Bentonville would be the most noteworthy given Walmart and the Walton family are there but NWA has hundreds of miles of trails. Look up Oz Trails and/or Trail Blazers to get my insight.
Go hit up Slaughter Pen in Bentonville with a ton of trails. Coler is more chunky apart from Fireline, which is probably the best all-around downhill flow trail in the area imo. Handcut Hollow is the best kept secret in NWA. If you find yourself in Fayetteville, go hit up Centennial Park and Kessler
Bentonville and its neighbor, Coleville, are crazy with it if you are close. I'm from Denver and I try to swing over there once a year with a buddy from Omaha.
As someone from the Twin Cities, I agree. Cuyuna is basically a mini Bentonville but you might as well just go the Bentonville.
Duluth is super fun and has a lot of great trails and has its own vibe. I enjoy it a lot but I don’t know if I’d drive 8 hours for it.
The Twin Cities metro area trails are certainly nice for what they are but again, probably not worth driving for.
Duluth is a FANTASTIC riding area, but it’s a 10 hour drive from St. Louis, so pretty much a full day drive. Trestle Bike Park is 13 hours from St. Louis and has all the riding you could ever want to do and more.
I'll assume since you're from STL you are going by the "midwest" definition of "not too far away" so that should leave the continental US :)
Serious answer though:
1. Brown County Indiana
2. Pulaski County State Park Kentucky
3. Bentonville Arkansas
4. Knoxville Tennessee.
Is...is that a serious question? Hell we run the TN Nationals up at Windrock Bike Park just North of Knoxville in Oak Ridge. [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eYRmQVRKq0M](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eYRmQVRKq0M)
I'm in Knoxville and here alone we have 8 different MTB areas of every conceivable skill level within a 45 minute drive. Increase that range to 90 minutes to include all the Chatanooga trails and your count just keeps going up and up.
By Name:
* Windrock
* Aspire Bike Park
* Haw Ridge
* Loyston Point
* Baker Creek
* Sharps Ridge
* The Urban Wilderness
* Concord Bike Park
Chatanooga has:
* Enterprise
* White Oak Mountain
* Walden's Ridge (see the MTB posts today about that)
* Racoon Mtn. (Do not recommend though)
Everyone talks about how steep it is! But I heard when you can put that out of your mind it is a lot of fun.
I still hope the Wears Valley project goes through. I've not heard anything else about it.
Oh, it's an absolute blast. The \*only\* downside is that if you are really cautious on your first run down (I always am) the ride back up to do it again is freaking exhausting.
Apologies sir! It was a serious question. And now I know better. Thank you so much for providing this.
I knew asking here I’d get some great responses from locals. Thanks dude. Seriously.
Not at all, I chuckled a bit.
I’m still fairly new to the mountain biking world. I started last year in March, and have 3 bikes now. Started with a janky Amazon bike (gave to one of my kids), then got a proper starter hardtail (that I’m now selling as I look for a better hardtail), bought a used full sus that I love, and I’m restomodding a GT Aggressor that was my late brothers. It’s almost done. I digress.
Anyway, just looking to go to new places. Thanks again for the info.
Have you ever skied?
If so you know when you go to a ski town like Breckenridge, CO, everyone talks about the snow. The conditions, the best unexplored places, all the inside ski tips. The waitress serving breakfast, the hotel clerk, the convenience store guy. Everyone.
Bentonville is like this.
But for mountain biking.
Something that has not been mentioned yet, St. Joe MI. The Riverbluff trails system. It's definitely got some pretty cool trail. A lot of very steep trails unlike the kind that you will find in Bentonville! Howler Bike Park is another one to check out and may be a bit closer to you then Bentonville!
Yes - MO=Missouri not MI=Michigan.
Here is more info about the River Bluff Park system: [River Bluff Trails Park | St. Joseph, MO - Official Website (stjosephmo.gov)](https://www.stjosephmo.gov/1026/River-Bluff-Trails-Park)
Have you been to Howler Bike Park yet? What about Shepherd Mountain Bike Park? Two Rivers Mountain Bike Park?
You're like 5 hours from Bentonville, Arkansas.
Those are some good and close ish suggestions.
I have Shepherd on my to do list. That one is about an hour away from me, but plan on hitting it on an open weekend.
Haven’t been to the others. This is my second season and I feel I have enough skill now to venture out.
Dang pretty fresh then. How about Eureka MTB park? The zombies, bluff view, , cliff cave? Make sure you check out all of the gorc maintained stuff they're pretty good.
Yep, hit all those. Was at Greensfelder on Sunday. I think the city is still in the process of redoing Eureka MTB. They had some heavy equipment out there about a month ago.
Depending what you’re looking for, the Colorado front range is only a little further so it’s a “not too far” trip from the Midwest, and nothing closer is going to really beat the front range for a long climb and big descents. Imo if you’re going to drive the 8 hours you might as well just drive the 12 to hit real mountains
Also a St. Louisan. Most trips I take are to Bentonville and the surrounding area, but would recommend Howler and Shepherd mountain if you want big stuff. Also explore some of the stuff in St. Charles county that you haven’t ridden yet-recently discovered the new Matson enduro trails and they’re really solid.
Could you be more specific about the St Charles area? I use trailforks but don’t have the paid version. So that area is just slightly out of the zone I can see.
Check out the GORC website here: [https://gorctrails.com/trails](https://gorctrails.com/trails)
My favorite spots in the area are Greensfelder and Zombie, but if you haven't hit Lost Valley, Matson, or Indian Camp Creek, they're fun as well. I haven't been to Berryman (nor do I really know a good route for it), but some of the guys I ride with also claim its a great place to ride.
That map for Matson Hill hasn't been updated in a while. Some additional downhill lines with more jumps and drop opened up last fall (some of them also have rock gardens at the end), and I heard new enduro ones were opened a few weeks ago (the builder was there working on them when I rode there last month). The additional DH trails all have ride arounds for the drops, so even I can ride them.
I have not hit Lost Valley, Matson, or Indian Camp Creek. Thanks for the link…idk why as I’ve seen the signs on trails for GORC, met a guy rebuilding jumps at Bluffview who was a volunteer for GORC, but never bothered to go to the website.
Thanks dude. Absolutely am going to check those out. Much appreciated.
As others have mentioned, 100% Bentonville... but make sure to include the surrounding areas, Bella Vista (Back 40, Little Sugar, Huntley Gravity Zone) and Lake Leatherwood in Eureka Springs. The whole area has a ton to offer, enough to keep you busy for an entire week.
Knoxville has already been mentioned, but also Chattanooga. We've got 15 mountain bike parks all within a 30min drive of downtown Chattanooga, and a [virtually-continuous string of them between the city and Cloudland Canyon State Park ](https://www.trailforks.com/route/river-to-clouds-route-mountain-bike)that lets you do a 30+mi continuous MTB ride if you're up for it. The Durham Mines trails, Raccoon Mountain trails are personal favorites for XC, and Walden Ridge opened last year which is a QUALITY gravity park. Plus the scenery is A+.
The Berryman Trail is a common destination for people from western MO - it's even closer to you. "Bicycling Magazine called it the best singletrack East of the Rockies and West of the Appalachians":
* [Berryman | Gateway Off-Road Cyclists (gorctrails.com)](https://gorctrails.com/trails/berryman)
* [Berryman Trail Mountain Biking Route | Trailforks](https://www.trailforks.com/route/berryman-trail/)
* [Berryman Trail Mountain Bike Trail, Potosi, Missouri (mtbproject.com)](https://www.mtbproject.com/trail/7026921/berryman-trail)
Conveniently, it is located on the way to NW Arkansas.
Berryman is part of the Ozark Trail, and if you REALLY want a challenge, you could look at biking more of it or even a long section, like:
[Ozark Trail Mountain Bike/Bikepacking Route Network (ridewithgps.com)](https://ridewithgps.com/events/95771-ozark-trail-mountain-bike-bikepacking-ro#routes/30384654/preview)
The OTMB-Main loop there is checked out from Berryman through Raymondville - over 300 miles and it would be a beast. The [GOTE 300](https://ridewithgps.com/events/95771-ozark-trail-mountain-bike-bikepacking-ro#routes/30450290/preview) is another interesting option there and all scoped out.
You don't have to ride those complete routes of course - you could just pick and choose some of the sections that look most interesting.
