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Which trail to ride next? Western Arkansas

4K views 34 replies 13 participants last post by  kbabin 
#1 · (Edited)
Looking to try some new trails and would like to know if anyone has any recommendations. I'd prefer to avoid trails like the Lake Fayetteville trail which to me had too many other riders and wasn't very challenging.

Trails I've ridden (I'll try to keep this updated):

Arkansas:
Ben Geren
Springhill
Lee Creek
Devil's Den
Lake Fayetteville
Slaughterpen
Hobbs
Lake Fort Smith
Mt. Kessler

Oklahoma:
Greenleaf (ankle express)
Turkey Mountain
Sparrowhawk
Ft. Gibson
Camp Gruber ORV

Thanks!
 
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#2 ·
Hobbs state park (highly recommended)
Lake leatherwood (ditto)
Blowing Springs (almost connected to Slaughter Pen, so you might have ridden this)
Mt Kessler (haven't ridden there since it became "public" recently, but was great 10 year ago)
Upper Buffalo (haven't been there yet, heard it's great)
 
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#3 ·
The new trailhead to Mt. Kessler definitely makes it much more fun to ride. Especially going ccw on Crazy Mary and Serpentine.

I still need to get to Lake Leatherwood and Upper Buffalo. I've only heard great things about them.

Hobbes is a good place to get a workout (lots of pedaling), but if flow, banked turns, drops and jumps are in your skill set, you won't get any of it there. I still like it on weekdays, and I always try to avoid it on weekends due to the horse traffic and hikers.
 
#8 ·
My personal fav is Mt. Kessler, I'd say it's the most technical trail system in NWA. I'd suggest starting from the old trail head since you are on single track immediately versus the new trail head that you have to pedal a ways before the fun starts. Pick Hobbs over Lake Fay, similar terrain but much more fun and challenging with less foot traffic. Slaughter Pen / Blowing Springs are a must too. Devil's Den is OK every now and then for a change in scenery.

Hit me up if you're interested in someone showing you around.
 
#9 ·
Thanks for all the suggestions. My girlfriend and a friend of mine went with me to Hobbs Friday. We rode the war eagle and bashore loops. My friend wrecked though and broke his bike so we weren't able to try the rest of the trails. I'll definitely be going back. I really enjoyed the long sections of downhill and there wasn't anything too technical for my girlfriend.
 
#10 ·
Rode Lake Ft. Smith yesterday. It was a lot of fun and some of the climbs were pretty tough. My girlfriend and I did 3 laps.

They said they are working on adding more to the trail and they also had maps available at the visitor center.

Thanks again for all the suggestions. I'm trying to hit 1 or 2 new trails a month. I think we may try Buffalo next.
 
#20 ·
My girlfriend and I rode Mt. Kessler yesterday. I really enjoyed the trails. We'll definitely be going back. The only issue is that we got there early in the morning and the rocks were really slick. Once it warmed up some, it wasn't so bad. I was on a rigid single speed which made the rocks a real challenge.
 
#24 ·
Springhill Park in Barling is good for beginners. There's also camping and showers. Just down the rode from there is Ben Geren, which is one step up in difficulty. You could probably do springhill one day and then Ben Geren the next.
 
#27 ·
Yeah, me and a few friends did some cleanup work at Lee Creek in October and November. Mainly we wanted to clear the overgrowth and fallen trees, and "redefine" the trail in spots that were confusing. In the future we would like to do some general trail improvements, fix broken signs, and add a better trail map at the trailhead. Our first goal, however, was to simply make the trail usable again.

What was your impression of the trail when you rode it? Was it easy to follow? Unfortunately I haven't had a chance to ride the trail since doing the cleanup work. At this point I think trail use would be the best thing for Lee Creek. If the trail sees more traffic it will make it that much easier to maintain. I'm hoping to get a ride out there myself sometime soon.
 
#29 ·
What was your impression of the trail when you rode it? Was it easy to follow? Unfortunately I haven't had a chance to ride the trail since doing the cleanup work. At this point I think trail use would be the best thing for Lee Creek. If the trail sees more traffic it will make it that much easier to maintain. I'm hoping to get a ride out there myself sometime soon.
Thanks for all the work. It was easy to follow but I've been riding it on and off for the past 6 or 7 years. The only confusing parts are on homestead (I think that's the name). After crossing the creek, I've seen people keep going straight instead of taking either the left or right trails. Also where that trail pops out in the power line areas can be confusing. Overall I really enjoy the trail.

If you want to ride something similar but more technical try Ankle Express at Greenleaf State park near Braggs, OK. I live a few minutes from there and it's one of my favorite trails to ride. Just message me if you'd like to meet up there someday.
 
#28 ·
A buddy and I rode it two days ago right before the rain and it was a blast! There was a downed tree though in the middle of the trail and we just happened to have a chain saw with us :) We're going to try to ride it tomorrow at about 2:00, but we're going to do a mud check first.

 
#30 ·
A buddy and I rode it two days ago right before the rain and it was a blast! There was a downed tree though in the middle of the trail and we just happened to have a chain saw with us :) We're going to try to ride it tomorrow at about 2:00, but we're going to do a mud check first.
Don't get too carried away. Stuff like that on the trail can make it more fun. I was out there a couple weeks ago with my girlfriend and I think we saw you guys. I was on the rigid singlespeed and she was on the orange fatbike.
 
#31 ·
Any of you guys tried out Mt. Sequoyah?

So far I've ridden Blowing Spring, Slaughter Pen, Hobbs, Mt. Kessler, and Lake Atalanta.

Blowing Spring is my go to trail since it's 10 minutes from my house but Kessler has moved into the spot for my favorite trail.

I talked to a guy a couple weeks ago that said he liked Sequoyah better than Kessler which intrigued me.

Anyway just curious if anyone had ridden it before or if there were any other fast or technical trails you guys could recommend that I haven't mentioned.

Oh and I plan to do Leatherwood soon too hopefully.

Thanks!
 
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