FATMAP by Strava

Coler: Copperhead Road and Oscar's Loop

A rocky, challenging trail ride.

Mountain Biking Severe

Distance
5.7 km
Ascent
109 m
Descent
109 m
Duration
0-1 hrs
Low Point
334 m
High Point
385 m
Gradient
Coler: Copperhead Road and Oscar's Loop Map

Most of the pedal-driven trails in Bentonville are smooth, flowy, berm-filled tracks. But if you're in search of rocky, challenging cross-country trails that give a sense of the way mountain biking used to be, one of your best bets is this loop at Coler.

Description

Combining Copperhead Road and Oscar's Loop, this 3.5-mile loop provides a healthy dose of chunky rock gardens, both uphill and downhill. Indeed, in some places, the trail has been veritably paved with boulders, which can make for a rough-and-tumble ride. If you look for them, there are even some ledge drop huckortunities as you rip downhill.

While both of these trails are tough, Copperhead Road gets a black-diamond rating compared to Oscar's mere blue rating. Copperhead Road does indeed earn its difficult rating, with some steep, punchy climbs straight up rock gardens and rough, off-camber descents. If you want to keep your ride a bit easier, you could skip over Copperhead Road and stay on Oscar's Loop all the way around the hillside instead.

That said, Oscar's Loop is relatively chunky for a so-called intermediate trail. While I would give it an upper-intermediate difficulty rating, it seems laughable that Oscar's gets the same difficulty rating as trails like Bamboozled and Tunnel Vision. These trails aren't even close to the same level of technical difficulty. Oscar's features plenty of boulders strung along a narrow track with substantial exposure, promising a tumble down the steep cliff-filled hillside if you misplace a tire. That wouldn't be good for your health.

If you're looking for a gem of rock-strewn singletrack, check out this loop!

Difficulty

Severe

Widely variable, narrow trail tread with steeper grades and unavoidable obstacles of 15in/38cm tall or less. Obstacles may include unavoidable bridges 24in/61cm wide or less, large rocks, gravel, difficult root sections, and more. Ideal for advanced-level riders.

High Exposure

3 out of 4

Some trail sections have exposed ledges or steep ascents/descents where falling could cause serious injury.

Remoteness

1 out of 4

Close to help in case of emergency.

Best time to visit

between March and December

Features

  • Technical
  • Singletrack
  • In the forest
  • Drops
  • Jumps
  • Roots
  • Rock Rolls
  • Rock Slabs
  • Rock Gardens

Similar routes nearby

Guidebooks in this area