Bentonville, Arkansas has been quietly building one of the most compelling adventure travel destinations in North America, and the industry is taking notice. The Adventure Travel Trade Association (ATTA) has selected Bentonville as the host city for AdventureELEVATE North America 2027, its signature gathering for adventure travel leaders across the continent. It's a significant vote of confidence for a city that has spent the better part of a decade transforming itself into a world-class outdoor destination. With 550+ miles of regionally-connected trail lacing through the Ozark hills and a downtown that mixes world-class art with serious outdoor culture, the city long known as Walmart's hometown has rebranded itself around bikes, nature, and discovery. In 2025, Outside Magazine gave it an official stamp of approval with a Travel Award nod, celebrating Bentonville as a mountain biking paradise. Now, in 2026, the city is raising the stakes again, and the improvements are hard to ignore.
The Big News: Arkansas Gets Its First Lift-Served Bike Park
Timed to coincide with Bentonville Bike Fest in June 2026, the OZ Trails Bike Park will open its gates, and it's a genuine milestone for the region. This is the first chairlift-served mountain bike park in Arkansas history, built right at the Bentonville-Bella Vista border on Highway 71 and Mercy Way, with direct connectivity to the broader trail network that already defines Northwest Arkansas.
World-renowned trail builders have packed more than 20 miles of purpose-built downhill trails into the park's 300 vertical feet. A high-speed detachable quad lift hauls riders to the top in about three minutes, keeping laps fast and the energy high. The terrain spans every skill level. Roughly 75% of the park is designed for beginners and intermediate riders (greens and blues) while the remaining 25% is dedicated to advanced and expert lines (blacks and double blacks). "If you've been to Bentonville, you know our work is never finished when it comes to mountain bike trails," said Katie Parsons of the Runway Group, which developed the park. More terrain is already being planned.
At the base, the brand-new OZ Trails HQ anchors the whole experience: a full-service restaurant and rooftop bar with views straight onto the chairlift, bike rentals, a retail shop, a pump track, a dirt jump zone, pro-led instruction and a bike school, and large-scale art installations woven throughout the grounds. The HQ and surrounding areas are free and open to the public.
Beyond the Bike Park
The broader trail ecosystem around Bentonville already draws riders from around the world, and the infrastructure supporting them keeps evolving. Downtown has become a hub for bike culture, with rental options, guided rides, and expert-led adventures readily available - from e-bike city tours to multi-day experiences pushing deep into the Ozarks. For visitors who want something more structured, there are guided paddles on the Buffalo River, overnight backpacking trips, and multi-sport competitions blending biking, trekking, and paddling. It's the kind of breadth that keeps people coming back not just for a weekend, but for a season.
On the cultural side, Bentonville continues to blur the line between outdoor destination and arts hub in ways few cities manage. The new Walmart Home Office campus, partially open since 2025, includes expanded public art installations deliberately designed to enrich the cycling experience — connecting riders to art, nature, and local dining as they move through the city. Meanwhile, Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art anchors the non-trail hours with an outstanding permanent collection that’s free to see, and major exhibitions rotating throughout the year. Finish the night at the Momentary, where world-renowned artists and local acts take the stage, or follow the sound to live music spilling out of bars across downtown Bentonville.
The Takeaway
Whether you're a first-timer clicking into a rental bike or a seasoned operator scouting the next great adventure destination, Bentonville deserves to be on your radar, and not just for 2026. With AdventureELEVATE North America 2027 coming to the city, the adventure travel industry will have its own chance to experience firsthand what makes Bentonville such a compelling case study in destination building.