As fall colors creep into Northwest Arkansas, the leaves surrounding the region's trails show a variety of hues, a soft pitter-patter audible as a few sink to the ground after each gust of wind.
Hiking, running and mountain biking opportunities are all over Northwest Arkansas, including the Blowing Springs and Back 40 trail systems in Bella Vista, the Slaughter Pen and Coler Reserve systems in Bentonville, the Lake Atalanta trails in Rogers, Kessler Mountain Regional Park in Fayetteville and Hobbs State Park Conservation area splayed out near Beaver Lake.
Bella Vista resident Mike Bentel makes use of the trails almost daily, he said, heading out for an early-morning hike at 6 a.m. most days, with earbuds in and his hat low to catch the cobwebs before they hit his face.
The transition into fall, he said, is always a good time to go out. As leaves thin, he said, more of the trail and its surroundings will be visible.
"You can start seeing things that you couldn't see before," he said.
He rides as well, he said, but prefers to hike the trail first so there are no surprises when he goes through on two wheels.
Carter and Carolyn Fairless came from Sand Springs, Okla. -- near Tulsa -- to ride Bella Vista's trails.
"It's just kind of a camping, riding vacation," he said. "We both like to ride and October's a great time to go camping."
They camped at Blowing Springs for a few days, Carter Fairless said, and rode the trails near their campsite as well as the Back 40, though the main loop didn't quite get finished thanks to a cut tire -- though he was glad to find GPP Cycling just down the road from his campsite, which allowed him to replace that tire quickly.
"Compared to what we have in Tulsa, this is excellent," he said. "Everything is super convenient here."
This was their first time on Bella Vista's trails, he said, though they have ridden on Slaughter Pen before.
The scenery, he said, was excellent, at least in part because he's a fan of hardwood forests. Arkansas, he said, has interesting woods -- they're thick with tall trees and very little underbrush. The ground is also unique and particular to Arkansas, he said.
"It's pretty cool geology in the area," he said. "I just wish the rocks weren't as sharp."
The Back 40, which also connects with Blowing Springs, consists of roughly 40 miles of trail winding throughout the East side of Bella Vista and primarily features trails rated at intermediate difficulty, though a handful are rated as expert or advanced, including The Ledges, Lookout, Summit School and What the Chuck.
The main Back 40 Loop is roughly 21.4 miles and the remaining handful of trails typically connect different portions of it, though some, like The Ledges, simply offer an alternate route through the same general area.
There are three major trail heads at this point, including the Buckingham Trailhead near the intersection of Buckingham Drive and Trafalgar Road; the Lake Ann Trailhead off Trafalgar Road, near the intersection of Castelford Drive and Wem Lane; and the Bear Hollow Trailhead, near the intersection of Gosforth Lane and Gainford Drive, just off Lancashire Blvd. The trails can also be accessed from Blowing Springs park and Bella Vista Community Church.
Additional information can be found Bella Vista's website, http://www.bellavistaar.gov/theback40/. For further information, interested parties can contact Bella Vista trails coordinator Kay Curry at [email protected] or communications manager Cassi Lapp at [email protected].
Hobbs also provides opportunities to explore the new season.
At 12,056 acres, Hobbs is Arkansas's largest state park, according to the Arkansas State Parks website, and features plateaus, streams, valleys and ridges with oak, hickory and pine forests. The visitor center is off Arkansas Highway 12, just east of the highway's intersection with War Eagle Road.
The park includes several trails geared toward different skill levels, including the easy-rated Historic Van Winkle Trail and the Sinking Stream Trail, the moderate-rated Pigeon Roost Trail and Shaddox Hollow Nature Trail and the more strenuous Hidden Diversity Multi-Use Trail.
The park also includes camping, meeting rooms, events and an outdoor shooting range. Additionally, Hobbs is the only state park that allows hunting.
More information, including specific trail locations and opportunities to book rooms can be found on the park's website at https://www.arkansasstateparks.com/hobbsstateparkconservationarea. Alternatively, the park can be reached by phone at (479)789-5000.
Carolyn Fairless said she and Carter Fairless race on a team called Switchback Racing and they've been through several trail systems. The Back 40, she said, proved fantastic.
It allows riders and hikers, she said, to feel like they're off in the woods without being particularly far from civilization. That, she said, meant access to goods and services, but it also meant they could ride secure in the knowledge that if anything happened, they weren't far from help.
"We'll be back for sure," she said.
General News on 10/18/2017