If you’ve ever thought to yourself, “Gee, I wish I could land my private plane on a remote runway in the mountains, hop out onto the tarmac, grab my mountain bike, and pedal into the woods,” well, your first-world fantasies can now become a reality with a new fly in, fly out mountain bike trail system in Arkansas.
Phase one of the new Bobcat Trail has just been completed, totaling 1.5 miles of purpose-built singletrack. Phase two is expected to be completed by mid-summer 2025, bringing the total mileage to just over two miles.
The Bobcat Trail is being constructed at the Buffalo River Airport near the town of Marshall, located deep in the Ozarks. The new trail system features the first purpose-built mountain bike trails in Searcy County.
The trails were inspired by “a few visionaries from the community that have seen the impact of mountain biking, and they want that there,” said Jeff Gannon, President of Affordable Trail Solutions, which has been contracted to build the trails. “It’s kind of cool, because nobody there rides right now, but it’s going to be one of those stories where it’s like, in a year, I think it’ll end up being a huge impact.”
Mountain bikers could soon be flying into the Buffalo River Airport
Though Marshall isn’t home to an avid local population of mountain bikers, much of the demand for the fly-in, fly-out trails comes from the Fly Oz group. Fly Oz “is a group of airplane gurus from up in Northwest Arkansas, and […] they do a lot of backcountry airfield type stuff,” said Gannon. Fly OZ is part of the OZ Brand Initiatives, connected to the Runway Group. Tom Walton is CEO of Runway, and his brother, Steuart, is heavily involved.
In addition to being avid mountain bikers and the driving force behind much of the mountain bike trail development in Arkansas, it is well-known that Tom and Steuart Walton are also passionate about aviation. The history of aviation in the Walton family dates back to Sam Walton, who used to scout locations for new Walmart stores from his airplane. Tom and Steuart, as well as a Walton-backed nonprofit, own an expansive collection of planes hangared near Bentonville, including numerous historic military planes.
While the tie-in to Arkansas aviation is apparent, Gannon was quick to note that the current trail development has been spearheaded by the local community, and funded primarily by a state of Arkansas Recreational Trails Program (RTP) grant.
What will mountain bikers find on the Bobcat trails?
The 1.5 miles of singletrack that have already been completed include a green XC loop, a green climb trail to the upper hub, and a blue downhill flow trail leaving the upper hub. In addition, the short connector to the airport has already been built.
Phase two, which is currently under construction, will add a green downhill flow trail and a connector around the south end of the airport. While the two-mile distance is currently small, the jump lines will allow riders to rip entertaining laps even in a condensed area.
Future developments have already been mapped out as well and are awaiting funding. “There’ll be a pretty gnarly North Shore [section] between the rocks,” said Gannon. A planned skills park will also add a slew of features to play on.
According to Gannon, the phase three concept would double the available mileage in the network.
You, too, can fly to Marshall and ride
While the connections to the Waltons and Fly Oz are obvious, the airport in Marshall is open to the public, too. Anyone with the means can fly in and then head out for a mountain bike ride. According to Gannon, there will be rental bikes available at the airport, and two have already been committed by a local bike shop.
But even if you don’t own a plane, don’t worry — you can still drive there, too.
Updated 6:30am MDT to clarify RTP grant funding.
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