Our family loaded up our bikes and drove to NW Arkansas for an awesome biking adventure! We started in Fayetteville and rode the Razorback Greenway to Springdale and ended in Bentonville. We stayed in different lodging options along the way, and carried our kids and gear on our bikes. We parked our car and trailer at our first stop and my husband took an Uber back to our car to bring it back to us! Our total bike trip was 55 miles and it was such a great experience in this very bike-friendly area.
Bike Logistics
For bikes, my husband, Mark, and I both rode electric cargo bikes. I rode my Bunch Bike (which can fit 6 kids in the front cargo carrier)! I carried our gear and our older 3 daughters’ bikes. My husband rode his Radio Flyer Via that fits two kids in the cargo carrier. He also attached the Radio Flyer’s bike trailer that fits two other kids. Our daughters are 8yo, 6yo, 3.5yo and 1.5yo and have woom bikes. My 8yo rode a lot of the miles, but when she needed a break, I pulled her bike on my Bunch Bike using Schleptastic’s Tow Monster. It is a great device to pull a bike behind mine!
Read below for our itinerary!
Table of Contents
Day 1: Fayetteville
We loaded our bikes up on our trailer and drove from St. Louis to our first stop: Fayetteville. We stayed at The Graduate, which is located in the downtown area. We had a connecting room (one king bed in one room and 2 queen beds in the second room). This was such a cool spot. All of the key cards are college student ID cards from actual University of Arkansas students! The notepads in the hotel room were scantron sheets!!
Day 2: Fayetteville
Little Bread Co (Breakfast)
We walked from The Graduate to a great breakfast spot, The Little Bread Co (a 3 minute walk). There were so many great pastries, fresh quiche and coffee selections. Our favorite part was a hidden patio with ivy next to the cafe
Ozark Natural Foods (Lunch)
Next, we walked to Ozark Natural Foods to pick up some lunch for our picnic later on. It reminded me of a combination of Trader Joe’s, Whole Foods and Fresh Thyme! We picked out suski, charcuterie and some sandwiches. There was a nice covered patio outside of Ozark Natural Foods with many tables and bench swings.
Terra Studios
We drove to Terra Studios, a great nonprofit that has their 50th anniversary this year. We had a fun family pottery class and then had a picnic on the beautiful grounds. We had a blast making pinch pots and the class was so family-friendly! On the grounds, there were gazebos, bridges, 3 playhouses and plenty of picnic tables. We bought some fish food to feed the fish and turtles in the pond too! We went back to our hotel, parked the car and unloaded our bikes to start our biking adventure.
Art Court
Our first stop was Art Court. This is a free, public basketball court with beautiful art decorating the court. We had fun shooting baskets before hopping on our bikes again to the Razorback Greenway. The Razorback Greenway is 40 miles long in Northwest Arkansas. This led us to a new public park (The Ramble). Fayetteville has a free concert called Weekend Starts. There was a free craft for families, as well as a live band and creek play. Our girls make dragonflies out of whisks! I really was obsessed with this area. Everything was right along the greenway and it was just beautiful along the creek.
Penguin Ed’s (Dinner)
We biked from the Ramble to Penguin Ed’s Barbeque. We hopped off the greenway and rode through some neighborhoods to get there. Penguin Ed’s is a great bbq joint that has been in this location for 30 years. I had a baked potato with brisket and my husband had the ribs, which were huge! Our four girls went crazy for the mac & cheese that we ordered another round for them–I think all of the biking built up an appetite for them. We hopped back on our bikes and rode back to The Graduate for the night.
Day 3: Fayetteville to Springdale
Boulders and Brews
After breakfast at the hotel, we headed to Boulders and Brews. It was thunderstorming, so we decided to park the bikes at the hotel and drive there. Boulders and Brews was amazing and we could have stayed there all day! There is 3000 square feet of climbing with 90 routes. A new route is reset every Wednesday and there are rental shoes for both kids and adults. There is no minimum age and our 1.5yo loved to join in with her big sisters! We met Fallon, one of the owners, who opened the climbing gym almost 3 years ago. There is a coffee bar, a kids area with games, a sauna and so much more!
Farmer’s Market
The rain stopped (yay!) so we headed to downtown Fayetteville’s Farmer’s Market. There were many great food options, fresh flowers and local vendors. There was live music too. We bought fresh strawberries from a farm stand and bought burritos and tacos from Decigas Lab’s food truck.
