A chairlift is coming to the hills of Bentonville

Crews will break ground on the first lift-served bike park in Northwest Arkansas in spring 2025.
File photo: Mike Cartier.

The veil has been lifted on plans for the first lift-served bike park in Northwest Arkansas. On February 4, 2025, Oz Trails announced that a chairlift-served downhill mountain bike park is planned for a location between Bentonville and Bella Vista.

“The OZ Trails Bike Park [will feature] more than 20 miles of gravity trails that showcase innovative trail design,” said Oz Trails in their press release. “The park will offer unprecedented daily access to riders across the region.” The planned 20 miles of trails will connect seamlessly to the existing Oz Trails network, specifically the Little Sugar Trail System and the Razorback Greenway.

“What sets the Bike Park apart is its integration into the ever-expanding OZ Trails network,” said Tom Walton, Runway Group CEO. “As Northwest Arkansas’s first purpose-built gravity cycling facility, the park’s location strengthens the natural connection between Bella Vista and Bentonville, positioning both communities as premier global cycling destinations. Its focus on progression ensures everyone from beginners to experts will find their place here.”

While the Runway Group acquired 2,700 acres of land for mountain bike trail development near Bella Vista, known as “the Blue Crane acquisition,” in May, the Oz Trails Bike Park isn’t being built on the new parcel. Instead, it is being constructed on a parcel of land that was already owned by Runway prior to the Blue Crane acquisition.

Additional development at the Oz Trails Bike Park

The bike park will be served by a state-of-the-art Poma-Leitner high-speed chairlift. In addition to the lift and trail infrastructure, development will include:

  • OZ Trails HQ with full-service dining facilities
  • Comprehensive bike shop and rental center
  • Community plaza and gathering spaces
  • Purpose-built pump track
  • Dedicated hiking trail
  • Art installations throughout the property
Map: OnX Backcountry

How much vert will the bike park offer?

The Trails at Mena project is already working to bring lift-served mountain biking to Arkansas — but in a location with substantial vertical relief. The Mena plans call for downhill runs with up to 1,300ft of vertical drop.

But there aren’t any mountains of that stature in or around Bentonville.

I analyzed topographic maps for the approximate area where Oz Trails said the new bike park would be located, and the tallest hills I could find offer just 200 feet of vertical relief.

According to online commenters familiar with the area, the lift will offer somewhere between 260 and 268 vertical feet. We reached out to the Runway group to verify the exact vertical footage of the lift, and they “can confirm it’s more than 200 vertical feet.”

Construction timeline

The project team includes Hufft for architecture, Gravity Logic and Rock Solid for trail design and construction, and Crafton Tull for engineering. Construction is set to begin this spring.

Updated February 10, 2025.