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Hobbs State Park

The Best Long-Distance Cross-Country Rides near Bentonville

Bentonville's topography lends itself to fantastic XC trail riding.

Mountain Biking Moderate, Difficult

Hobbs State Park
Hobbs State Park Photo: Courtesy of Oz Trails

Description

While most people seem to focus on how epic Bentonville's jump lines and rowdy downhill trails are, they often gloss over the fact that Northwest Arkansas is just as epic of a cross-country mountain biking destination as it is an enduro hot spot—arguably, even more so. While the local trail builders had to wrack their brains to figure out how to pack in as many jumps as possible into a small amount of vert, the rolling hills and steep ridges of Northwest Arkansas provide the perfect landscape for endless, undulating cross-country singletrack.

In many areas of the nation, long-distance mountain biking naturally requires pedaling a combination of singletrack and gravel roads, and maybe even some pavement mixed in. And if you're trying to complete a long-distance ride in Europe, the singletrack experience is even more segmented by small towns and other trappings of civilization.

In contrast, the mountain bike trail system in Northwest Arkansas was essentially built from the ground up, allowing the trail designers to optimize the experience for the mountain biking palate of today. That palate demands as much singletrack as possible, with easy-to-navigate trail connections and no road riding. The trail designers and builders were able to provide exactly that, making for a superlative cross-country riding experience that few destinations can match.

Long-distance cross-country riding was first delivered to riders by the Back 40 Trail System, which provides a 24-mile loop ride bisected by several optional connector trails. Building on this success, the Little Sugar trail system was constructed later, and it now offers some 50+ miles of singletrack. Anchored by the 25-mile Tunnel Vision trail, it's possible to build a 36-mile loop through the Little Sugar network with minimal backtracking.

Since Little Sugar is located just across the highway from the Back 40, it's easy to combine these two zones to create a true epic of more than 60 miles of world-class singletrack pedaling!

If you've had enough of the suburban singletrack snaking through backyards and around swimming pools, head east from town to Hobbs State Park. Here you'll find fantastic XC trails that provide a delightful middle-of-nowhere feeling while still traversing fantastically-built singletrack. This guidebook has the trail system at Hobbs split into two different rides: one measuring 19.6 miles and the other 18.1. However, they can easily be combined into a long-distance epic of almost 40 miles in length!

If long-distance singletrack riding with non-existent road connections is what you're after, Bentonville has you covered!

Routes included

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