Biking from Fayetteville to Springdale
We rode 15 miles from Fayetteville to Springdale. Our trail was entirely on the Razorback Greenway! This area is just so bike-friendly. There were playgrounds, restaurants and a lake along the route. We followed a creek almost the way and there was a long tunnel that was the girls’ favorite! At one point we passed the greenway right next to a huge waterfall!! When we arrived at Springdale, everything was incredibly bike-friendly. Every road we went on had a bike lane!! And if there wasn’t a bike lane on the actual road, there was a two lane trail alongside the road (a wider sidewalk with a lane).
The Price House Airbnb
We made it to our Airbnb, which is a 3 bed, 2 bath home with a fenced in backyard, laundry and right down the street from downtown Springdale.
NW Naturals Game
This was the most kid-friendly baseball game we have ever been to! This kids zone is right next to the field (inside the stadium). The bounce houses, baseball simulator and mini golf were all open through the 7th inning. This was all inside of the stadium gates and we could view the stadium from here! In addition to all of these fun things, there is a train ride that goes around the whole baseball stadium. There is also a great playground right at the back of the stadium. My 3yo said, “Mom, I wish I could live here at the stadium!” Honestly, me too! It really was that cool. The Naturals won the game and we had fun cheering them on. When we left the game, the staff handed out suckers. This was so family-friendly!!
Gaskins on Emma (Dinner)
After the game, we headed to downtown Springdale for a late dinner. Downtown is right at mile 16 of the Razorback Greenway (almost the halfway point). We ate at Gaskins on Emma for dinner. Everything was incredible!! We split two ribeye between the six of us, as well as some sides (corn, mac and cheese and broccolini). The ribeye was incredible and there was none left! Great vibe and great food here. I really like Springdale’s downtown area. It is very walkable and bikeable. You can hop on the greenway right from downtown!
Day 4: Springdale to Bentonville
We woke up to more thunderstorms and rain, so we sat on the covered front porch for a while and watched the rain. We headed to Mass and breakfast before biking to Bentonville.
Onyx Coffee Lab (Breakfast)
This gem opened in downtown Springdale last month. They just had their official grand opening party on Saturday. This spot, food and drinks were incredible. On the first floor, there are plenty of seating options and you can order food/drinks. Downstairs is the chocolate maker. He walked us through types of chocolate and gave us samples to try. Onyx is at mile 16 of the Razorback Greenway, which made it so easy to hop right on the greenway to start biking to Bentonville.
Biking from Springdale to Bentonville
The Razorback Greenway is just so scenic with many bridges and streams flowing underneath. And, so many tunnels! Whenever the trail has to go along the street, there is a separate bike lane right next to the road. The rain stopped after 5 miles into our ride and the sun came out. The rest of the ride to Bentonville was great and our girls took turns riding their bikes along the way! So thankful for our Bunch Bike and Radio Flyer for making their trip seamless.
The Bike Inn
We stayed at The Bike Inn, which is a bike-themed inn and it is so great! The girls were so excited about their bikes hanging up! My favorite was the neon sign that said “Bike, Sleep, Repeat!” Our suite had a living room, a bathroom and a bedroom (with two Queen beds). There was also enough room for Maria’s pack n’ play. This was a great community outdoor spot, including a sauna, fire pit, hot tub and ice bath. There is also a community lounge with a snack shop, extra showers and bike essentials.
Gusano’s Pizza (Dinner)
We headed to Gusano’s for deep dish pizza! It was only 2 minutes from The Bike Inn. I recommend coming here earlier in the day for less crowds. There was a nice patio that we sat outside at and the pizza was wonderful!
Day 5: Bentonville
There were thunderstorms throughout the night, so Mark took an Uber to move our car back up to us. We used our car to drive around to some attractions until the storms stopped and we could bike again. We were supposed to bikepack at Coler Mountain Bike Preserve, but thankfully we were able to pivot and stay at The Bike Inn to avoid storms.
Stone Mill Cafe (breakfast)
We started off with breakfast at the Stone Mill Cafe. This was 0.3 miles from The Bike Inn and everything was incredibly tasty and fresh. I’m still dreaming about the blueberry scones!
