Bentonville Plans Bike Trail On Land Donated By Shewmakers
Last updated Wednesday, May 21, 2008 7:08 PM CDT in News
By Richard Dean Prudenti
The Morning News
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BENTONVILLE - A future 5-mile addition to Bentonville's mountain bike trail will offer intermediate and advanced riders more challenges.
"It will be more technical, progressive trail with steeper grades," said Don West, president of Ozark Off Road Cyclists, comparing it with the existing 5.2-mile Slaughter Pen Hollow Mountain Bike Trail on 130 acres the city opened more than a year ago southeast of North Walton Boulevard and U.S. 71.
West is helping design the new course on 10 acres the Shewmaker family recently donated to the city. The city honored the donation at the head of the existing Slaughter Pen Hollow trail Wednesday.
The course uses the natural surroundings such as boulders to provide the challenging features. West and Nathan Woodruff of Progressive Trail Design expect to finish the trail in July.
"This will be the next level," Woodruff said.
The Walton family donated the land for the first trail to the Bentonville/Bella Vista Trailblazers, which in turn gave it to the city.
Tom Walton, grandson of Wal-Mart founders Sam and Helen Walton, had the vision to build a public mountain bike trail, said Trailblazers board member Bob Norwood.
Jack Shewmaker said the land southeast of the Slaughter Pen Hollow property is an ideal addition to the trail.
"It was the right land at the right time," Shewmaker said. "It's not been land utilized by any activity or development. We raised cows on it. I chased a cow or two."
The 10 acres appraised at $160,000, he added.
"The city in no way could afford the generosity you have afforded us," Mayor Bob McCaslin said to Shewmaker during the event.
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upsidedowner wrote on May 21, 2008 9:20 PM: