Riders who came home with sore legs, a dirty bike and smelling like campfire smoke may have been part of the annual Ozark Mountain Bike Festival held April 4-5 at Devil's Den State Park.
Guided rides through the forest, seminars and bike-related games were part of the 27th annual festival at the state park west of Winslow. A camping area along Lee Creek was headquarters for this celebration geared for riders of all abilities.
Ride Devil’s Den
The Fossil Flats Trail at Devil’s Den State Park is open for mountain biking and hiking. The trailhead is at Campground A along Lee Creek.
Riders can explore up to 5.5 miles of forests and streams. There are two creek crossings to cover the 5.5 miles and the terrain is rough in places. Other trails are open for hiking and horseback riding.
Information: Devil’s Den State Park, 479-761-3325, www.arkansasstatepa….
This year's festival was one of the largest, with 250 riders taking part, said Tim Scott, assistant park superintendent and avid off-road biker. The high turnout is evidence that mountain bike riding is growing rapidly in the region, Scott said.
"There's so much going on with mountain biking. So many new trails are being built and that's one reason interest in mountain biking has skyrocketed," Scott said.
The number of pedalers on group rides this year was at an all-time high. The first group ride on Friday afternoon set a record, said Adam Leslie, interpretive naturalist who led the trip.
"This is, by far, the biggest group we've ever had for our Friday ride," Leslie told a group of 15 riders eager to go. "Usually we only get five or six."
The Saturday early morning trip usually brings out 10 or so. This year, 25 set out for routes of three to five miles.
There's something for everyone at the festival, held the first weekend of April. Kids with training wheels roll on the paved road around the campground. Beginner mountain bikers take rides of three to five miles around the Fossil Flats Trail. Expert gear heads trek to 25 miles through the Ozark National Forest and on isolated gravel roads.
Nonriders hike, go to the visitor center or make s'mores on the campfire.
Roots At Devil's Den
Mountain biking in Arkansas has roots at Devil's Den, Scott said. In the mid 1980s, off-road cycling was gaining a foothold in the state. The park superintendent in those days heard of a mountain bike festival set for Crested Butte, Colo. He and Scott travelede to Colorado in 1988 for the event. They decided Devil's Den was the perfect place for a similar festival.
"We stole every idea we could get and brought it back," Scott said.
The first Ozark Mountain Bike Festival took place in 1989. That first one was mainly over logging roads around the park, Scott recalled.
About the same time, the Fossil Flats Trail at Devil's Den was built piece by piece, designed for off-road riding. Soon a three-mile route was complete. Nowadays riders can explore up to 5.5 scenic miles thanks to expansions and reroutes.
Pedalers on the Saturday morning trip were the first riders to lay tracks on a new one-half-mile section at the start of the Fossil Flats Trail. The new path goes closer to Lee Creek and avoids a rough logging road.
There's a cook-out for riders on Saturday night, with home-made ice cream created in a churn powered by pedals.
Riding, burgers and ice cream are reasons to plan for the 28th annual festival next April.
Flip Putthoff can be reached at [email protected] or on Twitter @NWAFlip
Sports on 04/16/2015