BENTONVILLE, Ark. — Northwest Arkansas has quickly climbed the ranks of mountain biking hot spots. Bentonville recently hosted the International Mountain Biking Association World Summit from November 10-12.
According to the City of Bentonville, the summit had an economic impact of over $400,000. The summit brought together cycling professionals and industry leaders in discussions at many Bentonville venues including Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art, 21c Museum Hotel, Compton Gardens and Record.
Amond the visiting bikers was Doug Dalton of Park City, Utah, which has its own world reknowned trail system. “To tell you the truth, I don`t think Bentonville is far off. The amount of trails, the skill levels, paved trails, smooth single track, jump trails. They really have it all.”
Nicole dorholt says she trains in the area and made the short trip from Tulsa for the summit. “The amount of trails they have, the accessibility of their trails, the fact that there are trails for everybody at every skills level in this area, which you can`t always get in other areas of the country.”
Nearly 50 miles of new trails have opened in northwest Arkansas in the months leading up to the summit.
“NWA has really followed suit and connected downtown with the museum, with the river, with different trail networks, and it’s really something to be seen.”
Dorholt says hosting the summit will further put Bbentonville on the map. “I feel like the trails in Arkansas are this gem that have been previously untapped. You know, everybody talks about Moab, or Park City, they talk about Pisgah, they talk about North Shore, I hope after this weekend they`re talking about Arkansas.”
The summit brought visitors from over 40 states and 11 countries to Bentonville. Overall, there were 525 attendees and over 100 vendors that worked.
The City of Bentonville has more than 20 cycling events scheduled for 2017.
(material for this story contributed by KNWA and KFSM)
