FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. — The Razorback Greenway added mile markers along their trail system under a new brand.
The Razorback Greenway opened in 2015 as a system of trails through Northwest Arkansas. It spans 40 miles from Mount Kessler to Lake Bella Vista. The trail goes through seven cities: Bentonville, Bella Vista, Fayetteville, Johnson, Springdale, Lowell, and Rogers.
Tristan Hill is the first full-time employee for the Greenway after its board of directors decided the trail needed a manager.
"The original kind of foundation for the Razorback Greenway started here in Fayetteville around seven years ago I think it was, and then it expanded through the entire region. But the Razorback Greenway never really had a cohesive brand, it was sort of just a series of trails," said Hill.
In 2022, they've added a new logo where each line represents the seven cities it runs through. The logo is on the 40-mile markers measuring the trail, with colors representing each of the seven cities they're in.
"We kind of like to refer to it as the backbone of NWA," said Hill of the Greenway. "That's sort of where the center of everything lives because we have this great deep cycling community here, you know, and so, I think lots of businesses, municipalities— they started to recognize what the Greenway has to offer and that's why you're starting to see so much pop up along the route, and it's very exciting," Hill said.
Downtown Springdale's Executive Director Jill Dabbs explained that the Greenway has had an impact, especially with the revitalization of Springdale's downtown area near Emma Avenue.
"As soon as people started riding their bikes more downtown and businesses started popping in, we had restaurants showing up. And it just made it a lot more inviting to come downtown,' said Dabbs.
Dabbs explained how there are talks of the final mile, and how once trails become accessible through the area, biking could become a viable transportation option.
"When that really starts to happen, then people can use that Greenway to travel to school or travel to work, go to do the things that they enjoy doing in their life without having to be forced into traffic," said Dabbs.
Hill explains the construction of the Walmart campus in Bentonville has caused detours for the Greenway. They've worked closely with the city to come up with alternate routes.
You can find more information and their interactive map on their website.
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