You may have noticed a lot of new trail showing up at Camp Robinson. Besides the weekend trail crews, there have been many smaller crews working on weekdays to improve the trails. Here are some things that you may have noticed this weekend. Enjoy the before and after photos.

Thanks to Bryan and Melissa Shipman for all the above work. 

Also, stay tuned for information on improved access to the trails including a better process for purchasing a Sportsman Pass so you can enjoy these trails and help with their maintenance.

Eureka Springs April 8-10 2016

The Nature Conservancy, Rich Carlsen of Sugar Ridge Resort, Carroll County Ozark Off Road Cyclists and Ozark Off Road Cyclists (main chapter) are hosting a Ladies Only trail build weekend.​

The focus of this work party is the private trail for the deckhouse.  Upon completion, the installation of this 2 mile trail marks the first collaboration between The Nature Conservancy and mountain bikers.

We will be staying at an exclusive resort home with one of the most amazing views in Northwest Arkansas!!

This is truly a NO BOYS ALLOWED event.  Don’t even try it :)

Tentative Schedule:
Friday-
    3-6pm meet and greet
    6pm Dinner-Baked Potato Bar
Saturday-
    7am Continental Breakfast
    830am Safety Meeting
    9-Noon-ish Trail Work
    Noon-ish-Lunch
    6pm Dinner-Taco Bar
Sunday-
    7am Continental Breakfast
    830am meeting (if necessary)
    9-Noon-ish Trail Work
    Noon-ish Lunch
    2pm Ride at Lake Leatherwood

Accommodations, meals, beverages and tools provided.
Space is limited, 16 remaining beds available on first come first served basis.  

For sign-up, questions, dietary restrictions and complete location information, please contact Melanie Norris mtbikechic1@gmail.com

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Representatives from the National Interscholastic Cycling Association (NICA) brought high school and junior high school competitive mountain biking to central Arkansas this past weekend. Nick and Haley McCurry along with Steve Schneider, the regional International Mountain Bicycling Association (IMBA) represented were hosted by Central Arkansas Trail Alliance at Boyle park for the first NICA training workshop in the area.

After a quick orientation to the program, the group headed out to the field for some drills.

And then it was time to hit the trails.

Here is a short video of the group enjoying the newly built section at Boyle Park.

After a good ride, it was time for lunch and the final wrap up on the day.

If you're interested in the NICA program contact them through their website. They need coaches and participants. IF you would like to keep up with these events, follow CATA on Facebook and Twitter.

Thanks to Bob Black-Ocken for the sound system and photography, Matt Goddard for photography, the Carve Mountain Bike Team for their support and Mike Mitchell for Pizza and Root Beer.

A new trail is forming at Camp Robinson. Volunteer built. Eight people, and a couple of dogs, showed up to work. There is more to do to complete this new section. If you want to be among the first to ride some of this beautiful new trail, come out to help at one of our trail love days. Like us on Facebook to keep up on upcoming trail love days.

Nine volunteers showed up this past Saturday to work on trails at Camp Robinson. Sizing up the immediate needs of the trail, the volunteers split into three groups and attacked the day's work. The teams completed a reroute on 5 mile along with some trail cleaning plus a bridge and rock work on Can O' Corn. Check out this quick video of how the new bridge was built.

Watch our main page or sign up for our newsletter or like our Facebook Page to keep up with future Trail Love Days and other events. And of course, you can join CATA and support trail work throughout Central Arkansas.

Yesterday, Central Arkansas Trail Alliance Vice-President, Mike Mitchell, organized a trail love day at Boyle Park to finish up blowing leaves off the trails and to clear some fallen trees, particularly on the more technical sections on the eastern sides of the park. Thanks to everyone who was able to help out. Check out some of the before and after photos from volunteer, Eric Crawford.

Now go out and have a blast and don't forget the trail love day next weekend at Camp Robinson.