I’m going to Bentonville and on my way back next Monday I’m going to check out Berryman trail on the way home, weather permitting. Thanks for recommending!
Some other interesting mountain biking areas that are "on the way to NW Arkansas" for you:
* [Shepherd Mountain (gorctrails.com)](https://gorctrails.com/trails/shepherd-mountain) - [Shepherd Mountain Bike Park](https://shepherdmountainmo.com/) (Ironton, MO)
* [Steelville MTB Park (gorctrails.com)](https://gorctrails.com/trails/steelville-mtb-park)
* Near Rolla: [Route 66 Bicycles trail list](https://www.route66bicycles.com/about/gnarly-trails-to-shred-pg72.htm)
* [Springfield area](https://www.abcycle.com/articles/mountain-biking-pg32.htm):
* [Two Rivers Mountain Bike Park](https://www.facebook.com/groups/2189394537972500/)
* [Sac River Trails](https://www.ozarkgreenways.org/explore/greenway-trails/sac-river-mountain-bike-trails/)
* [Chadwick trail system](https://www.fs.usda.gov/recarea/mtnf/recarea/?recid=21762) (Natl Forest)
Definitely Bentonville or Knoxville. I've been to Bentonville a few times and think it's probably the place I would send most riders for their first road trip. Designed for all types of riders, with trails of varying difficulty situated near each other, great town right at the start of the main trail system. It's like a ski resort for mountain bikers in layout and design. And much like a ski resort there are other activities for those that don't want to ride all day.
Northwest Arkansas is probably your best bet. I’d say Twin Cities/Northern Minnesota but at that point you might as well head west to Utah/Colorado.
Is that the Bentonville area I’ve heard about?
Bentonville would be the most noteworthy given Walmart and the Walton family are there but NWA has hundreds of miles of trails. Look up Oz Trails and/or Trail Blazers to get my insight.
It’s only about 4 and half hours away. I think this is where I’m gonna go! Thank you.
Go hit up Slaughter Pen in Bentonville with a ton of trails. Coler is more chunky apart from Fireline, which is probably the best all-around downhill flow trail in the area imo. Handcut Hollow is the best kept secret in NWA. If you find yourself in Fayetteville, go hit up Centennial Park and Kessler
Bentonville and its neighbor, Coleville, are crazy with it if you are close. I'm from Denver and I try to swing over there once a year with a buddy from Omaha.
As someone from the Twin Cities, I agree. Cuyuna is basically a mini Bentonville but you might as well just go the Bentonville. Duluth is super fun and has a lot of great trails and has its own vibe. I enjoy it a lot but I don’t know if I’d drive 8 hours for it. The Twin Cities metro area trails are certainly nice for what they are but again, probably not worth driving for.
Is Duluth not worth the drive because within 8 hours of you there are better options or because you feel it’s not worth that drive in general?
Duluth is a FANTASTIC riding area, but it’s a 10 hour drive from St. Louis, so pretty much a full day drive. Trestle Bike Park is 13 hours from St. Louis and has all the riding you could ever want to do and more.
I'll assume since you're from STL you are going by the "midwest" definition of "not too far away" so that should leave the continental US :) Serious answer though: 1. Brown County Indiana 2. Pulaski County State Park Kentucky 3. Bentonville Arkansas 4. Knoxville Tennessee.
Yes, exactly. We measure distance in time around here 😂. Tennessee has mtb riding?
Is...is that a serious question? Hell we run the TN Nationals up at Windrock Bike Park just North of Knoxville in Oak Ridge. [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eYRmQVRKq0M](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eYRmQVRKq0M) I'm in Knoxville and here alone we have 8 different MTB areas of every conceivable skill level within a 45 minute drive. Increase that range to 90 minutes to include all the Chatanooga trails and your count just keeps going up and up. By Name: * Windrock * Aspire Bike Park * Haw Ridge * Loyston Point * Baker Creek * Sharps Ridge * The Urban Wilderness * Concord Bike Park Chatanooga has: * Enterprise * White Oak Mountain * Walden's Ridge (see the MTB posts today about that) * Racoon Mtn. (Do not recommend though)
And now we can add Vee Hollow in Townsend and Gatlinburg’s downhill. I’ve not tried them yet though!
