Arkansas Gaining Momentum as Mountain Biking Destination
By Zoie Clift, Arkansas Department of Parks & Tourism
First posted on 04-15-2009
Arkansas is quickly gaining a foothold as one of nation’s premier spots for mountain biking.
“I think people don’t realize quite yet the sheer amount of riding in Arkansas,” said Matt McFee, director and lead guide of Hermosa Tours based in Durango, Colorado. “Most people think 20-30 mile “epic” days are a thing only to be found out West, but in fact, they exist in abundance in Arkansas.”
McFee’s company offers guided mountain bike tours (both single and multi-day tours) in Colorado, Utah, California, Washington, and now Arkansas. He said the company decided to add the state to the mix due to its terrain and proximity to the Midwest.
McFee said popular riding destinations out West are largely defined by deserts or high mountain terrain. “What makes Arkansas so special is to have riding that is on par with the West, while at the same time delivering a totally different surrounding of a mostly deciduous forest with gorgeous vistas,” he said.
The company’s first tours in the state will start in May, but they will offer single day tours year round. The tours will introduce riders to the terrain here and help spread the word about the up and coming destination. “Arkansas’s mountain biking opportunities are amazing and I’m hoping to show more people that,” said McFee.
Some of the trails highlighted via the tours include the state’s two IMBA Epics: The Womble Trail, a single-track route across the Ouachitas maintained by mountain bikers since the 1980s, and the 50-mile Syllamo Mountain Bike Trail System in Mountain View. Each year the International Mountain Biking Association, IMBA, selects a handful of trails around the world that receive this special “Epic” status. These are defined as ‘must ride’ routes for riders around the world to try out. The Ouachita National Recreation Trail, a 192-mile trail (137 miles open to mountain bikes) running east to west through the Ouachita Mountains, is also on the tour agenda.
According to David Renko, director of the Eureka Springs Fat Tire Festival and consultant with Progressive Trail Design, what makes the state stand out is the light use of the trails here. “As far as miles to riders we probably have one of the highest ratios in the country,” he said. “It’s common to go to the popular cycling destinations here and find yourself alone in the woods.”
Renko said the development of the Syllamo Trails, a project initiated by riders in 2001, was one of the most groundbreaking efforts for the sport in the state. He said the project made believers of advocates and land management agencies across the state that an epic trail could be built.
Renko added that other cutting edge projects include Eureka Springs connecting their parks and greenways with over 20 miles of riding trails and routes, Hobbs State Park creating 20 miles of horse/bike shared use trails, and Bentonville developing the Slaughter Pen Trail System and installing both freeride stunts and a challenge park in their 15-mile trail system.
Groundbreaking trail projects and interest by out of state companies such as Hermosa Tours are a sign that the state is gaining momentum as a high caliber riding destination. Mcfee said expanding the state’s allure as a national mountain biking destination lies in the hands of the community. “When the restaurants, bike shops and lodging in each local area welcome mountain bikers as valued visitors the overall destination experience really takes off,” he said.
In the meantime, riders have plenty to look forward to. Renko said planned projects on the horizon include the Buffalo Headwaters Trail System, the multi-use trail system on Pension Mountain near Berryville, the Argenta freeride and challenge park in North Little Rock, the development of a downhill specific trail at Lake Leatherwood City Park in Eureka Springs, and the Lake Ouachita Vista Trail.
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Comments:
Dr. Michael Vanderman Ph.D. of California you have been trying to make this argument for years; that only bikes, not mountain bikers, lose access to trails when access is limited because they could leave the bike behind and hike the trails, well that’s a bit of a stretch.
In that tone, why would hiking shoes be allowed in the nations public lands? They, like bikes, are inanimate objects with no rights whose only purpose is to make accessing public lands more convenient. Should we be required to leave all inanimate objects behind when we access our public lands?
Furthermore, Dr. Vanderman would you be willing to challenge the Americans with Disabilities Act by stating challenged citizens are not limited access to a municipal building with stairs at every entrance? Those bound to wheelchairs could simply choose to leave their wheelchairs behind and access the building some other way.
This extreme example is not meant to compare the situations of outdoor enthusiasts and challenged citizens but rather to illustrate a point; limiting access does just that, it puts limits on who can access an area.
