While a good portion of Fayetteville’s Centennial Park at Millsap Mountain is still under construction in the southwest area of the city, the future home of the 2022 Walmart UCI Cyclo-cross World Championships has opened the first of a series of mountain bike trails - with more nearing completion.
Rightly named “Learners Permit” and designed as a loop, this new mountain bike trail is ideal for beginners and families looking to explore Fayetteville’s variety of entry-level trail experiences. Like a ribbon, riders can expect flowy singletrack with minimal technical difficulty for roughly 3 total miles of trail. With the park being constructed on top of Millsap Mountain, trail users should anticipate some climbing as they make their way around Learners Permit.
In addition to beginner-friendly trails, look for further announcements as more trails open at Centennial Park throughout the summer including intermediate and advanced cross country and downhill mountain bike trails like “Junk Drawer” and “Captain Fantastic” – with trails progressing in difficulty all the way to black diamond!
With ongoing development and construction of new entrance roads and paved trails at the south end of Centennial Park, the City of Fayetteville has established a temporary trailhead near the north end of the park. The trailhead and limited parking are accessible from the frontage road along Interstate 49 at the intersection of Mountain Ranch Boulevard and Technology Way. From I-49, exit West Wedington Drive and head south on North Shiloh Drive to Technology Way.
In addition to the World Cyclo-cross Championships coming to Fayetteville in 2022, Centennial Park has been selected to host the Pan-American Cyclo-cross Championships later this year and will offer racers a first look at the permanent and world-class cyclo-cross course being constructed in the clearing atop the mountain. Once complete, the 228-acre Centennial Park at Millsap Mountain will feature mountain bike, cyclo-cross and trail running experiences, as well as other amenities including campgrounds.
If looking for more, beginner and family-friendly mountain bike trail experiences can be found at Gregory Park in Fayetteville’s Midtown. This quaint little 19-acre pocket park features the “Morning Light” trail, a mile-long mountain bike loop woven through the park's heavy tree canopy. About half-way around, mountain bikers will find two purpose-built downhill trails - with “Rolling Thunder” being beginner-friendly and “Tailwind” rated for intermediate riders. Perfect for an afternoon “session” in the shade, both trails lead back to the bottom to the Morning Light trailhead to climb up and ride down again.
Stay tuned for future trail opening announcements for Fayetteville, Arkansas all summer long!
Be sure to tag @fayettevillear and use #bikefayetteville so we can share in your cycling adventures around Fayetteville!
