Advanced
All of Kessler Mountain. The whole thing. Known as the recreational Jewel of Fayetteville, this 17+ mile Advanced experience features most of the trails at the 620-acre Kessler Mountain Regional Park. From the wildly technical terrain of Rock City to the aggressively steep pitches of Flight Training, from the iconic hand-built Spellbound to the fan-favorite Chinkapin Oak - this route has it all.
Beginning from the foot of Kessler Mountain, the route follows the Fayetteville Traverse and predominantly intermediate trails for a 2.5-mile climb to reach the Goat Trail – where a ½ mile of sandstone creates a technical rock garden across the mountain top. Things stay peppery as the route descends the iconic Rock City trail and one of the original trails used to establish the recreational value of the park - and its eventual conservation. Erosion over hundreds of millions of years has exposed sandstone bluffs along Rock City, with cracks creating natural gateways for the trail. It’s an old school hand-cut singletrack experience that will have you appreciating every millimeter of suspension travel on your bike.
Stark in comparison, Rock City leads to Flight Training and the mountains lone directional, downhill only trail. With trail construction optimized for mountain bikes, Flight Training takes advantage of Kessler’s steep northern slope to create an advanced downhill experience where vertical grades reach -35%! Trail builders stacked the bottom of Flight Training with a series of dirt tables, taking full advantage of the high speed descent and creating a runway for mountain bikers to accurately… take flight.
The next few miles feel more akin to Narnia than Fayetteville, as moss covered slab rock towers over the trail and the natural beauty of Kessler becomes a welcome distraction from the 3-mile pedal back towards the top. The western edge of Kessler is home to a series of hand-built trails stacked along the ridges and bluffs that overlook the rivers and prairies west of Fayetteville. Advanced experiences including Spellbound and Western Myth have long challenged riders and served as a rite of passage for the local cycling community - decades before the welcome boon in trail development.
The route summits out the first time at mile 10, reaching over 1,800 feet above sea level towards the southern end of the mountain. The history of Kessler Mountain can be tracked back to this area, when in 1866 the Kessler family purchased 13 acres at its peak and started the first winery in Arkansas. That wine found its way to downtown, where the family operated Kessler’s Wine Hall on West Center Street in Fayetteville – and served “Kessler’s celebrated wines and peach and apple brandies...drinks ten cents or three for twenty-five cents.”
From the top, riders are rewarded with Crazy Mary, a mile long hand-built descent rich with technical rock gardens and bluff line views of the expansive Ozark Mountains. A short climb back to the top along Trent Trail welcomes the route’s second summit, this time descending the Chinkapin Oak trail. Named after the ancient oaks found along the mountain’s eastern edge, Chinkapin is a rowdy, rock-filled descent that drops close to 350 feet in elevation - in 2 miles!
At the bottom of Chinkapin the route drops below the sandstone bluffs and along Terrapin Station - where house-sized boulders and moss covered rock can feel like a different planet when compared to riding through stands of old-growth forest just a few miles before. Our ‘Crown Jewel’ route finishes with Saddle Up and the mountains only beginner-friendly trail – and a nice descent back to the parking lot. Of note, navigating all of Kessler requires a small amount of overlap. Please refer to the cue sheet for a turn-by-turn description at key trail intersections.
Where to Park
Located just west of Interstate 49 off Cato Springs Road, Fayetteville’s Kessler Mountain Regional Park serves as the trailhead for “Mile Zero” of the Razorback Greenway and close to 20-miles of world-class natural surface trails popular with mountain bikers, hikers, trail runners and dog walkers. Free public parking is available at the playground area at the park’s entrance, PLUS restrooms, water fountains, bicycle repair stations and other amenities.
