THE TRAIL BLOG - OZ Trails Northwest Arkansas

Little Sugar Phase 2 Now Open!

After five years of planning and construction, the Northwest Arkansas Trailblazers have opened the second phase of the Little Sugar trail system to mountain bikers, hikers, and trail runners. The 25-mile Tunnel Vision loop combined with 14-miles of trail that opened in December adds up to nearly 40 miles of soft-surface riding on the west side of Bella Vista with more to come by the end of the year!

WED & SHRED- IT’S ALL DOWNHILL FROM HERE!

The hundreds of miles of single track crisscrossing Northwest Arkansas is some of the best in the world, but it wouldn’t be half of what it is today without the people who ride it, maintain it and advocate for it, creating a place where Lindsay Custer, Nate Fields and...

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Coler’s Rock Solid: Separating the Bros from the Pros

Coler’s Rock Solid: Separating the Bros from the Pros Cycling in the Ozarks is known for its rock. Endlessformations of karst, boulders and morphing limestone have created a rugged but rideable palette millions of years in the making. With Rock Solid, the...

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‘A Mountain Town Vibe:’ Eureka Springs

Step foot in Eureka Springs and you might feel as if you’ve stepped back in time. Winding vertical paths and streets usher you around this historic Victorian village, registered as a national landmark. And while it’s easy to imagine buttoned-up ladies and gentlemen...

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Welcome to Oz

Over the past two decades, trail building in Northwest Arkansas has evolved from rogue volunteer enthusiasts bushwhacking through the Ozarks into a world-class operation with a professional infrastructure building the finest trails on the planet. What has resulted is...

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Coler Mountain Bike Preserve: Cease and Desist

They say reverse psychology is a hell of a temptation, and it’s almost certainly what Coler Mountain Bike Preserve’s trail builders, NWA Trailblazers, and Progressive Trail Design were thinking when they dreamt up Cease and Desist. With a name that screams “Stay...

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Ride Report: Slaughter Pen Trails

In the beginning, there was Slaughter Pen. Before Coler Preserve, before the Back 40, the 2006 greenlighting of 25-plus miles of singletrack at Slaughter Pen—a historic former livestock operation in Bentonville—spurred a now-storied trail-building boom in Northwest...

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Lake Leatherwood: ‘A True Work of Trail Art’

In Northwest Arkansas’ “far east,” lies Eureka Springs, a Victorian village in the heart of the Ozarks. But just north of town—past the galleries and cottages and antiquing—Eureka Springs draws a decidedly different group of visitors–the adrenaline junkies. The...

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Back 40 Bluff: Take the Long Way Around

Along the Back 40 Loop in Bella Vista, Arkansas, there is a stretch of trail dwarfed by 40 feet of limestone bluff, an imposing overhang that tethers cool air to the forest floor, waiting to take the edge off a sweaty summer ride. Photocourtesy of ArkansasOutside.com...

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Ride Like a Local: Lake Atalanta

Just a few blocks from the bustling downtown of Rogers, Arkansas, lies the trailhead for Lake Atalanta, a local gem with appealing features for everyone in your pack. Fully renovated in 2015, the park reopened with four miles of well-lit hard surface trails that wind...