Bentonville Trip May 2024

During the Memorial Day Weekend, we went back to Bentonville, Arkansas for our annual spring adventure. This year, we kicked off our trip in southern Missouri at Howler Bike Park. We arrived in the area on Friday evening, checked into our hotel in Branson, The Homestead, and then went to Howler to explore the base camp and have dinner and a beer at their food truck. Eager to hit the trails on Saturday, we headed back to our hotel early to rest. Howler is owned by a wonderful family who made us feel welcome. Steve had a chat with one of the owners, John, about the trails, the setup, and how it all came together. A lot of effort was put into creating Howler, and it shows! The trails offer great flow, technical downhill sections, and wooden features for the more daring riders. Our favorite trails were Hippy Cowboy, Swayze Train, Dirty Dancing, and Momo. Howler Bike Park is a must-visit destination for every mountain biker. We're already planning to come back this fall for another ride.

After enjoying a day filled with fun downhill at Howler, we traveled south to Bentonville. We checked into our bike-friendly hotel, Comfort Suites, on the south side of town. Comfort Suites allows you to bring your bike to your room, and have a bike washing station available. The hotel was full of families in town for softball tournaments, with kids enjoying the pool and the warm weather. However, at 1:30 am, we were awakened by tornado sirens and a severe storm. Unbeknownst to us, a 1.7-mile-wide EF2 tornado touched down close to our hotel, which was quite frightening! We turned to Ryan Hall Y’All on Youtube to get the latest updates. If you're not already following Ryan Hall Y’All, you should! He provides important information and has storm chasers tracking the most severe storms. Additionally, he has a foundation that supports communities recovering from severe storms and tornados, offering valuable assistance in times of need. As the whole hotel huddled in the two stairwells the wind, rain and hail whipped around us outside. The hotel was spared from a direct hit, but we lost power and a few cars were crushed by falling trees. The following morning brought devastating news of destruction, injuries, and death.

With the power out in our area, we made the decision to head south to Fayetteville for breakfast at First Watch. While eating, we read news stories and saw limited photos of the devastating situation in NWA. Not only were the trail systems damaged, but people had also lost their homes and businesses. The level of destruction was really bad. It was difficult to decide what to do next. Should we head back home and plan a return visit or should we continue further south to explore trails we haven't ridden before? Ultimately, we chose to ride the Centennial Park Trails in Fayetteville. These trails are a dream for XC riders, with challenging uphill climbs and enjoyable downhill runs that cater to all skill levels. After a day of riding, we returned to our hotel to find that the power was back on. We decided to stay in Bentonville for the remainder of our scheduled trip, feeling grateful that we were not injured and that our truck survived the storm unscathed. That evening, we went to Bentonville Brewing Co, our favorite local brewery, for drinks and dinner at the on-site food trucks. A shout-out to Senor Shreddy’s for the delicious street tacos. Nothing better after a day of hitting the trails than craft beer and street tacos! YUM!

On Monday, we faced the decision of where to ride. Should we return to Howler Bike Park, or should we explore local trail systems in the surrounding areas? After much deliberation, we decided to visit the Passion Play trails in Eureka Springs. However, our visit didn't go exactly as planned. Upon arrival in Eureka Springs, we first checked out the statue of Jesus, which turned out to be the highlight of our trip. After unloading our bikes and gearing up, we examined the trail map and embarked on the trailhead near the parking lot. Unfortunately, our journey got off to a rough start when we encountered a tree blocking the first trail. After consulting the trailforks app and the map, we had to turn back and find an alternative route, marking the first of our mistakes that day.

As we continued riding, we found ourselves descending the side of a mountain and crossing a road, only to realize that all trails were directional, leaving us no choice but to continue into a different trail system, Marble Flats. Despite enjoying the challenges and rock ledges that we encountered, we soon found ourselves facing a long and arduous uphill climb to navigate our way out, further complicated by fallen trees obstructing the trails. We had to employ our hike-a-bike skills, maneuvering over, under, and through numerous trees. We were eager to find our way back to the truck and leave the area. It took a combination of map reading, occasional stops to ensure we were going the right way, a bit of grace, and a lot of praying to finally extricate ourselves from the trail system, only to comically realize that the trail we thought we were originally on started right at the driveway for Passion Play, where we had parked.

Reflecting on our misadventure, it's clear that we need to polish our map reading skills and learn how to use trailforks effectively. A class in map reading and trailforks navigation seems like a necessity for our future rides.

At that point, I was unwilling to end our day on a bad experience, so we decided to head back to Centennial Park with the mission of riding Chunky. Chunky is a double black trail that has an alternative line between two huge rocks. The trail is steep, and the rock/dirt was loose. Steve made it down with no problem, but I had some issues and ended up walking down, which was also difficult due to the steep grade. Overall, the day was not a waste. We got frustrated, got lost, but we also found a way to have some fun and tried new features that pushed our abilities. Of course, that evening we headed back to Bentonville Brewing Co. for dinner and drinks.

On Tuesday, we checked out of our hotel and started our journey back home. Although our trip didn't go as planned, we adapted to the situation and embraced different experiences that we might have otherwise missed. We are looking forward to visiting Bentonville again once the recovery process is complete. The trails were heavily damaged, but the community is making progress in the recovery efforts. We made sure to stay clear of the cleanup crews and made the most of the circumstances. If you're planning a trip to Bentonville, be sure to verify the trail status on Facebook or through local news stations.

Travel safe this bike season and remember to shred the gnar!

- Steve and Kelli