Although the majority of trails in Bella Vista and Bentonville are multi-use (meaning they officially can be used by both hikers and bikers), some of the trails are not appropriate for hikers. Usually, this is because they are downhill or jump line trails where it would be dangerous to have hikers and bikers on the same trail.
It’s also important to note that the difficulty rating for a trail (i.e., Green, Blue, Black) does not indicate whether a trail should be hiked or not. In fact, the higher difficulty trails are often more fun to hike!
Tips for Identifying Trails You Shouldn’t Hike
Here are some general guidelines to know whether or not it is wise to hike a particular trail:
- Avoid any trail marked as “Downhill” or “Gravity.”
- Don’t enter trails with “Do Not Enter” signs. This usually means it’s a one-way, downhill trail. Not only should you avoid hiking up the wrong way, but hiking down is also ill-advised as cyclists would not be able to easily stop to avoid hitting you.
Trails to Hike (or Not)
Below you’ll find a list of each trail in the seven major trail systems in Bella Vista and Bentonville. On each list, you’ll find some of the trail names in bold italics and marked with (Don’t Hike). These are the trails you should avoid when hiking. Most of the trails you should avoid are also linked, so you can see where the trail is in relation to everything else.
Back 40
- Back 40 Loop
- Back 40-Sugar Connector
- Brittany Dam
- Buckingham Cutoff
- Flo Ride
- (Don’t Hike) Go Ride
- It’ll Bluff Out
- It’ll Bluff Out Connector
- Lookout
- Merritt Circle
- Mulligan
- Pinyon Creek
- Rago
- SBAT
- Skiptown
- Summit School
- Taylor Homestead
- The Ledges
- Tower Trail
- Trafalgar Kingsland Sidepath
- What the Chuck
Blowing Springs
- Blowing Springs Loop (North)
- Blowing Springs Loop (South)
- Bomb Diggity
- Cooper Elementary Spur
- Low Ride
- Mighty Pine
Coler Preserve
- (Don’t Hike) Cease and Desist
- Copperhead Road
- (Don’t Hike) Dirt Therapy
- (Don’t Hike) Drop the Hammer
- Esther’s
- (Don’t Hike) Family Flow
- (Don’t Hike) Fire Line
- Good Vibrations
- (Don’t Hike) Hard Way to Cafe
- Here’s Johnny
- Lorax
- Meh Way to Cafe
- Oscar’s Loop
- Pedal Assist
- (Don’t Hike) Rock Salad
- (Don’t Hike) Rock Soft
- (Don’t Hike) Rock Solid
- (Don’t Hike) Thunder Dome
- (Don’t Hike) Thunder Rolls
- Water Tower Access
Handcut Hollow
- Checks in the Mail
- (Don’t Hike) Conjunction Junction
- Do the Circulation
- Elbow Room
- Gravel Connector Beginner Trail
- Hand-cut Hollow XC Trail
- (Don’t Hike) Interplanet Janet
- Mother Necessity
- (Don’t Hike) My Hero Zero
- (Don’t Hike) No More Kings
- (Don’t Hike) Ready or Not
- (Don’t Hike) School House Rock
- (Don’t Hike) The Body Machine
- Traverse Loop
- Traverse Loop Advanced
- (Don’t Hike) Victim of Gravity
- Zone 1
- Zone 2
- Zone 3
- Zone 4
Little Sugar
- Bamboozled
- (Don’t Hike) Bamboozled Gravity Line
- Danger Will Robinson
- Down Under
- Down Under Alt Line
- Down Under Connector
- Kingsdale Connector
- Lago Vista East
- (Don’t Hike) Lago Vista Gravity Line
- Lago Vista West
- Lake Avalon Vista Loop
- Lake Avalon Vista South
- Landline
- Little Sugar Connector
- Play Thru
- Sick-A-More
- Sick-A-More Access
- Snacks Attack
- Sugar Bridge
- Tavistock Canyon
- Technical Difficulty
- Tunnel Vision Loop
- Tweety Bird
- Uphill Both Ways
- Vista (AKA Sunset Vista)
- (Don’t Hike) Huntley Gravity Zone
- (Don’t Hike) Staggerwing Session Zone: Immortal Amanda, Silent Hattie, Sister Rosetta,
- Staggerwing Session Zone: Staggerwing
- Staggerwing Session Zone: Long Shadow
- Staggerwing Session Zone: Caldwell Climb
Slaughter Pen + Park Springs
- 2 Stacks
- A to J Gravel Connection
- Action Alley
- All American
- (Don’t Hike) All American from NE 3rd St to Rocking Horse
- (Don’t Hike) All American Skill Line
- Allencroft East
- Allencroft West
- Angus Chute
- Angus Chute (Gully)
- Angus Chute Connector
- (Don’t Hike) Apple Dumplin
- Apple Turnover
- Armadillo’s Last Stand
- (Don’t Hike) Barn Burner
- Berkeley’s Holler
- (Don’t Hike) Berm Creek
- Berm Creek Return
- Black Apple Creek
- Black Limousin
- (Don’t Hike) Bone Yard
- (Don’t Hike) Boo Boo
- (Don’t Hike) Bullet
- Burns Arboretum
- Bush Push
- (Don’t Hike) Castle: Catapult, Dragon Scales, Firnas, Loam Wolf, Medieval, Wildfire, Uwabami
- Castle: Castle Climb
- Castle: Lombard
- (Don’t Hike) Choo Choo
- (Don’t Hike) Creekside
- (Don’t Hike) Cry Baby
- Downhill Connector
- Expressway
- Free Time
- (Don’t Hike) Hammer Down
- Heading Home
- Hidden Hollow Connector
- Hidden Hollow Loop
- Hidden Hollow Loop Access
- Highway to Heaven
- J Street Connector
- Jesse’s Connection
- (Don’t Hike) Jesse’s Last Stand
- (Don’t Hike) Leopard’s Loop West
- Leopard’s Loop East
- Maple Connector
- Master Plan (this is a jump line, but it’s rarely used so should be good to hike)
- Medusa
- Milk Run
- (Don’t Hike) Moo Moo
- Northeast J Street Connector
- Oak Connector
- Oesta Vista
- Ozone North
- Razorback Ridge
- Red Barn
- (Don’t Hike) Rim Trail
- Rock Ledge Trail
- Rocking Horse
- Rocking to Zeppelin
- Rocky Ridge North (a different section than the one below)
- (Don’t Hike) Rocky Ridge (North)
- Rocky Ridge (South)
- Rocky Ridge South Connector
- Rotten to the Core
- (Don’t Hike) Schroen Train (North)
- Schroen Train (South of Berkeley’s Holler)
- (Don’t Hike) Scott Allen Alley
- Seed Tick Shuffle
- (Don’t Hike) Shotgun
- (Don’t Hike) Skid Marks
- (Don’t Hike) Slaughter Pen Skills Park (this link is only to the entrance to the park, but the entire skills park should be avoided by hikers)
- Sliding Rock
- Tatamagouche
- (Don’t Hike) Techgnar
- (Don’t Hike) The Masterpiece
- (Don’t Hike) Tristan’s Trail
- Upper Angus Chute
- Urban Trail
- (Don’t Hike) Walter’s Whistler
- (Don’t Hike) Yeah Buddy
- Zeppelin
Wonderland
- (Don’t Hike) Ace of Spades
- All American
- (Don’t Hike) Area 51
- Cooper Connector
- (Don’t Hike) Mad Hatter Upper & Lower
- Rabbit Hole
- Sally Trail
- Smuggler’s Run
- Through the Looking Glass
- Wonderland
- Woz Up