The Ozarks is full of places to hike and even bike in nature. The best trails are often in places you least expect. Take the time to discover these beautiful and awe-inspiring bike trails within the lush forests and mountains of Arkansas and Missouri.
Lake Atalanta Trail
ROGERS, ARKANSAS
Lake Atalanta from Poplar Street Trailhead is a 3.3 mile lightly trafficked loop trail located near Rogers, Arkansas that features a river and is rated as moderate. The trail offers a number of activity options and is accessible year-round.
Dogs are also able to use this trail but must be kept on leash.
Image Courtesy of Oz Trails
Fossil Flats Trail
WINSLOW, ARKANSAS
Located within Devil’s Den State Park, this trail winds through some of Arkansas most beautiful scenery. Fossil Flats Trail features mountain streams, waterfalls, scenic bluffs, and creek beds exposing ancient fossils.
The trail is a 6 mile lightly-trafficked loop trail which offers a number of activity options and is accessible year-round.
Explore turquoise waterfalls, streams, and caverns while biking or hiking along the trail.
War Eagle Loop
HOBBS STATE PARK, ARKANSAS
This trail can be accessed from Townsend Ridge Road and has a nice creek view with a connection to Little Clifty Loop.
Overall, this trail has a great flow with some beautiful views. The trail is entirely singletrack with very few places to pass. There is a lot to do on this one with downhills and some crazy climbs. The trails in this area are naturally cut into the sides of the hill. There are some slight drops to one side or the other of the trails.
Image Courtesy of Oz Trails
Blowing Spring
BELLA VISTA, ARKANSAS
This loop will cover an amazing “hanging bridge” cut into a rock bluff, and another bridge that spans a creek with a waterfall. There are other vistas along the way as well. It has some technical riding, but it is mostly XC based on the loop proper with rollers, small doubles, berms, and great flow! If you incorporate The Ledges alternate route, then it immediately boosts the technical aspect.
The climbs are moderate, and the entire loop’s elevation change is only around 1,950 feet, so it is a lot of “up and down” along the way, which keeps the interest level high. This loop is a great cross section of what mountain biking in Arkansas is all about. It’s a “must-ride” in the Northwest Arkansas corridor!
Image Courtesy of Oz Trails
Slaughter Pen Trail
BENTONVILLE, ARKANSAS
People drive from around the country to bike at this Bentonville mountain bike trail that hosts one of the top bike events in the state.
Downhill trails, a jump park, and log rides offer something for the riders of all skill levels. More than 20 miles flow through Slaughter Pen, with easy trail connection via Lake Bella Vista to the Blowing Springs mountain bike trail system.
Image Courtesy of Carl Zoch
Two Rivers Bike Park
HIGHLANDVILLE, MISSOURI
Two Rivers Bike Park is a purpose-built, multi-use trail system, boasting over 14 miles of professionally built and maintained singletrack twisting through pristine Ozarks terrain for mountain bikers, runners, and hikers to enjoy year round, free of charge. The nearly 400-acre park sits just off the scenic Finley and James River confluence.
Its professionally designed trails feature mostly natural surfaces and offer the thrills of climbing, drop sections, rock features, built-in wall rides, wooden ladders, and other optional stunts. The bike park is also the stage for Singletrack Mind, an outdoor festival that hosts hundreds of cyclists, runners and enthusiasts every year, generating thousands of dollars in donations for local trail development.
Image Courtesy of Oz Trails
Forest City Mountain Bike Trail
ST JAMES, MISSOURI
This 100% singletrack trail system starts with prime hardwood forest riding on the north end, but transitions into beautiful pine forest riding towards the sourthern reaches of the property. Highlights include a desert-like slickrock section and a rock bluff overlook. Glade Runner is a 7 mile loop blazed in green. There are 4 additional, more difficult loops each about 1 mile long, which branch off the main trail. They are blazed in blue: GORT (Good Ol’ Rocky Top), Randy’s Crack, Amateur Hour, and Upper Cut.
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