secret Service team gave him a boost in the final feet. Another version is that he made it all the way and the only ones pushing were his protection detail!
A short ride along the Angus Chute trail brought us to Masterplan, the ‘evil sister’ to Masterpiece. This expert trail, festooned with skulls and skeletons, served up rock drops, steep chutes, and a massive wall ride over its short distance. We did not ride this one but it was definitely fun to watch others take it on.
To wrap up on the trails, it’s more than safe to say that you’ll find a trail in Bentonville to make every member of the family happy, even if they never leave the pavement. Everything from skills parks and groomed dirt trails to rock gardens, drops, mechanical features, downhills and more are all easily reachable within 5 to 10 minutes of wherever you might be staying in the area. As I mentioned earlier, we only had a morning and afternoon to explore, but we could have easily stayed and explored the area for many more days without repeating trails. Even if it rains, there are a number of pump tracks in the region, including a large one by Velosolutions in nearby Springdale that hosted the Pump Track World Championships.
I was told to bring my full suspension to really get the most out of the area, but honestly could have had just as much fun on my trail-focused hardtail and never gotten bored. Tire choice is probably more of a consideration for the rider traveling from elsewhere. While there are plenty of wide dirt trails that are easy on tires, many of the singletrack trails feature more rocks and sharp shale that can do a number on softer tires.
An Oasis for American Art
No visit to Bentonville would be complete without a trip to the Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art, and its sister facility The Momentary.
Crystal Bridges is the vision of Alice Walton, the daughter of Wal-Mart founder Sam Walton, and realizes her life-long love of art. Alice Walton first proposed the idea of an American art museum to the Walton Family Foundation in 2005. The ravine of Slaughter Pen, where she played as a child, was selected for the site. Wanting the facility to work in harmony with the natural environment, she eventually selected architect Moshe Safdie to help turn her dream into reality.
The 200,000 square foot museum, sited on 120 acres of land right along the Razorback Greenway, opened in 2011 and holds over 3200 pieces of American art in its collection. While Alice Walton’s original love was for watercolors, her collection expanded to include everything from early American works all the way through to very contemporary pieces in traditional and non-traditional media.
The primary mission of Crystal Bridges is access to art for all, and as such, admission is always free. In addition, the Crystal Bridges features five miles of trails on the property loaded with sculptures and public art installations.
Because Crystal Bridges rests in a natural ravine, visitors descend to it via a colonnade. Keeping with the principle of being in harmony with its environment, it takes the form of several buildings straddling Town Branch Creek that are joined by bridges. The curved roofs of the structures echo the surrounding hills and their chosen materials blend with the landscape and will age over time to further help the structure merge with nature, while the glass curtain walls of the bridges enhance the feeling of being close to the water.
The rooflines reminded me of the gentle arcs of a traditional Buddhist temple. From the inside, they were even more beautiful, seeming to float on their glass walls.
The galleries themselves are somewhat unusual in that they feature curved exterior walls that echo the shape of the ravine. The result is that guests are drawn into the space, seeing a long line of artworks from a single vantage point that then disappear around a curve and make you want to follow them.
Art of the Moment(ary)
Crystal Bridges recently expanded their presence in Bentonville with the opening of The Momentary, an exhibition space focused on visual, performing and culinary arts. Located about a mile and a half down the Razorback Greenway, The Momentary is a flexible exhibit space that allows Crystal Bridges to focus on their permanent collection while having the ability to host traveling exhibitions throughout the year.
When we visited, museum staff were working on installing a new exhibit by African-American artist Nick Cave focusing on race, rights, equality, shootings and other modern issues. Now open, the immersive exhibition is a visual feast for the eyes, spanning over 24,000 square feet of gallery space and incorporating colorful wind spinners, wallpapers, found objects, beads, and a crystal cloud beckoning visitors to climb its ladders and discover a private garden.
In addition to its flexible exhibit space, the Momentary also includes a black box theater, a coffee bar, flexible event spaces, and dedicated studios that are assigned by a grant program to regional or visiting artists. This unique format allows the Momentary to host what they call Artist Responses, where artists or performers from other disciplines ‘respond’ to questions raised by the exhibition. Over the course of the Nick Cave installation (running through January 3rd), there will be 11 Artist Responses hosted.