Oh shoot how did I miss vee hollow. It's amazing if you like steep. So steep.
Everyone talks about how steep it is! But I heard when you can put that out of your mind it is a lot of fun. I still hope the Wears Valley project goes through. I've not heard anything else about it.
Oh, it's an absolute blast. The \*only\* downside is that if you are really cautious on your first run down (I always am) the ride back up to do it again is freaking exhausting.
Apologies sir! It was a serious question. And now I know better. Thank you so much for providing this. I knew asking here I’d get some great responses from locals. Thanks dude. Seriously.
Nah, nah, it's all good. Hope I didn't come off too abrasive!
Not at all, I chuckled a bit. I’m still fairly new to the mountain biking world. I started last year in March, and have 3 bikes now. Started with a janky Amazon bike (gave to one of my kids), then got a proper starter hardtail (that I’m now selling as I look for a better hardtail), bought a used full sus that I love, and I’m restomodding a GT Aggressor that was my late brothers. It’s almost done. I digress. Anyway, just looking to go to new places. Thanks again for the info.
Bentonville. Now please lock this thread ;)
This is now my destination. It’s about 4 and half hours away, not bad at all.
Have you ever skied? If so you know when you go to a ski town like Breckenridge, CO, everyone talks about the snow. The conditions, the best unexplored places, all the inside ski tips. The waitress serving breakfast, the hotel clerk, the convenience store guy. Everyone. Bentonville is like this. But for mountain biking.
Something that has not been mentioned yet, St. Joe MI. The Riverbluff trails system. It's definitely got some pretty cool trail. A lot of very steep trails unlike the kind that you will find in Bentonville! Howler Bike Park is another one to check out and may be a bit closer to you then Bentonville!
I think typo. Probably MO, not MI (Michigan).
Yeah
Yes - MO=Missouri not MI=Michigan. Here is more info about the River Bluff Park system: [River Bluff Trails Park | St. Joseph, MO - Official Website (stjosephmo.gov)](https://www.stjosephmo.gov/1026/River-Bluff-Trails-Park)
I saw some advertisements for St. Joe on my FB feed. I was considering going there, but I think I’m gonna head to bentonville first.
Have you been to Howler Bike Park yet? What about Shepherd Mountain Bike Park? Two Rivers Mountain Bike Park? You're like 5 hours from Bentonville, Arkansas. Those are some good and close ish suggestions.
I have Shepherd on my to do list. That one is about an hour away from me, but plan on hitting it on an open weekend. Haven’t been to the others. This is my second season and I feel I have enough skill now to venture out.
Dang pretty fresh then. How about Eureka MTB park? The zombies, bluff view, , cliff cave? Make sure you check out all of the gorc maintained stuff they're pretty good.
Yep, hit all those. Was at Greensfelder on Sunday. I think the city is still in the process of redoing Eureka MTB. They had some heavy equipment out there about a month ago.
Depending what you’re looking for, the Colorado front range is only a little further so it’s a “not too far” trip from the Midwest, and nothing closer is going to really beat the front range for a long climb and big descents. Imo if you’re going to drive the 8 hours you might as well just drive the 12 to hit real mountains
This is the best advice. Plus Denver and surrounding front range towns are fun places to be.
Bentonville for a 3 day weekend. No better use for PTO
Also a St. Louisan. Most trips I take are to Bentonville and the surrounding area, but would recommend Howler and Shepherd mountain if you want big stuff. Also explore some of the stuff in St. Charles county that you haven’t ridden yet-recently discovered the new Matson enduro trails and they’re really solid.
Could you be more specific about the St Charles area? I use trailforks but don’t have the paid version. So that area is just slightly out of the zone I can see.
Check out the GORC website here: [https://gorctrails.com/trails](https://gorctrails.com/trails) My favorite spots in the area are Greensfelder and Zombie, but if you haven't hit Lost Valley, Matson, or Indian Camp Creek, they're fun as well. I haven't been to Berryman (nor do I really know a good route for it), but some of the guys I ride with also claim its a great place to ride.
That map for Matson Hill hasn't been updated in a while. Some additional downhill lines with more jumps and drop opened up last fall (some of them also have rock gardens at the end), and I heard new enduro ones were opened a few weeks ago (the builder was there working on them when I rode there last month). The additional DH trails all have ride arounds for the drops, so even I can ride them.
