Asking anyone who has been in Bella vista Arkansas (cycling related). I will be going to a city bord meeting to discuss there infrastructure. If any of yall have an comments complaints or concerns please let me know here. I can not guarantee that your thoughts will be brought up. However I will try my hardest to accurately share the view of the general cycling public and not just my own views.
Thanks.
It was my favorite trip on a bike. I hope to get back there soon. The six of us stayed at an Airbnb, which was a great experience but I could understand if locals don’t like what that is doing to real estate costs. We opted for Bella Vista instead of Bentonville because of trail proximity, in fact the house was only a 100 yards from a trail crossing and our first day we did not even get in the car. We went into Bentonville one night but the rest of the time we stayed in Bella Vista. We found places to rent bikes, dine out and take care of anything we needed. We rode the back 40, trails around Tunnel Vision and took the razorback greenway to trails South. It was a great experience. It’s been a while but we spent $1500-$2500 aside from the AirBNB
Awsome! Thank you for the feed back. Were the trails easy to get around and use GPS with?
I’ve ridden around the Bella Vista quite a few times and I think they could improve the markings. It’s not bad, but could certainly be better on some of the road sections/crossings. The ones that come to mind are when exit the trail onto a neighborhood street for a bit before connecting to the trial again down the road. It’s hard to find complaints because that trail system is generally awesome and well marked at the actual trail intersections, but those road segments could be better for those of us who are navigationally challenged. More signage or maybe even some directional paint on the street showing that you are still on the trail.
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We used our phones for GPS with the MTB Project app. We didn’t get lost. But I agree with grwoolf that markings at intersections would be good. We didn’t get lost but did stop to confirm our position quite a bit…. I didn’t get upset about taking a rest though 
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It’s been 3 years since I was there, so things may have improved, but I had the same problem as the others. From the parking lot at the park, I had a hard time finding the correct trailhead to get to and from the Back 40. I rode it a couple times and got lost inside the park every time. The trail itself was amazing, but once you’ve completed a loop, there was no clear signage saying “exit back to the park here” which meant I added a few extra miles there too. I had a GPS map on my Garmin, but still couldn’t easily navigate the park trails or the Back 40. It’s a little disconcerting when you’re inside the park doing loops because you can’t find your way back to the parking lot.
Other than that, I had a fantastic experience. The area is beautiful and there are trails for all levels of rider all over the place. Easy access to Coler Preserve for a day of jumps was a nice bonus too.
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How about if they upped there GPS game. So you could plan routes and have more info about it online?
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Was that at Blowing Springs park?
Sorry, I can’t remember the name of it. It’s right off the main thoroughfare, next to a school. Lots of parking.
Oh ok. I know where your talking about. Yeah that place can be confusing as someone who dose not know the area already. Thank you!
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I was under the impression this is the main entrance to Back 40 (maybe that’s part of the problem?) Hope this pic helps.
Yes that is the most popular entrance. The first trails are called Blowing Springs. You ride east till you hit the Back 40. Most people just cut through the RV park. I agree it is very confusing and will try to bring up signage and trail makings.
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GPS can help at the macro level (ie - am I on the trail I think I’m on?), but I personally don’t find it that useful for navigating those tricky spots. Trailforks has pretty decent coverage of the area, but it’s still easy to miss the connectors going through some of neighborhoods. And I hate having to stop and zoom into the map trying to figure that stuff out. Some physical signage and/or paint on the road would sure make it easier to just keep rolling.
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Good to know. Thank you man!
Not to mention sometimes GPS disappears.
It’s WAY better than anything I have locally, so when I visited I thought it was pretty great. It took me a little time to figure out the trail systems, but I stopped in a local bike shop and they were super helpful. You need a local guide to point you in the right direction or a lot of free time on your hands to explore.
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You mentioning the first trails are Blowing Springs triggered another memory. This is specific to Bentonville, but might be helpful to Bella Vista too. There are so many trails that it’s very confusing to use GPS. Sometimes a trail is just a short connector, or multiple trails cross each other multiple times. It would be awesome to have a few routes you can download on GPS that link up multiple trails to create a more flowing experience where you’re not constantly stopping to get your bearings and check maps. Again, for me that was more for central Bentonville, but it might be worth considering.
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That is an awesome idea man. I will defiantly try and bring that up. Did you do any gravel or road? If so, what was your experience with that?
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The only time I hit the road was riding from Bentonville to Blowing Springs. There was a lot of construction going on that blocked off the connector trails (and bridges), so I had to ride along the main highway. Would not recommend, but also probably resolved by now.
Yeah. That was a sketchy time for the paved trail. We have it fixed if I am correct. The main bridge was completely taken out by a freak storm. So it had to be fully rebuilt. Of course this freak storm happened around the same time we get the most tourist.
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