Description

The Arkansas Hills Trail System is renowned for its gnarly, steep descents filled with rocks and chunder.

However, the newest trails built on this mountain side have helped open the trail system up to a broader cross-section of mountain bikers.

The newest trails include a rebuild of the Burn Pile trail, the Dude Abides trail, and Rusty Lung (constructed in two sections—upper and lower).

Collectively, these new trails offer a flowier berm-filled mountain biking experience.

So while you can undoubtedly still tackle an advanced tech ride on this mountainside (see the “Arkansas Hills Tech Ride” route, mapped separately), now you can also enjoy a delightful flow ride on S-Mountain. As with all rides in the Arkansas Hills, you can ride as much or as little of this recommended route as you’d like.

To hit all of the flow trails mapped here, you’ll have to climb up to the top of the system and drop into Dude Abides.

The climb to get to Dude and the descent down Dude are both a bit more challenging than the lower trails on the mountain.

If you’re a beginner rider and want to do less climbing and encounter even fewer rocks, just stick to Rusty Lung and Burn Pile.

While most of the tougher rock features on Dude can be bypassed with ride-arounds, it will still require some slight tech moves. Once onto Rusty Lung, the flow really kicks up! Upper Rusty Lung swoops along the hillside with delightful berms, excellent corners carved into the hillside, and small kickers for optional airtime.

The lower section, completed in late 2018, is even flowier and easier, with even bigger berms, superb flow, and a few beautiful hoodoos to ride past. After dumping out of Rusty Lung, it’s hard not to go back up for seconds! If you’re toast by this point, just coast down to town and grab a pint but if you have more legs left, climb back up the hill and drop into Burn Pile.

Burn Pile is now affectionately called “Berm Pile” after the recent re-build of the trail, and it’s easy to see why.

Berm after berm after berm will allow you to rip and flow down the mountain, dropping out into the same valley as the end of Rusty Lung. Thanks to the recent addition of these flow trails, the Arkansas Hills Trail System is now arguably one of the most diverse trail networks in the state! Whether you want to send or flow, one of the trails on S-Mountain is guaranteed to satisfy your deepest singletrack desires.