I would hope outdoor enthusiasts could work together to promote access of our public lands rather than take cheap shots demeaning how others access our beautiful surroundings. Either non-motorized areas are accessible to every form of non-motorized travel or to only those brave enough to leave it all behind. Bike wearing rider looking to work with shoe wearing hikers and heck even pogo-stick jumpers.
Tim Daniels: “Horses are NOT native to this continent.”
You are mistaken. As I said, the horse evolved in North America, and hence has a right to be here. Bicycles, of course, are machines, and have no rights whatsoever. There is also, per a federal court decision, no right to mountain bike: http://home.pacbell.net/mjvande/mtb10.
News flash!!! Horses are NOT native to this continent. Of course they’ve probably evolved a bit in the short time they’ve been here since they were introduced by the Spanish.
This may be Mike’s way of twisting things around, or perhaps he really is that ignorant.
Either way, I don’t think his rhetoric is worth considering.
Who is Mike V?
http://evergreenmtb.org/php/show_page.php?page_id=32
I don’t support using horses for vehicles, but horses don’t damage nature, horses ARE nature. They evolved in North America and have a right to be wherever they want to be. Bicycles are machines, and have NO rights. Nor is there any right to mountain bike. Scientific research showed that mountain bikers have a much greater impact on elk than either hikers or equestrians. In 15 years of asking, I have yet to hear even ONE good reason to allow bikes in natural areas. They aren’t natural, and nature is what most of us go to the parks to experience—NOT more machinery. Especially not machines that are designed for high speed and ripping up the soil. Those have no place in our parks.
OK, so I don’t understand. Mike has a nasty tolerance for mountain bikers because bikes “are inanimate objects and have no rights.” But horses are allowed on many state and national parks, do far more damage to trails than mountain bikes ever could but are they allowed because they are animate objects? Mike doesn’t mention horses, of course, but why not? With their weight and with hooves that chew up trails something fierce, I think that may be where the attention should be placed. I see that damage but have yet to experience all the horrible things Mike said mountain bikers do.
In the end, if the park services are willing to allow humans, horses and bikes, they need to make sure they keep up the trails, and for the most part, they do.
As usual, when mountain bikers can’t defend their selfish, destructive sport with any facts or logic (which they never can), they resort to attacking the messenger. They will never challenge a specific statement, because then they could easily be refuted. All of my statements are backed up by references that anyone can read for themselves.
The statement by Mike Vandeman on april 16th is completely uninformed and ingorant in the true sense of the word. It’s a shame people have to try and bring down something so positive with narrow-minded views.
Mountain biking is nothing to cheer about!
Bicycles should not be allowed in any natural area. They are inanimate objects and have no rights. There is also no right to mountain bike. That was settled in federal court in 1994: http://home.pacbell.net/mjvande/mtb10 . It’s dishonest of mountain bikers to say that they don’t have access to trails closed to bikes. They have EXACTLY the same access as everyone else—ON FOOT! Why isn’t that good enough for mountain bikers? They are all capable of walking....
A favorite myth of mountain bikers is that mountain biking is no more harmful to wildlife, people, and the environment than hiking, and that science supports that view. Of course, it’s not true. To settle the matter once and for all, I read all of the research they cited, and wrote a review of the research on mountain biking impacts (see http://home.pacbell.net/mjvande/scb7 ). I found that of the seven studies they cited, (1) all were written by mountain bikers, and (2) in every case, the authors misinterpreted their own data, in order to come to the conclusion that they favored. They also studiously avoided mentioning another scientific study (Wisdom et al) which did not favor mountain biking, and came to the opposite conclusions.
Those were all experimental studies. Two other studies (by White et al and by Jeff Marion) used a survey design, which is inherently incapable of answering that question (comparing hiking with mountain biking). I only mention them because mountain bikers often cite them, but scientifically, they are worthless.
Mountain biking accelerates erosion, creates V-shaped ruts, kills small animals and plants on and next to the trail, drives wildlife and other trail users out of the
area, and (worst of all) teaches kids that the rough treatment of nature is okay (it’s NOT!). What’s good about THAT?
For more information: http://home.pacbell.net/mjvande/mtbfaq .