After a visit to the Momentary, be sure to check out the art installations on the property and the 8th Street Market, home to startup restaurants, co-working spaces and Bike Rack Brewing Company. We especially enjoyed the smells, flavors and hospitality of Markham & Fitz Chocolate Makers.
A Wealth of Food Options in Bentonville
Families can find plenty of dining options around Bentonville.
If your kids are younger or less adventurous eaters, you’ll find plenty of options from the national chains that they’ll be familiar with. If they’re older (or more adventurous) you’ll be able to explore local options at all price points.
You can fuel up for a day of riding with traditional southern fare at The Buttered Biscuit. I opted for biscuits and gravy, but they also offer Eggs Benedict, a selection of omelettes, power bowls, shrimp & grits, waffles and more.
For a lighter option, check out Ozark Mountain Bagel on the Square in downtown Bentonville. Of course, you can opt for a bagel with cream cheese and a coffee, but they also have breakfast sandwiches, salads and more. What’s more, they’re just two blocks from the Slaughter Pen trailhead at Compton Gardens.
For lunch, we refueled at a couple of locations. The Pressroom is located right in the heart of downtown Bentonville and was just a couple of blocks from Compton Park and the start of the trailhead for All American. While we went there for lunch, they’re open all the way to 11pm to accommodate you whenever you roll off the trail, and they’re laid back enough that, whether you’re in your riding clothes or dressed up for dinner, you won’t feel out of place. With flatbreads, wings, salads, sandwiches and more, you’ll find something to enjoy.
We also got a kick out of a visit to Thaden Field (Bentonville’s regional airport) and lunch at Louise at the Thaden Fieldhouse. We sat on the patio next to Lake Bentonville and were able to watch planes, small and large, take off and land almost over our heads. Selections included traditional fare along with Hippie Hash (a mix of potatoes, mushrooms, tomato, onion, squash, zucchini, broccoli, feta, eggs and hot sauce) or Acai Bowls with a broad selection of toppings.
We treated ourselves to two local destinations for dinner after a day of exploring.
On Thursday we dined at The Preacher’s Son. Aptly located in a decommissioned church, it is an upscale destination with selections that adventurous diners can enjoy. We started our meal with a roasted cauliflower and then shared selections from the main menu including Chili Glazed Pork Belly, housemade gnocchi, Shrimp & Grits, and Seared Scallops.
Preacher’s Son also has an extensive wine list as well as beer selections from a number of Northwest Arkansas breweries.
Friday’s dinner was at Oven & Tap. Located just off of the Bentonville Town Square, Oven & Tap gets its name from its custom wood fired pizza oven and wall of taps. While pizza is the main attraction here, we started our meal with two appetizers: balsamic vinaigrette drizzled tomatoes, and, roasted Diablo peppers on a bed of goat cheese. We tackled the peppers with a little trepidation, expecting too much heat, but the roasting took some of the sting out of the peppers, leaving a nice flavor to enjoy with the oil, herbs and melted cheese.
We shared two pizzas (the Sweet Joe and the Hoboken) and a large salad, which was just the right amount for our family of four. I enjoyed a couple of beers from their dozen local taps with the food.
If pizza is not your thing, Oven & Tap also offers meatballs and family-style fried chicken.
You can also rest assured that most if not all of the restaurants in and around Bentonville have plenty of outdoor seating, plenty of ventilation and management & wait staff that are looking out for your health!
Bentonville: A New / American / Mountain Bike Capital
To wrap it all up, we certainly enjoyed our visit to the Bentonville region and heartily recommend it as a family vacation destination.
Bentonville lives up to its billing as a New American Town, offering residents and visitors plenty of options for healthy living, culture, work and recreation.
While it does not have the iconic mountain vibe of other mountain biking destinations, you would have to be a very jaded mountain biker to not find trails that you could enjoy there. Furthermore, it offers more than enough options to mountain bikers of all abilities. Shouldn’t a ‘mountain bike capital’ BUILD mountain bikers as well as welcome them?
For a destination mountain bike trip or a super fun family vacation, Bentonville should be on your short list. Its friendly people, hospitality and good vibes had us practically planning our return on the drive home.
Ron is the chief cook and bottlewasher at Bike World News, doing everything from website design to bike reviews.
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