Amazeum
Amazeum is a fantastic kids’ museum with 50,000 square footage of interactive learning, including 1 acre of outdoor space. We didn’t get to explore outside due to storms, but it looks awesome too. Our favorite areas were the water area, the leaf climbers over the exhibits, and the visiting dinosaur exhibit. Roar & Explore with Dinosaurs will be open now through September 15. It is a 2,500 square feet exhibit that invites children to journey back to the age of dinosaurs. They also have multiple areas that are fenced and gates for children under 2. There was even a secluded nursing corner there. We also joined in on a Hershey’s Lab, where we became scientists and did a candy sink & float experiment.
Crystal Bridges Museum
Next, we headed to one of the coolest places I have been to! Crystal Bridges is massive and was much larger than what I had pictured. It was founded by Alice Walton, and the Walton Family Foundation played a huge role in the development. Crystal Bridges is situated on 134 acres of Ozark nature and the general admission is always free. This stunning museum focuses on American art and stunning architecture. There are 5 miles of trails on the museum grounds with sculptures around the trails. We took the free shuttle from Amazeum to Crystal Bridges.
We ate lunch at Eleven, a restaurant inside of Crystal Bridges. It is connected to the rest of the exhibits, so it’s a perfect location for exploring. The food was phenomenal (my quinoa bowl was awesome) and our food came quickly.
The Art in Bloom floral show ended the day we were there and it was fun to walk around and see the different artwork. We saw the current KAWS exhibit too. I thought the KAWS section on Covid and the pandemic was really moving. There was also a studio area for people to create art, which I just loved.
Best Friends Animal Society
Built in 1984, Best Friends is the largest no-kill shelter in the nation. This NW location has roughly 200 animals adopted each month, with 240 so far this month! We read to the kittens and cats and played with the dogs. There was a slide from the 1st floor to the basement floor, which my kids just loved! We loved walking around and spending time with the animals. There is a coffee shop here where the proceeds go towards the shelter.
Tusk and Trotter (Dinner)
For dinner, we headed to Tusk and Trotter in downtown Bentonville. This was great food and we liked being downtown so we could walk the city after dinner.
Trash Ice Cream
Our after dinner treat was at Trash Ice Cream. This place was awesome. It had so many ice cream mix-ins and sundae options.
Day 6: Bentonville
Coler Mountain Bike Preserve (Airship Coffee)
We woke up to no rain, so we hopped on our bikes to explore Bentonville. We biked to Coler Mountain Bike Preserve. Coler is a fantastic bike park and trail system for people of all ages and abilities. It is just a 5 minute drive from downtown Bentonville. We rode on the paved pedestrian trail, which is the only route that leads to Airship Coffee (coffee shop and breakfast spot)! It is about one mile from the parking lot. There were people biking, walking, pushing strollers and roller skating. I loved Airship Coffee’s vibe. There were these huge giant swings and plenty of seating on top of the Airship too. I highly recommend the breakfast record and berry smoothies!
After breakfast, we explored the trails. There are paved trails in addition to mountain biking trails (over 17 miles of trails total). Our older two girls loved biking the Good Vibrations trail. A large portion of the trail is parallel to the paved trail, so we just rode our electric bikes beside them.
Bentonville Bike Playground
After the trails, we biked 3 miles north to Bentonville Bike Playground. This opened in 2016 and is a one acre bike playground for all ages. There are tunnels, dirt trails and a pump track. They also had bike stations, which Mark used to tighten our daughter’s bike handlebars. We saw bike stations pretty much everywhere we visited on this trip, which was so great! From there, we rode our bikes on the Razorback Greenway to the Crystal Bridges Museum Art Trail.
Crystal Bridges Museum Art Trail
The art trail goes around the grounds of Crystal Bridges and there are wide paved trails throughout the area. We loved seeing all of the sculptures, especially biking under a huge spider! My favorite area were huge colorful flowers called “Flowers that Bloom Now” by Yayoi Kusama.
Crepes Paulette (Lunch)
We biked by beautiful Orchard Park before biking to lunch at Crepes Paulette. Crepes Paulette has so many savory and sweet crepes of every possible combo! There was a large front window where we watched the crepes being made. Our favorite savory crepe was “The Beast,” which had ham, salami, eggs and cheese. Our favorite sweet crepe was a tie between “cinnamon roll” or the classic Nutella and strawberries. This was such a great last stop on our biking adventure!
We clocked in 55 miles for our bikepacking trip through Fayetteville, Springdale and Bentonville. The Razorback Greenway connected all of these cities and we were blown away by how bike-friendly everything was. We are so thankful for these cities for partnering with us! Here’s to many more biking adventures in this lovely area!
