BENTONVILLE, Ark — The Coler Mountain Bike Preserve in Bentonville is a popular destination for those looking to hit the outdoors.
According to Alyssa Traxson, the marketing director of the Peel Compton Foundation, the company that oversees the bike preserve, all 22 campsites are booked for the rest of March, and they are almost fully booked for April.
“We see literally thousands and thousands of visitors a year,” Lori Greminger, site manager at Coler Mountain Bike Preserve said.
As the weather heats up, Greminger said the number of visitors greatly increases.
"Spring is the boom every year,” she said. “Around March and April, people get cabin fever, and they just flock to the outdoors. So Coler is a hotspot."
With a total of 285 acres, walking and biking trails, a campground, and a coffee shop, crews are already working to maintain the grounds for spring.
According to Greminger, crews focus on checking for user and weather erosion, weather damage, and general safety problems on the trail weekly. The crews are currently mulching the grounds and trimming the grass in preparation for more visitors.
"So they're mowing and they're blowing sidewalks,” Greminger said. “They're making sure that all the facilities are in good repair, that they're stocked, and just prepared for an influx of visitors."
While an increase in visitors is expected around this time of year for the bike preserve, it has come with some unwelcome additions.
According to a Coler Mountain Bike Preserve Facebook post, the site has seen an increase in vandalism in the past few weeks. Officials at Coler want visitors to enjoy their time while also protecting the area.
"At Coler we try to exercise the principles of ‘leave no trace,'" Greminger said. "We do share that with our visitors. If you pack it in, then you pack it out. We have ample trash cans, and dog stations along the way."
If people see something, Traxson asks visitors to report it.
"If you just see something, just let us know so we can help either clean it up or make sure that everything is safe," Traxson said.
Traxson added that any issues visitors spot along the trail and the preserve can be reported on the Coler Mountain Bike Preserve Trail Conditions Facebook page.
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