All those rocks didn't get there by themselves for Branham Snyder to destroy on his trail bike. We chatted with Rock Solid Trail Contracting's Aaron Rogers to find out what it takes to build trail in America's hottest new mountain bike town. Tim Koerber photo.
Ever since the city caught the mountain biking bug a decade ago, Bentonville, Arkansas has been the on the forefront of a trailbuilding renaissance. Since 2007, over 230 miles of dedicated mountain biking trails have been built, filling every nook and cranny of usable land in the area. And just to make it clear, this isn’t your standard mellow singletrack cut into a hillside, it’s feature-laden trail with jumps, drops, and technical features all over the place. Think drainages in between suburban neighborhoods with jump lines to rival those found in British Columbia.
TGR spent a week in January exploring these trails for the 2018 TGR Tested mountain bike test, and we got to know some of the masterminds behind the singletrack boom in the area. Bentonville’s 230 existing miles of trail are just the beginning, with a statewide goal to hit 1000 miles by 2019. In between testing bikes, we talked with Aaron Rogers of Rock Solid Trail Contracting about what it takes to feed the singletrack-hungry community of Northwest Arkansas.
TGR: When did the Bentonville singletrack boom get started?
Rock Solid: It really got started about a decade ago when the Walton Foundation decided they wanted to invest money into the local pathway infrastructure. Tom and Steuart Walton, grandsons of Walmart founder Sam Walton, caught the mountain biking bug in college, and made sure a good chunk of that money got channeled into trailbuilding. The whole area has seen literally hundreds of miles of trail built in the last five years, thanks to companies like Rock Solid and Progressive working out what to do down here. It’s been a learning process, but it's nice to pretty much have free reign.
Anne Cleary boosts off the Hub at the top of Coler, a flagship project for the city. Tim Koerber photo.
TGR: When did you guys start building in Bentonville?
RS: We came down to Bentonville in 2015, so this is our third full season now. Our company is actually based in the upper Midwest, so we usually only work in Arkansas during the winter and then move north when it starts getting too hot down there. It’s tough to work in the summer heat, but we get plenty of time to get things moving during the winter!
A look at what it took to build the Hub. NWA Trailblazers photo.
TGR: Let’s talk more specifically about some projects you worked on in the area. We were blown away by the quality of trail at Coler Bike Park, can you tell us a little more about building that park?
RS: Coler was one of the more elaborate projects we have worked on. The idea when they put the whole plan together was to turn that patch of land into the latest and greatest trail system, with a lot of the new flow features and wooden jumps and drops. Bentonville wanted to set themselves apart. The terrain offered a lot of different flavors, with everything from rocky stuff on the north side, to soft dirt and flowier terrain on the south.
We wanted to build something unique to turn the area into something more of an attraction for the gravity crowd. Coler was built, and then there was the realization that this type of terrain is what people want to ride. After that happened, the focus has shifted to building more of this stuff. The people want drops and jumps and all that kind of stuff!
Editors note: Coler Bike Park was the brainchild of Progressive Trail Designs, who worked hard for over 2 years to develop the full design and build of the trail system. Rock Solid helped build the park.
TGR: Sounds like there were some important lessons learned there!
RS: The Walton foundation had kind of seen it, and was a little reluctant at first to fund something that was of that magnitude, but at the same time, you go out to Coler and see 12-year-old kids hitting the XL lines. You sometimes fail to recognize how fast people progress when they are provided with the means to do so. If you have a playground designed specifically for that purpose, they’re going to come out and play. It’s nice, since we’ve been building that kind of stuff for a long time, and now we see it really being used to its full potential.
Alaina Henderson sends it off a perfectly manicured trail feature lower down on Coler. Tim Koerber photo.
TGR: What does the day by day look like for a trailbuilder?
RS: Each project is a little different, and they all tend to start pretty loosely. We go out there and start to get a feel for the lay of the land. There are so many defining factors when you’re out in the woods that can change the way you direct a trail, be it a tree or a rock band. You have to feel your way through it as a builder, so the concept and final product are often pretty different.
You start with the concept, and then once you are out scoping, the features start coming together. A lot of times you just design as you go, within the concept plan you put together beforehand. The concept plan is usually a wishlist of features, like x amounts of jumps, or a gap over that creek, or whatever it is you envision for that specific landscape.
Coler's infamous rock drop/road gap took some work to put in. NWA Trailblazers photo.
TGR: Speaking of those features, what does it cost to build and maintain something like Drop the Hammer at Coler?
RS: Those kinds of features tend to be pretty expensive, we’re talking $20,000 to $30,000 here, just for a drop like the one in the middle of Drop the Hammer. That covers materials like rocks and dirt, and the labor to put it all together. For bigger features like that, where you are moving so much dirt, you have to take into account erosion control measures like digging culverts and making proper drainage systems. Bentonville gets a ton of rain, so the jumps and drops only last if the landscape around them is built to handle so much water. They will get something like 10 inches in a few days, so that water needs to go somewhere, and it’s definitely not into our jumps! Luckily the rocky soil drains very quickly, so once it washes away, it leaves a super durable base.
In terms of maintenance, it’s mostly local volunteer crews that do the day to day work, but when a feature needs to get rebuilt, we will come in with the proper machinery.
Alaina Henderson dropping in off said rock drop/road gap. Tim Koerber photo.
TGR: How does working with that many resources affect your opportunities as a trailbuilder?
RS:Working in Northwest Arkansas is a pretty unique situation. Having the resources really allows us to expand our possibilities and re-define what trail building looks like. Really being able to focus on the artistic expression along with the riding quality has helped push trails to the next level. We've been able to do that in other places as well but not to this scale. I think it's helping guide other areas in their development as well by creating the realization that quality of trails is just as, if not more important than quantity. That's always been our goal at Rock Solid is to focus on the entire experience a trail creates not just getting from point A to B.
TGR: What sets Bentonville/NWA apart from other trailbuilding projects you guys have worked on?
RS: The biggest thing that sets NWA apart from other projects is the freedom to develop projects and features with little to no restrictions. If the client likes the ideas put forth then they're all in! Artistic freedom is encouraged and I think most can see the result of that.
A look into the future of the area's trails.
TGR: It sounds like the boom is only getting started. What are some future projects in the area?
RS: I think the biggest ones right now are adding trail to the area’s State Parks. A big one that I’m particular proud of is a gravity zone that we are building in Eureka Springs. That will be the first area in Northwest Arkansas that will be shuttle-able. It’s specifically designed around running a shuttle. The hills are a little bigger once you get deeper into the Ozarks, so it works really well for that kind of riding. Runs will be about a mile long, which is a lot better than other places in the area. You can really get a groove going!
About The Author
stash member Max Ritter
I manage digital content here at TGR, run our gear testing program, and am stoked to be living the dream in the Tetons.