RIDING THE CHICKALAH: A new mountain bike trail opens Saturday on Mount Nebo.

Cyclists have another reason to thank the forward-thinking folks at the Arkansas Parks and Recreation Foundation: The new Monument Trail at Mount Nebo State Park, which opens Saturday, July 27. The trail’s 7-mile Chickalah Loop, for intermediate mountain bike riders, includes berms and (optional) advanced gaps and jumps in an area of Nebo that has not been accessible previously.

The trail was created with the help of a grant of $519,000 from the bike-loving Walton Family Foundation, at the recommendation of Sam Walton grandsons Steuart and Tom. Rock Solid Trail Contracting built the trail. The Chickalah Trail is the second Monument Trail: The first was the 18-mile track at Hobbs State Park outside Rogers, built with a $2 million grant from the Walton foundation. Another trail, at Pinnacle Mountain State Park, is in the design stage. Tom and Steuart Walton are not just bike lovers: studies by the family foundation found that the Razorback and other trails they’ve built in Northwest Arkansas estimated the economic benefit to the region at $137 million.

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The Chickalah can be accessed from the parking area at the Bench Trail Overlook just below the top of the mountain on state Hwy. 155. The 4-mile doubletrack Bench Trail is for novice riders and offers views of the mountain.

Another 17 miles of Monument Trail will be built in Phase 2, and will encompass experienced, intermediate and novice options.

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