White-tail deer munch tender shoots in a forest, looking up from their snack at a bevy of bicycle riders whizzing by.
A few pedal strokes later, those same bikers see tall buildings and traffic, typical landscape of a busy city.
For Information about the Razorback Regional Greenway and more trails in Northwest Arkansas, go to www.nwatrails.org.
Source: Staff Report
The scenery can change in hurry during a ride on the region's growing network of hard-surface trails. Riders, runners and walkers take to the pathways in good numbers for enjoyment and exercise. Biking is a fine way to sample the trails. There's one route that meanders through woods one moment, city the next.
A bicycle ride from the Botanical Garden of the Ozarks to south Fayetteville and back is a 22-mile trip that offers a tour of the college town from top to bottom. It's a favorite route of bike enthusiasts, as we found out during a ride May 22 from the botanical garden to Walker Park and back.
Misty Murphy with the Northwest Arkansas Council, Tom Mowry of Nob Hill and I hopped on our bikes and took off into the warm, sunny morning.
Murphy is the council's regional trails coordinator and keeps a pulse on trail use in all the Northwest Arkansas communities that will soon be connected by the Razorback Regional Greenway, a 36-mile continuous hard-surface trail between south Fayetteville and Lake Bella Vista in north Bentonville.
Many of those miles are open now, but all of the greenway should be finished by the end of this year, Murphy said.
Some off-trail work may not be complete by 2015, but bicycle riders and foot travelers will be able to go from south Fayetteville to Lake Bella Vista, or vice-versa, and never leave the trail.
Change Of Scenery
Variety is what draws a lot of pedalers to this popular route between the botanical garden and Walker Park. We rode at an easy pace on a southward course that borders Lake Fayetteville for the first few miles. Walkers, runners and bicycle riders were out in good numbers on this Thursday morning.
Meadows and wildflowers greet trail trekkers on first mile or so near the lake. That gives way to forest and snippet views of Lake Fayetteville. Observant riders may notice some small, cottage-like dwellings made of rock soon after the trail goes downhill from the lake. They're like little one-room cabins.
"Word is that there was an old theme park here, kind of like Dogpatch," Murphy said, mentioning the defunct attraction near Harrison. The rock cottages were part of the park.
It isn't until the trail passes through a tunnel under College Avenue that bikers are really immersed in the woods.
Riders may feel they're in the middle of the Ozark National Forest instead of a city. Trees muffle the sound of nearby traffic. Mowry has seen deer several times while rolling through this section. It's even more scenic where the trail parallels Clear Creek downstream from the Lake Fayetteville dam.
Anyone with shopping to do can take the spur trail to Northwest Arkansas Mall, but we stayed the course.
"It always amazes me the demographic of people you see using the trail," Murphy said while we pedaled. Indeed, everyone from toddlers with their parents to senior citizens were out and about on a lovely day.
The landscape gradually became more urban as we headed south through the city. We passed within a few yards of apartment buildings and parking lots, and beside the University of Arkansas cross-country course.
Where the trail crosses busy streets, trail travelers can activate traffic signals with the push of a button. On our ride, we noticed that most motorists stopped to let us cross even before we pressed the button.
People use these trails for transportation as well as recreation and exercise.
"People ride or walk to work," Murphy said. "There's more use for transportation in Fayetteville, whereas in Bentonville, most of the traffic is recreational."
Murphy is happy to see that trail work is moving along nicely. "I'm really excited about Springdale. People use the sidewalks there so much for transportation, walking or biking. It could be the most heavily used part of the Razorback Greenway."
On The Level
So here we'd ridden several miles through what many call a mountain town and we hadn't climbed a hill. Most of the miles through city are flat because the trail parallels creeks. It's in the floodplain of the little streams. The route is a biker's delight, unless you like hills.
Where the trail crosses Dickson Street, there's easy access to all that the entertainment avenue offers. If there's an art exhibit at the Walton Arts Center that strikes your fancy, it's only yards from the trail.
Scenery is more rural on the last mile to Walker Park. There's plenty of greenery and wildflowers. For now the park is the end of the line, the southern terminus of the Razorback Regional Greenway. Murphy said there's talk of lengthening the trail beyond the park.
Bike riders don't have to end their ride here. Start at the botanical garden and you get to turn around and ride back.
Outdoors on 07/03/2014