{"id":1841532,"date":"2026-03-23T10:02:00","date_gmt":"2026-03-23T07:02:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/?p=1841532"},"modified":"2026-03-23T10:02:00","modified_gmt":"2026-03-23T07:02:00","slug":"the-first-lift-served-bike-park-in-arkansas-is-set-to-open-with-20-miles-of-dh-trails","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/?p=1841532","title":{"rendered":"The first lift-served bike park in Arkansas is set to open with 20 miles of DH trails"},"content":{"rendered":"
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All photos courtesy OZ Trails<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The OZ Trails Bike Park, the first chairlift-served bike park in Arkansas, has officially announced its opening day: June 12, 2026, during the Bentonville Bike Fest.\u00a0\u201cFor the first time in Arkansas history, riders can load a chairlift and drop into world-class gravity trails, right here in the Ozarks,\u201d said Gary Vernon, General Manager of OZ Trails Bike Park. \u201cWhat we\u2019ve built is something this state has never seen, and we can\u2019t wait to open the gates on June 12.\u201d<\/p>\n

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What will riders find at the new OZ Trails Bike Park?<\/h2>\n

While the new bike park only has 300 vertical feet to work with, world-renowned trail builders Gravity Logic have constructed over 20 miles of purpose-built downhill trails, all served by a highspeed detachable quad chairlift from Leitner-Poma. The ride to the top takes about three minutes.<\/p>\n

The trails in the bike park run the difficulty gamut from beginner to expert. About 75% of the terrain is designed for beginners and intermediate riders (green and blue), with the remaining 25% for advanced and expert riders (black and double black). But even the easier trails include \u201coptional features that keep lines interesting for advanced riders as well,\u201d according to OZ Trails.<\/p>\n

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\u201cSo the idea would be, some friends could go out and ride a blue jump trail, and somebody who\u2019s on a blue jump trail [for the first time] would feel comfortable and safe and able to progress and learn, but an expert could ride it with them as well and also have a good time,\u201d said\u00a0J. Scott King, Chief Experience Officer for the Runway Group in Northwest Arkansas.<\/p>\n

The first trail built by Gravity Logic was a black jump trail with 22 features ranging from tabletops to shark fins, hips, drops, and more. While riders can expect plenty of big A-Line-style jumps, they\u2019ve also built downhill trails of all varieties, including \u201ca bunch of rake-and-ride raw,\u201d according to Vernon. \u201cWe\u2019re just not cutting singletrack everywhere. We\u2019re not just doing a bunch of flow trail. We\u2019re doing [\u2026] all types of tread surfaces.\u201d<\/p>\n

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The build went quickly: construction began in spring 2025, and the official open comes in late spring 2026. Despite a couple of snow storms, a relatively mild winter in Arkansas helped keep the team on schedule.<\/p>\n

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When asked about future trail developments, Katie Parsons, Strategic Community Relations and Public Affairs for the Runway Group, said, \u201cIf you\u2019ve been to Bentonville, you know our work is never finished when it comes to mountain bike trails \u2014 the same is true for OZ Trails Bike Park. We\u2019ll continue to build and refine the park to make sure our guests walk away with thrills every time.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Rendering of OZ Trails HQ<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

More than just a bike park, it\u2019s a new cycling hub in Northwest Arkansas<\/h2>\n

The new bike park is located\u00a0at Highway 71 and Mercy Way on the Bentonville-Bella Vista border, and it\u2019s more than just a collection of downhill trails. Instead, this is an entirely new cycling hub for Northwest Arkansas, providing connectivity to the greater 550+ mile trail system.<\/p>\n

At the base of the lift, riders will find the OZ Trails HQ, which offers a\u00a0full-service restaurant and bar, bike rentals, a retail shop, a bike school and pro-led instruction, a pump track and dirt jump zone, large-scale art installations, and private event and gathering spaces.<\/p>\n

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\u201cThe park\u2019s full-service restaurant and bar, Ozzy\u2019s Ride and Dine, features a rooftop deck overlooking the bike lift and will be operated by Luke Wetzel and Mollie Mullis, the team behind some of Northwest Arkansas\u2019s most beloved dining destinations,\u201d according to OZ Trails.\u00a0\u201cThe HQ and grounds will be free and open to the public.\u201d<\/p>\n

Daily lift ticket and annual pass costs have not yet been released.<\/p>\n

Know about a new trail project we should cover?<\/strong> Whether you\u2019re breaking ground on the next must-ride destination or putting the finishing touches on a neighborhood flow trail, we want to hear about it. Drop us a line at [email\u00a0protected]<\/span><\/a> with high-quality photos of your build, plus details like trail mileage, location, difficulty, and what makes it special. We\u2019re always on the hunt for the next great trail story, and there\u2019s a good chance your project could be featured in an upcoming article.<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<!–<\/p>\n

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\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\"A<\/a><\/p>\n
Arkansas<\/a><\/div>\n
Mulberry Mountain Gravity Park opens in the Ozarks with 600 vertical feet of downhill trails<\/a><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\"A<\/a><\/p>\n
Arkansas<\/a><\/div>\n
OZ Trails bike park will offer lift service in Northwest Arkansas<\/a><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\"A<\/a><\/p>\n
Arkansas<\/a><\/div>\n
More details have been revealed about the new lift-served bike park coming to Northwest Arkansas<\/a><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\"Two<\/a><\/p>\n
Arkansas<\/a><\/div>\n
Lift-Served Downhill Trails with 1,300 Feet of Vert Are Coming to Arkansas<\/a><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n
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All photos courtesy OZ Trails The OZ Trails Bike Park, the first chairlift-served bike park in Arkansas, has officially announced its opening day: June 12, 2026, during the Bentonville Bike Fest.\u00a0\u201cFor the first time in Arkansas history, riders can load a chairlift and drop into world-class gravity trails, right here in the Ozarks,\u201d said Gary […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[226,274],"class_list":["post-1841532","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-crawlmanager","tag-singletracks-com"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1841532","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1841532"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1841532\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1841532"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1841532"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1841532"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}