Bikepacking Roots
Experience Fayetteville Create Route Network
Bikepacking Roots and Experience Fayetteville launched the Fayetteville Bikepacking Route Network in October. This unique, progressive suite of loops offers multiday riding adventures for bikepackers of all experience levels.
The route network showcases the region’s extensive array of quiet gravel roads, rural communities and diverse landscapes, including the Springfield Plateau, the Ozark’s Boston Mountains and the Buffalo River Valley. Five unique routes range 60-190 miles, and these loops can be linked together into several longer tours of up to 260-plus miles.
“With more than a million acres of National Forest and hundreds of miles of gravel roads at our door, Fayetteville is a natural basecamp for outdoor adventure,” Molly Rawn, Experience Fayetteville CEO, said. “We’re excited to lead the way in launching the first curated set of bikepacking routes in our region from overnight to multiday adventures.”
Riders new to bikepacking can progress through these loops to gain experience and confidence, and more seasoned bikepackers can use the longer routes as preparation for the even more ambitious Arkansas High Country Route.
The network boasts a range of riding experiences that vary both in length and technicality. Beginner-friendly overnight loops meander through gentle hills on the Razorback Greenway and out to Lake Wedington. The rugged Boston Mountains and Devil’s Den State Park are visited on a pair of two- and three-day loops. And the incredibly scenic Buffalo River country lies to the east, the destination of loops taking three to four-plus days. All these routes begin in Fayetteville.
Kurt Refsnider, Bikepacking Roots’ co-founder and routes director, led the development of the new network, in collaboration with local experts like Andrew Onermaa of Ozark Gravel Cyclists.
“The terrain and gravel-riding opportunities in the Fayetteville region are incredibly diverse,” Refsnider said. “This is the perfect place to host a suite of routes that cater to the full spectrum of bikepackers. The route network takes riders to some absolute gems along the way.”
Extensive route information is available at bikepackingroots.org/project/fayetteville. Also available is a foldable guidebook with logistical information to support trip planning and detailed overviews of each route option. Guidebooks can be picked up at the Experience Fayetteville visitor center or by emailing bike@expfay.com.
“At Bikepacking Roots, we are committed to developing and stewarding high-quality bikepacking routes across the country that expand opportunities for cyclists of all levels,” Noelle Battle of Bikepacking Roots said. “I couldn’t be more excited to launch this innovative, beginner-focused bikepacking network in a place like Fayetteville and the greater Northwest Arkansas region.”
