People visit and stay in Fayetteville for a lot of reasons, from shows on Dickson Street to Razorbacks games to weekend getaways with friends and family. One of the most popular things to do in Fayetteville is enjoying the outdoors, since Fayetteville has so many offerings for those wanting to play outside and get in touch with nature.

While Fayetteville is located in the beautiful Ozark Mountains, which offers an abundance of outdoor adventures right outside the city limits, Fayetteville also offers guests a seemingly endless amount of outdoor opportunities within the city with its 3,000 acres of natural areas and parks.

Connecting all of Fayetteville is 81 miles of soft- and hard-surface trails that allow for walking, running, cycling, mountain biking and hiking within the city, so guests can literally walk out of their hotel and within no time be enjoying the beautiful scenery.

Most of the trails connect to the Razorback Regional Greenway, a 36-mile hard-surface trail that starts in Fayetteville and runs to the Missouri border, going through other Northwest Arkansas cities Springdale, Rogers, Bentonville and Bella Vista. In Fayetteville, it runs by restaurants, boutiques, breweries, stores, public art and more, so it’s also a great way to simply get around while in Fayetteville and experience the city.

Speaking of trails, Kessler Mountain is located just off the I-49 Razorback Road exit and features 11 miles of soft-surface trails perfect for running, hiking and mountain biking. A few miles further south is Devil’s Den State Park, home to the first mountain biking trails in the state and several hiking trails of varying length and difficulty.

A little further outside the city limits — but still a short drive — are several rivers that make for amazing floats and offer outstanding fishing, such as the White River, Kings River, Mulberry River and Buffalo River, America’s first national river.

No matter how you enjoy the outdoors, whether its bird watching, playing disc golf or simply throwing a picnic in the park, Fayetteville has what you’re looking for. But, don’t take just our word for it. Watch this video and let several local experts — Brannon Pack with Ozark Off Road Cyclists, Cassie Brown with Dirtbag Runners and Tim Scott with Devil’s Den — tell you why Fayetteville is so special for nature lovers.