The history of mountain bike trails at Pinnacle Mountain State Park goes back a couple of decades at least. Early on a long-range plan was made to include mountain bike trails in the area of the park just to the south of the current visitor center. A park employee had even gotten as far as flagging possible trails in the area. Unfortunately, the original design never became actual trails.
About 13 years ago a small group of trail advocates proposed starting from scratch and actually getting some trails built. There was no money but with the help of the park in creating some trailheads and a couple of years of volunteer work, trails were built. This trail system was known as The Jackfork, named for the type of sandstone that is prevalent in this area. Due to the rugged nature of the area and hand construction, the trails stayed in the lower areas of the mountain. Seven miles of trail were built and they were considered some of the most technical trails in the region. The Jackfork and Rabbit Ridge Trails, a small easier trail loop built at the base of Middle Mountain, entertained mountain bikers looking for more of a challenge for the next 10 years.
A couple of years ago, some of the same volunteers who helped to build and maintain these trails came out to deconstruct them. Since the original Jackfork had opened, many of the volunteers formed an organized group of trail stewards, Central Arkansas Trail Alliance (CATA). Signs were pulled down and bridges were taken apart, much of the wood was used in other area trail projects in central Arkansas. Room was being made for new trails, built by professional trail builders.
Over the next 2 years, Rogue Trails and Jagged Axe Trails built over 18 miles of trails, some more technical than the original and some significantly easier. Berms, jumps, drops, and flow were added. The new trails were designed to take riders, hikers, and runners to the tops of the mountains and into areas of the park that were virtually inaccessible to visitors in the past. Most of these trails opened up in September of 2020. New parking lots were added for the influx of riders that the trails were attracting. Trail counters, a bike wash station, bike racks, and bike repair stands were added. The trails became a major destination and one of the busiest of the Monument Trail systems. All of this was made possible by a partnership between Arkansas State Parks, the Arkansas Parks and Recreation Foundation, and the Walton Family Foundation.
Central Arkansas Trail Alliance continues to maintain these trails and even built a new bridge/skinny on the Upper Stick trail this past weekend.
Now we come full circle. for the past year, the trails have had only temporary signs to help with direction and wayfinding. Last week, Affordable Trail Solutions began placing new, permanent signs on the trails. The new signs include the Monument Trails logo and trail difficulty rating. When done, there will be trailhead signs that explain the difficulty ratings. There will also be directional signs along with “You Are Here” maps at the major intersections. This will take a few weeks and is not the end of improvements on this wonderful trail system.
Now, if we could just figure out where to put this sign. Did you ever take a selfie or bike lean photo at this sign?
