TRAIL RIDING RIGHT AROUND THE CORNER

Jeremy Chrysler relocated to Conway from Florida in 2013 when his company, Inuvo, moved its headquarters to central Arkansas. Chrysler has served on the Conway Area Chamber of Commerce Board of Directors and is currently on the Conway Bicycle and Pedestrian Advisory Board.

Walk us through a “model mountain biking itinerary” for favorite destinations that are within reach.

JC: From Conway, there are four trails I can ride easily.

Quicker Trips

JC: When I don’t have a lot of time, I’ll ride either Ender’s Fault at Woolly Hollow State Park or the River Mountain Trails in Little Rock. They are both around 30 minutes away from my house, and both offer options for a 35–45-minute loop. With a little prep the night before, I can be out and back to my house in two hours. This is great because if it’s light relatively early, I can be back in front of my computer before 8:30.

Ender’s Fault offers two different loops. I prefer the Northern Loop, which has six different stream crossings and a great mix of wooded singletrack and accessible natural roots and rocks. It dries out very quickly, so you can ride there sooner after a rain than many other trails. The South loop starts with a steady climb, winds around through woodsy hilltops with lake views, then finishes for a long, straight descent that can be pretty fast. The River Mountain trails are much newer and include some of the best downhill sections and views in Arkansas. My favorite loop is to start up Main Current to Headwaters, and then finish with either Gravity Falls, a black trail with a lot of speed, big berms, and a few really steep drops, or Whirlpool, a blue downhill trail with jumps and high corners.

Day Trips:

JC: The two other rides I do regularly are both Monument Trails. Pinnacle Mountain State Park has a little something for everyone. The Jackfork Loop is a loop that offers some challenging climbs, creek crossings, cliffside views of the Maumelle River, and zoomy downhill sections. Pinnacle is generally faster and more open than Ender’s Fault, and there are a lot more combinations of routes and more trail diversity.

Dynamite has some of the gnarliest rock sections you’ll ever see, and there are great downhill trails too that feature some significant rock features. It’s a little farther away from home so I don’t end up riding it as much unless I have more time. Rattlesnake Ridge is not technically part of Pinnacle, but it’s close enough that you could daisy chain them together. Rattlesnake has the best bridges I’ve ridden in Arkansas and is a great place to take kids as well, as you can avoid really challenging sections while still having a lot of fun.

Mount Nebo State Park is probably my favorite place to ride anywhere. Miller’s Goat is a loop trail around the mountain that can be ridden in either direction. It’s fun and pretty accessible to most riders, but I mostly ride the Chickalah Loop. Like Miller’s, it can be ridden in either direction, but I usually take the Chickalah Loop rather than the dedicated downhill trail, and then ride the trail counterclockwise.

After transiting the Bench Trail to get to the Chickalah trailhead, you start with a fast and rolling downhill with big berms, a lot of jumps, and if you dare (I don’t), some big drops. You then climb for a while and ride along a ridge that overlooks the Arkansas River Valley. There’s a point or two where you can step off the trail and just look out on the quiet world below. Chickalah is very challenging. There are very short and steep climbs throughout, lots of incredible rockwork, and technical sections aplenty. The whole trail has amazing flow though and I never go without feeling very lucky that the place exists. For me, it’s about an hour and twenty minutes from start to finish, and most of the last 20 minutes is pretty challenging climbing, so I’m normally beat by the end.

When I go to Nebo I leave early — before sunrise — and try to be one of the first people out there. Even with a stop at the Shipley’s donuts, I’m normally back by 10 am or so, so I still have the rest of the day with my family. Nebo is special. It’s the best pure mountain biking in Arkansas, which is to say it’s some of the best mountain biking you can do anywhere in the world.