This past Sunday, before the Superbowl, two groups of local trail advocates with the Central Arkansas Trail Alliance got some needed work done on the Camp Robinson Mountain Bike Trails. One group, under the leadership of Basil Hicks Jr. built a new bridge near the intersection of Can O' Corn and a new reroute of Dogwood. The other team, lead by Eric Grimmett, worked on the Dogwood reroute. Many of you know of the erosion problem on Dogwood. This should hopefully make it a more enjoyable and sustainable trail. See the two galleries below to get a climpse of the work that was done. Thanks again to all the volunteers who turned and burned out there to make this happen. If you haven't been to Camp in a while, check out our Camp Robinson page to get the latest info on the trails and getting access to them.

Bridge and rock work crew included Basil Hicks Jr, Basil Hicks III, Sharon Saunders, Hal Hedges, Richard Thompson, and Pam Stehle.

Please like our Facebook page to keep up on upcoming workdays at Camp Robinson, Boyle Park, Pinnacle Mountain State Park and other area trail systems. 

Boyle Park is a much older park than many local residents realize. Built in the 1930's  by the Civilian Conservation Corps, the park was considered outside of Little Rock. A distant oasis offering gathering places, escape from the city and trails. Rock Creek cuts the park in two and trails still give visitors a little recreation. A bridge and pavilions are some of the last nods to the depression era workers who built this park.

The park is still an oasis but now instead of being on the outskirts it's in the center of Mid-Town Little Rock. Still, a beautiful place to gather as a group or seek to rejuvenate through personal trail use.

Central Arkansas Trail Alliance hosted the 2014 Take A Kid Mountain Biking day on these beginner to intermediate trails. The Arkansas Super-Prestige Cyclocross Series holds a race here every year and hundreds of mountain bikers have used these trails for fun and training. CATA has done trail reroutes on the East Section of the trail including a bridge building. 

CATA had toyed with the idea of exploring an unused section in the West section of the park last Winter but ran out of time. This year, board members did some exploring and laid out 3/4 miles of new trail to connect to much of the current trail in the park. The design hoped to create some long, flowing sections with some short climbs. 

While exploring, they found an old built in grill and made it a focal point of the trail. Next they scheduled a trail work day at the park, inviting all those interested and Little Rock Parks and Recreation staff. On January 31, 2016 about 21 people showed up at 9 am and throughout the morning at least 10 more people showed up. They were all ready to work.

We divided into two teams, starting at each end of the trail and working toward each other. Backpack blowers, rakes and loppers were the tools of the day. Whenever you start on trail work with a large group of people who's capabilities are unknown, as a leader, there is a fear that a lot of mistakes will be made and progress will be slow. Luckily, this is usually not true. Once the teams got started and settled into their jobs, they made short work of it. They moved through the trails with easy, raking, filling holes, lopping limbs and working the trail bed. 
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Once the two teams met up some more finishing work was done as volunteers took turns enjoying hot dogs and hamburgers cooked on the historic grill. After lunch, volunteers began cleaning up while a few folks took to chainsaws to clear the few trees that had unknowingly fallen on our new trail years before we stepped into those woods. 

In all, it was a great show of teamwork, what a handful of dedicated people can do in a few hours. Today we added almost a mile of new trail to the inventory of great trail in Central Arkansas. There will be more work days as we dial in the trail. We'll have other opportunities to build and maintain trails. 

Thanks again to all the volunteers for taking part in the creation of this beautiful piece of trail.

CATA recently applied for a Blue and You Foundation grant to launch the Maumelle Charter School Mountain Bike Program. This proposed program represents a partnership between CATA and the Maumelle Charter School that would provide students with access to mountain bikes and introduce mountain biking into the school’s physical education program.

The grant application is a result of ongoing conversations and collaboration between CATA and Maumelle Charter School administrators.

CATA is excited at the prospect of working with the Maumelle Charter School to introduce mountain biking to a new generation of riders and trail stewards. Be sure to watch the CATA website and Facebook page for updates on the grant and Mountain Bike Program.