At Pinnacle Mountain State Park we have built our most extensive directional downhill trails to take advantage of the 2 eastern peaks of the Park, Middle Mountain, and Fulk Mountain, along with nearly 7.5-mile perimeter trails connecting everything. We have not built a trail on beloved Pinnacle mountain but left it solely for foot traffic enjoyment of the East and West Summit Trails. In the fall of 2020, art installations will be added at significant points around the Monument Trail System for a truly unique experience in our state’s most populous area.
At this Park, there are 3 main trailheads with parking areas, all of them are along the road to the Visitors’ Center, or you can roll in off the River Trail from downtown Little Rock for a full day experience.
The first parking lot is on the west side of the road at the turn north toward the Visitors’ Center at the base of these 2 peaks. The best thing about parking here – you end with a descent! You have equal access to the perimeter loops of the Jackfork and Coachwhip as well as the climbing trails, Centipede, Upheaval, and The Stick, to get you to the directional downhill bike trails.
The next trailhead is at the Midway parking area to your left on your way to the Visitors’ Center. This trailhead will allow you to hop directly onto Middle Mountain’s climb trail, the Centipede, take a downhill trail – difficulty riders’ choice – and then loop around the 2.5-mile Coachwhip or cross the road and roll the nearly 5-mile Jackfork, down The Stick and to your vehicle. From the Middle Mountain hub area, you can choose from the Armadillo Run and Middle Mountain Run, both introductory courses in directional trail. In the fall of 2020, the Chaotic Zone, a blue jump line, and the Carnasaw, a black technical run, will be opened.
The Visitors’ Center parking area has a beautiful Quarry Pond to enjoy a post-ride picnic and grab an ice-cold Gatorade from the Visitors’ Center. At this lot, you’ll enter and end with the connection line of the Jackfork. From the Fulk Mountain hub you can enjoy an intermediate downhill experience on Twistflower, a more advanced intermediate experience on Turkey Tracks, or a technical, advanced trail down Glade Runner. Just off the Jackfork perimeter trail is a lollipop loop called Dynamite. The views and rockwork on this 1.7-mile trail gave this trail its name, along with the method of quarrying. There are steep sections of climbing and descending going clockwise or counterclockwise once you get on the lolli part of the loop and can choose left or right. Stunning views of the Little Maumelle, extensive rock tech sections and some sweet alternate lines dot this loop.
So you can have a great modern and bike-optimized experience, a climb and descend downhill experience with a shuttle up the Visitors’ Center road, or a bit of both!