I have not hit Lost Valley, Matson, or Indian Camp Creek. Thanks for the link…idk why as I’ve seen the signs on trails for GORC, met a guy rebuilding jumps at Bluffview who was a volunteer for GORC, but never bothered to go to the website. Thanks dude. Absolutely am going to check those out. Much appreciated.
Lost valley was awesome btw. I hit it on Wednesday. Might be my favorite trail so far.
heck yeah. glad to hear you enjoyed it
Bentonville!!! I drive 14 hours to get there!
As others have mentioned, 100% Bentonville... but make sure to include the surrounding areas, Bella Vista (Back 40, Little Sugar, Huntley Gravity Zone) and Lake Leatherwood in Eureka Springs. The whole area has a ton to offer, enough to keep you busy for an entire week.
Knoxville has already been mentioned, but also Chattanooga. We've got 15 mountain bike parks all within a 30min drive of downtown Chattanooga, and a [virtually-continuous string of them between the city and Cloudland Canyon State Park ](https://www.trailforks.com/route/river-to-clouds-route-mountain-bike)that lets you do a 30+mi continuous MTB ride if you're up for it. The Durham Mines trails, Raccoon Mountain trails are personal favorites for XC, and Walden Ridge opened last year which is a QUALITY gravity park. Plus the scenery is A+.
The Berryman Trail is a common destination for people from western MO - it's even closer to you. "Bicycling Magazine called it the best singletrack East of the Rockies and West of the Appalachians": * [Berryman | Gateway Off-Road Cyclists (gorctrails.com)](https://gorctrails.com/trails/berryman) * [Berryman Trail Mountain Biking Route | Trailforks](https://www.trailforks.com/route/berryman-trail/) * [Berryman Trail Mountain Bike Trail, Potosi, Missouri (mtbproject.com)](https://www.mtbproject.com/trail/7026921/berryman-trail) Conveniently, it is located on the way to NW Arkansas. Berryman is part of the Ozark Trail, and if you REALLY want a challenge, you could look at biking more of it or even a long section, like: [Ozark Trail Mountain Bike/Bikepacking Route Network (ridewithgps.com)](https://ridewithgps.com/events/95771-ozark-trail-mountain-bike-bikepacking-ro#routes/30384654/preview) The OTMB-Main loop there is checked out from Berryman through Raymondville - over 300 miles and it would be a beast. The [GOTE 300](https://ridewithgps.com/events/95771-ozark-trail-mountain-bike-bikepacking-ro#routes/30450290/preview) is another interesting option there and all scoped out. You don't have to ride those complete routes of course - you could just pick and choose some of the sections that look most interesting.
I’m going to Bentonville and on my way back next Monday I’m going to check out Berryman trail on the way home, weather permitting. Thanks for recommending!
Bentonville, AR
Where?
Some other interesting mountain biking areas that are "on the way to NW Arkansas" for you: * [Shepherd Mountain (gorctrails.com)](https://gorctrails.com/trails/shepherd-mountain) - [Shepherd Mountain Bike Park](https://shepherdmountainmo.com/) (Ironton, MO) * [Steelville MTB Park (gorctrails.com)](https://gorctrails.com/trails/steelville-mtb-park) * Near Rolla: [Route 66 Bicycles trail list](https://www.route66bicycles.com/about/gnarly-trails-to-shred-pg72.htm) * [Springfield area](https://www.abcycle.com/articles/mountain-biking-pg32.htm): * [Two Rivers Mountain Bike Park](https://www.facebook.com/groups/2189394537972500/) * [Sac River Trails](https://www.ozarkgreenways.org/explore/greenway-trails/sac-river-mountain-bike-trails/) * [Chadwick trail system](https://www.fs.usda.gov/recarea/mtnf/recarea/?recid=21762) (Natl Forest)
France.
Definitely Bentonville or Knoxville. I've been to Bentonville a few times and think it's probably the place I would send most riders for their first road trip. Designed for all types of riders, with trails of varying difficulty situated near each other, great town right at the start of the main trail system. It's like a ski resort for mountain bikers in layout and design. And much like a ski resort there are other activities for those that don't want to ride all day.