Gary Vernon

See You on the Trails

By InnerVoice

January 8^th, 2019

Bentonville, Arkansas is tucked in the state’s northwest corner, right near the borders of Kansas, Oklahoma and Missouri. The region is an economic and cultural hub in the American Heartland, home to three Fortune 500 companies and nationally-renowned institutions such as Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art.

It’s also fast becoming known for the OZ Trails, a 400-mile regional system of world-class bike trails.

If you build it...

I grew up in Missouri, and have always ridden BMX and motocross. I fell in love with mountain biking in 1989. I moved here for a career with Walmart. At that time if you wanted to ride your mountain bike in the Bentonville area, you just had to figure out how to ride on gravel roads and creek beds. In 2006, rumors started surfacing that Bentonville was building a trail. I didn’t think much of it, until one day I drove into town with my then-infant son and saw the trail going up the hillside.

The idea to build a regional trail system came from the Walton family, which has always had a strong connection to the outdoors. Many of them are passionate about mountain biking and have invested a lot of their own time and sweat equity personally working on the trails. Even during those early days, there were conversations on whether developing this trail system could help local businesses in Bentonville – and neighboring cities like Bella Vista, Rogers and Fayetteville – recruit younger talent.

We’ve certainly seen that come to fruition.

Bella Vista, where I now live, used to be a retirement community. It’s got seven lakes and seven golf courses, and at one time if you moved there, it was to sit back, relax and play golf every day. But that’s no longer the case. We hear story after story of golfers, even in their 60’s, becoming mountain bikers, because our trails are designed for riders of all skill levels. I’m in my 50’s – and I’m still enjoying the sport as much as I did when I first rode a bike. Young professionals with growing families are moving here for jobs but also so they can be closer to the trails.

One of the goals for the system was being able to access trails right from the center of town, so you could ride on your lunch break or ride from your house to work. What started as a 5-mile trail near downtown Bentonville has become an extensive network of trails connected to the city’s town square that will continue to grow in 2019. The urban trail system has become an iconic feature of the region. We have trail counters that are mounted along the whole trail system, and we use Strava data to measure the number of riders. It’s pretty clear the impact that trails have had on the region’s quality of life – in my view, you can’t beat an urban trail system for the return on investment, and the enjoyment it provides thousands of people, versus a couple of hundred people with a remote trail system.

The system has its beginner level trails - we rate them green to black just like for ski slopes - right up to advanced trails that a professional MTB’er can come here and enjoy. I’ve had the pleasure of riding with some pro riders and I love seeing their surprise when they realize just what we’ve built. While there are certainly similar trails in other communities around the country, most are legacy trails that might be converted from hiking paths. We’re fortunate in Northwest Arkansas that we’ve started from scratch, recruited some of the world’s best trail builders, and we’ve been able to let those trail artists come in and create their art.

THEy Will COme

For me, it’s been a wonderful experience helping to create these trails – first by heading up volunteer groups, and now as part of the Walton Family Foundation. The lesson that I learned first-hand is that it’s not enough to just throw money at a community and expect that suddenly a vibrant trail culture will emerge. It has to be a grassroots movement built in collaboration with the city representatives, and a whole range of other supporting parties.

For instance, one of our volunteer groups facilitates Thursday night group rides for kids, and we regularly have 50+ riders at those. We have kids that start riding some of our trails who have no idea how difficult they are. But they just ride the most challenging trails – and get really good at it. We’re going to have some world championship riders in all sorts of styles of racing coming out of Northwest Arkansas in the future.

My son and daughter both mountain bike now, too. They’ve decided it’s cool, so I’m glad that we have something in common that we get to do together. It helps get kids away from their video games and phones, teaches them healthy habits, and connects them with nature. Now, when my son does watch videos, he is studying where to ride, and exploring ‘how to’ videos about becoming a better mountain biker.

That alone tells me how much Northwest Arkansas’ investment in trails has paid off – it’s not just an investment in mountain biking but one in a healthier, more active future for everyone who enjoys the trails.

You’ve known the saying: ‘Location, location, location.’ Well, the really cool thing about Northwest Arkansas is that we are centrally located in the U.S. and have really rugged hill country in the Ozark Mountains, but we’re far enough south to enjoy year-round riding. If you’re a mountain biker and you live in the mountains of Colorado, you have to hang your bike up for the winter. But instead of having your wheels collect dust after the snow falls, why not come to Northwest Arkansas and ride in the winter months? Some of our best riding is in October, November and December.