Tips for Riding Coler Mountain Bike Preserve: Bentonville’s Backyard Bike Park
If you asked me where the best place to mountain bike in Bentonville is, I’d point you straight to Coler Mountain Bike Preserve. It might not be the biggest trail network around, but (IMO) it packs the most in: flowy machine-built jump lanes (hello, Fireline), chunky tech (Here’s Johnny is no joke), and plenty in between. No matter your riding style or level, Coler delivers.
But it’s not just about the trails. A 2-mile paved path runs through the preserve, connecting a hike-in-only coffee shop, riverside hangout spots, art installations, and even a campground. It’s a place to ride hard, then kick back.
Whenever I’m in Bentonville, Coler is always on my ride radar. In this guide, I’ll share how to make the most of it including my favorite trails and tips and what you should look out for…
Quick Tips
For exploring Coler Mountain Bike Preserve
TWW Take
Please note that these are my personal opinions – you may argue otherwise! And if so, state your case (politely) in the comments 🙂
Fun-ness Factor
Trail Variety
Average Difficulty
The Good & Not So Good of Mountain Biking at Coler Preserve
What I like
What I don’t
5-Day Bentonville Mountain Biking Itinerary
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Planning your rides at Coler
Best trails to hit
Honestly, all of the trails at Coler are worth checking out (except maybe Here’s Johnny and Copperhead Road if you don’t like tech)
- Family Flow (beginner)
- Esters (beginner)
- Fire Line (intermediate – a must!)
- Thunder Dome (intermediate)
- Rock Hard/Soft/Salad (advanced)
- Cease & Desist (advanced – Drop the Hammer Trail)
Tip: It’s almost impossible to follow a pre-planned route at Coler. Instead, I recommend choosing a few trails you want to hit and go from there.
Route recommendations
- Coler Wet Weather Route (beginner+) – If the trails are wet, the machine-built ones will be closed. Here’s a route you can do instead.
- Coler Roller (intermediate) – This was a stage race course from 2024, but it’ll give you a good tour of Coler so you get the lay of the land.
Coler Mountain Bike Preserve Map
Watch BKXC ride the trails at Coler MTB Preserve
FAQs & Planning Tips
🅿️ Parking: Parking was a lot more challenging before they added a much larger parking lot above Thunder Dome. There are three parking areas to access Coler:
- Coler Grove: This is where I usually park. It’s a large paved lot above South Gateway and provides instant access to Thunder Dome and Family Flow. There are bathrooms and water fountains.
- North Gateway: This is a small parking area located on the north end of Coler Preserve. It provides the quickest and easiest access to the more advanced trails starting from The Hub. There are no bathrooms or water fountains here, but there is a bike tool/repair station.
- South Gateway: Located at the south end of Coler, this parking area is quite a bit larger and has bathrooms, a water fountain, and a bike tool station.
You can also easily ride to Coler from downtown Bentonville. It’s mostly flat and there is a bike lane on Third Street. Expect to add maybe 2 miles roundtrip to your ride.
🗺️ Navigating the trails: Coler isn’t a huge network and all the trails will bring you down to the paved Applegate path that runs north/south through the park. That said, it is a bit confusing to know which way is north/south, so you can do bonus miles if you don’t know which way to go. Have a map (like TrailForks) downloaded to your phone.
💧 Water: There is water at Coler Grove parking, Third Street Parking, and Airship Coffeeshop.
📅 How many days: At least one full day. There’s so much riding in Bentonville that it’s hard to justify more than one day here if you’re only visiting. But… it’s pretty darn fun and you may want to budget another day here if you have the time.
☀️ When to go: Bentonville can be ridden year-round depending on the weather. That said, the machine-built flow trails do close for rain, snow, and wet conditions. These include: Fire Line, Cease & Desist, Thunder Dome, Family Flow, Drop the Hammer, and Dirt Therapy. The other trails stay open. (See my Wet Weather route recommendation above).
🚲 What type of bike to bring: A short or mid-travel full-suspension mountain bike.
⚡️ E-bikes: Yup! e-bikes are alive and thriving at Coler Mountain Bike Preserve.
⛺️ There’s a small campground on the north side of Coler Preserve that has tent platforms and car/van camping spots. There are also showers and bathrooms. Fair warning, though: the van sites book up months in advance! You can make Coler camping reservations here.
What’s the deal with Airship Coffee? Airship is a hike/bike-in only coffee shop in the middle of Coler. How cool is that?! They serve coffee as well as smoothies and light food like nachos and tacos. They also serve local beer.
A few things to know about Airship at Coler:
- If you’re walking in, it’s about 1 mile in from the south parking lot and .75 miles in from the north parking area.
- There’s a small swimming hole across the from Airship if you need to cool (or rinse..) off.
- There’s no wifi.
- Grab a spot on the roof patio – it’s usually quieter and has nice views.
- You can pay with your phone if you don’t have your wallet.
Coler Mountain Bike Preserve is one of the places I keep coming back to every time I visit Bentonville. The trails are so much fun, the vibe is chill, and there’s something for every kind of rider. Whether I’m looking for a relaxed flow day, I want to session tech, or I’m feeling confident and want to hit some air features, it always leaves me feeling like I had a good day on the bike. If you’re heading to Bentonville, definitely put Coler at the top of your list. You’ll probably find yourself riding it more than once. I always do!
Have you been to Bentonville? What did you think of Coler Mountain Bike Preserve? Does it live up to the hype? Leave a comment below!
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Great information. Is the Coler Bike Preserve open year round; do they close for part of the season, and what happens when the weather turns bad?
Yes, Coler Preserve is open year-round weather dependent. They’ll close it due to muddy/snowy trails but there isn’t a ‘closed season’.
Great write up! How would you compare Coler to the Mt Kessler trails?
Coler is definitely more developed and popular than Mt. Kessler. It has a lot more jumps, features, and machine-built trails. They’re both fun depending on what you’re looking for!