MTB Trails at River Mountain Park

Central Arkansas may not ever compete with Northwest Arkansas for the title of Mountain Biking Capitol of the World. But great strides are being made in Central Arkansas with trail systems like Pinnacle Mountain and Rattlesnake Ridge. And now we have MTB trails at River Mountain Park in West Little Rock. Although these are not part of the Monument Trails system at Pinnacle, they are professionally-built trails, well-designed, and a lot of fun.

Directions

Directions to this location are hard to describe in writing, so I’ll make it simple. Just go to Two Rivers Park in Little Rock. This is right off Cantrell Rd, next to I-430. It’s difficult to describe because at the time of this writing, there is major road construction along Cantrell Rd. So the turn-by-turn directions change often. So use the google map below or navigate to : 4400 River Mountain Rd, Little Rock, AR 72212. The parking area is on the left, just before the train tracks you would cross at Two Rivers Park.

Quick Glance

Nine Trails Covering a Total of 9 Miles

Trail Descriptions (from Littlerock.com)

• Confluence: Green (Beginner) – .25 mile connector; cut-off of Main Current to make laps of Main Current or cut-off to High Point for downhill laps
• Ridge Crossing: Green (Beginner) – A .15 mile connector with the Southridge Trail entrance, lots of turns to get down the steep grade into the park.
• Main Current – Green (Beginner) – A 3.75 mile loop through the interior of the park, wide, and flowy soft surface trail. This trail acts as the park’s main thoroughfare, and most other trails connect or branch off from it.
• Whirlpool – Blue (Intermediate) – A .4 mile wide, flowy directional Downhill trail ending at the base of the park.
• High Point – Blue (Intermediate) – A .50 mile connector from Main Current or Headwaters to the Downhill Hub.
• Headwaters – Blue (Intermediate) – A 1.75 mile on the north edge of the park with lots of optional rock lines that flow along the length of the park, connector to High Point or Main Current. You’ll want to stay focused on your ride as it drops hundreds of feet in elevation.
• Narrows – Black (Difficult/Advanced) – A 2-mile rocky, technical line connecting Southridge and Main Current, the narrowest line at the park
• Gravity Falls – Black (Difficult/Advanced)- A .4 mile flowy directional Downhill trail ending at the base of the park with an optional 12-foot drop and some jumps.

Read more about these trails at the MTB Project

What to Expect

In my opinion, the MTB trails at River Mountain Park are geared a little more towards intermediate to advanced riders. If you are a first-time rider looking for a place to start, this is might not be the best option for you. There are only three green trails, and two of those are just short connector trails. Although the Main Current trail is listed as green (beginner) on the trail sign and Littlerock.com, it is rated as blue (intermediate) by MTBProject.com. For the most part, it is green and fairly easy. But coming back to the parking area, it’s really easy to make a wrong turn into some more advanced trails.

I have ridden all the MTB trails at River Mountain Park except for Ridge Crossing, Narrows (black), and Gravity Falls (black). The intermediate trails are great. But there are a couple sections on those that can get kind of sketchy. High Point and Whirlpool have some downhill switchbacks with high and steep berms. So you’re making a sharp turn down a steep decline. In the middle of these hair pen turns, the inside of the berms are full of loose rocks. The idea here is to go high on the berm above the loose rocks. But you need enough speed to stay high on the berm. If you’re not comfortable taking the turn that fast, you’ll end up sliding out in the loose rocks. That’s not a complaint, because outside of constant maintenance, I don’t know what can be done about that. But I did want to mention it here to warn folks.

River Mountain Park is not all that big, so you can see everything here in 3-4 runs. This is where I go when I want to get in a quick ride after work, or just get some exercise. And let me tell you, the ride up Main Current to the downhill sections is a beast. It’s not steep, but it is steadily uphill for a good mile and a half. I am intermediate in skill, but my conditioning is terrible. So this is quite a workout for me. I stop a lot on the way up to rest and let other riders pass. But it’s worth it for the downhill ride. The Main Current downhill is my favorite. But I also recommend taking Headwaters to High Point. There is a great view of the Arkansas River from High Point. Just be careful coming down through those switchback turns! You can see Main Current, Headwaters, and other trails in the video below.

Hiking and Safety

If anyone is curious to know if hiking is allowed here, the answer is yes. But there are some conditions. Mainly, you need to have a functioning brain and some common sense. Please understand, this was built to be a mountain bike park. There are hills and turns that can make a ride dangerous. If you hike here, do not use headphones. LISTEN and watch for mountain bikers on the trail. Please move aside and let them pass. This is not the River Trail where walkers have the right-of-way. It’s much easier for walkers to stop and start again than it is for MTB riders, especially going uphill. And if you’re a slower uphill rider (like me), let faster riders pass you.

Before any hikers get salty about this, understand this is not a “jerk mountain biker” thing. This is a safety thing. We take some of these downhill sections pretty fast, and coming to an abrupt stop is not always possible. It can cause a wreck. I once saw two hippies sitting in the middle of the trail on a downhill section, just past a blind curve. Literally sitting in the trail. If I had not heard them before I got there, it could have been bad. So please…Use your brain! Also, there is a hiking-only trail at River Mountain Park you can hike. It’s pretty nice.

Plan Your Trip

There’s really not much planning needed to ride the MTB trails at River Mountain Park. For your first trip there, I recommend having the MTB Project app on your phone to help navigate the trails. Being in West Little Rock, the park has great cell service for accessing this article, the video, or any other info you need. There is a public restroom and water fountains at Two Rivers Park, just a stone’s throw away. Bring any other drinks or snacks you may need for your ride. Please remember to pack out what your take in and leave no trace.

I ride the MTB trails at River Mountain Park year-round. But my favorite time of year to ride is late Winter to early Spring before it greens up. As I mentioned, River Mountain Park is not all that big, so I wouldn’t consider it a “destination” park. But combined with Pinnacle Mountain State Park, Rattlesnake Ridge, and Camp Robinson, Little Rock is a nice destination for mountain biking. Even more are on the way near the Big Rock Quarry pump track, as well as Benton. And there are plenty of restaurants and breweries around for post-ride rewards. Hope you enjoy this park. Please leave it like you found it and be safe out there!