Arkansas

Arkansas's Arkansas River Trail | Photo by Scott Stark

Top 10 Trails in Arkansas

Posted 09/10/21 by Robert Annis in America's Trails | Tagged with Arkansas, Best Of, Top10, Trail Destinations

Arkansas may seem to have gone all-in on singletrack—Bentonville bills itself as the “mountain bike capital of the world”—but there’s a growing number of rail-trails! It makes sense, as Arkansas is a former railroad hotbed, with multiple lines crisscrossing the state. In the coming years, communities in northern Arkansas will spend up to $55 million on new and expanded greenways, including the 60-mile Southwest Trail linking Little Rock to Hot Springs National Park.

A view of the Junction Bridge from La Petite Roche Plaza along the Arkansas River Trail, part of the Southwest Trail | Photo by Scott Stark

Arkansas’ Southwest Trail

Posted 11/29/18 by Robert Annis in America's Trails | Tagged with Arkansas, Best Of, Biking, Connected Systems, Demand for Trails, Health and Active Living, Heritage and Restoration, History Happened Here, Local Organizing, Tourism , Tourism and Economic Development, Tourism and Economic Stimulus, Trail Businesses, Trail Communities, Trail Destinations, Trail of the Month, Walkability and Bikeability

Arkansas isn’t known for its rail-trails … yet. But after some recent success with paved corridors and unpaved, single-track paths, the Natural State’s newest rail-trail venture—the Southwest Trail—could bring both national attention and important local benefits.

Tampa Riverwalk, funded by a TIGER grant | Photo courtesy Matthew Paulson | CC BY-NC-ND 2.0

How Funding for Trails Moves America: 5 Trails Funded by TIGER

Posted 08/22/17 by Leeann Sinpatanasakul in America's Trails, Success Stories, Policy | Tagged with Arkansas, Case Studies, District Of Columbia, Federal, Funding, Georgia, Indiana, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Private Fundraising, State and Federal Programs, Success Stories, Trail Destinations, Transportation Alternatives

The federal TIGER program has funded more than $340 million in projects for trails, walking and biking to date—making it a powerful resource for those who want to create multimodal transportation choices in their communities for those who cannot or choose not to drive. Through the leveraging of additional federal, state, local and even private philanthropic sources, the highly competitive program (which also funds highway, freight rail, transit and maritime projects) promotes interplay between all levels of government and the private sector and strikes a good deal for federal transportation investments.

Photo courtesy Christa/Promising Roads via Flickr

Notice: Upcoming Railroad Abandonment in Union County, Ark., and Union Parish, La.

Posted 01/05/15 by Rails-to-Trails Conservancy in Taking Action | Tagged with Abandonment Notices, Arkansas, Corridors and Railbanking, Louisiana

On or about Dec. 30, 2014, Ouachita Railroad, Inc. filed for the abandonment of 13.4miles of trackbetween Lillie in Union Parish, La., and Junction City in Union County, Ark. We are providing this information because it presents an opportunity to develop a real regional asset: a multi-use trail that can accommodate hikers, bikers, equestrians and other appropriate uses.

Photo of a local coffee shop beside the section of Frisco Trail along active rail line © City of Fayetteville

In Fayetteville, Arkansas, Business is Booming Around Urban Trails Network

Posted 11/28/12 by Jake Lynch in America's Trails, Trail Use | Tagged with Arkansas, Rail-with-Trail, Tourism and Economic Stimulus

The third largest city in a state that was this year judged the least bike-friendly state in America, Fayetteville, Arkansas has for the past decade put an urban trails system, and bike and walkability, at the heart of its development plans.