BENTONVILLE, Ark. — Bentonville is known for it’s popular mountain biking and walking trails, but after Memorial Day Weekend’s Storms, some of those have been closed due to damage, but crews are working to get those cleared.
“It had been raining every three or four days, the ground was highly saturated, the ground was soft,” Erin Rushing, CEO of Trailblazers said. “So when the winds came, they blew down, not the little trees, but the big trees...it's devastating when you walk out in the woods right now, it's, it's really sad to see.”
Trailblazers is a nonprofit organization that helps with trail maintenance in Northwest Arkansas. The group is also responsible for helping develop and design trails throughout Northwest Arkansas.
Rushing said contracted and volunteer crews have been out the past few weeks helping to remove debris from the trails.
“We cut the trail out, and then volunteers help clean the trails,” Rushing said. “Clean all the debris off the trails, and we rake them again, and we groom them again, and then we start riding them again.”
According to Rushing, updates regarding trail conditions are posted daily on their website and Facebook page.
The latest update dated June 13 said all trails at Applegate, Coler, Lake Atalanta, and Mercy Trails remain closed.
The update added that certain trails at Handcut Hallow, Little Sugar, and Slaughter Pen have the “ride with caution” designation.
Rushing said full recovery may take some time, but they’re clearing trails daily.
"We're not going to be able to replace a 100 year old oak tree overnight,” Rushing said. “They're big trees, it's going to take a while, but our team is focused on getting the trails cleared where people can go use them again. We're doing a great job at that. We're getting trails open every day."
Rushing called the response to the community inspiring.
"We've had almost 1000 volunteers show up to help clean up trails, which has been really, really awesome,” Rushing said. “The first night, two days after the tornado we had, we had a work day where 250 people showed up. In my mind, I'm thinking that they should be working on their. properties, but they weren't. They were out helping us. So it was really, really special."
Rushing added that trailers should still ride cautiously even after trails open because of the chance of loose debris. He said he expects all trails to be open within a month.
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