Riding Slaughter Pen in Bentonville: Trails, Layout, and What It’s Like to Ride
Words by Michele Underwood | Photos by Michele (except one)
I spent time riding Slaughter Pen in the spring of 2025, when the trails were busy with spring breakers, and again in the winter of 2026, when there were hardly any people out riding and very few tourists. The first time, there were riders everywhere. This time, it felt quieter, and I could step back and get a clearer sense of what the place is actually like.
This post covers what I like about Slaughter Pen, what it offers within Oz Trails, and how the trails are intended to be used.
Welcome sign at Slaughter Pen Trails in Bentonville, Arkansas. Photo by Aaron Doucett.
What Slaughter Pen Is — and Why It Was Created
Slaughter Pen is a network of mountain bike trails located within Bentonville, Arkansas. The trail system began in 2013 and has grown to more than 30 miles of singletrack, featuring a mix of flow trails, technical lines, and built-in features — including the Slaughter Pen Skills Park, with jumps and drops that let riders progress. This is where I learned to jump.
The name comes from the area’s past. This valley was once used for livestock holding and slaughter, and it was known locally as Slaughter Pen Holler because of the pens and slaughterhouse that operated here in the 1940s through the 1960s. When the first bike trails were built, the existing name stuck.
The trails themselves started as a small, community-driven project. Local riders and volunteers began building early sections with the support of trail groups and city partners. Those early phases focused on creating accessible, rideable trails that could grow over time rather than a single finished system.
One of the defining decisions was to build the trails inside the city rather than outside of it. Slaughter Pen was intentionally woven into Bentonville — alongside neighborhoods, parks, the Crystal Bridges grounds, and the Razorback Greenway — so riders could roll directly onto dirt from town rather than drive to a trailhead on the edge of the region.
As more sections were added, the system expanded outward and connected into the broader Oz Trails network. What started as a small set of local trails now connects much of how people ride and move through Bentonville.
The Three Phases of Slaughter Pen
Slaughter Pen was built in phases, and you can still feel that when you ride it.
Different parts of the system have distinct characters, and those differences roughly align with when they were built.
My S-Works Epic EVO Pro at the Phase 3 entrance at Slaughter Pen.
Phase 1
Phase 1 starts in downtown near Compton Gardens. There’s a parking lot here, and it’s an easy place to start a full day of riding.
Phase 1 is where you will find The Masterpiece, a trail where the trail itself is the art. It’s built from metal and concrete. I rode it a few times. The first time scared the hell out of me — all I could think about was how bad it would hurt if I went down.
The trails in Phase 1 are shorter and more broken up. You cross paths, greenways, and walkways more often than in other parts of the system. There are usually people around — walkers, families, and riders all sharing the space.
All-American starts in this area. It’s an easy way to move between phases.
Phase 2
Phase 2 is my favorite of the three phases. This section feels more XC than the other two.
The trails are longer, there’s more elevation, and you spend more time riding without stopping. It feels less like you’re moving through town and more like you’re on trails.
Angus Chute, Urban Trail, and Ozone are where you’ll usually find me riding in Slaughter Pen.
Phase 3
The Skills Park is here. This is where people stop. Riders hang out, take turns, and repeat the same features. This is where I learned to jump. After spending time there, I’d head over to The Castle and try to apply those skills on a trail.
Wooden progression features at the Slaughter Pen Skills Park.
The trails here are short. You move between features quickly and repeat things instead of riding long lines. It’s not a section you pass through as part of a bigger loop.
Phase 3 is where I come to work on things, try something new, and ride the same features more than once. It’s not my favorite of the three phases because I prefer longer rides on a single stretch of trail. But if I want to practice jumping, this is the best place to do it. The Skills Park and jumps are well-built, and because of that, it’s one of the best places I’ve ridden to learn and progress.
The Castle
The Castle sits at the top of a hill in Phase 3 and acts as a central drop-in point for several downhill trails. It’s a stone-and-iron structure with an elevated platform that you roll onto before choosing your line down.
Dropping into Catapult from the Castle at Slaughter Pen.
From the Castle, everything points downhill. You roll in, pick a trail, and descend. At the bottom, there’s a return climb that brings you back up to the Castle so you can do it again.
The climb back up is short but punchy and definitely works your legs. It’s not subtle. Still, the downhill from the top usually makes it worth doing again.
Coming out of the first berm after dropping into Catapult at Slaughter Pen.
My favorite line from the Castle is Catapult. Lombard and Uwabami are both fun, too. If it’s your first time riding anything like this, Lombard is a good place to start.
How Slaugher Pen compares to the other Oz trails
This is my take.
Slaughter Pen feels the most urban. It’s easy to access, easy to ride in short chunks, and works well for kids and families. It feels more like a playground than a place to go put in long miles.
Coler Mountain Bike Preserve feels less in the city and more tucked into the woods. The trails feel more like a traditional trail system — longer loops, more repetition, and more time spent riding than stopping.
Bella Vista is where you go to put in miles. The trails dip in and out of deep ravines, the climbing adds up, and it’s better if you like longer, more demanding rides with technical sections.
Tunnel Vision trail entrance in Bella Vista, Arkansas.
Monument Trails are part of the Arkansas state parks and feel more scenic and spread out. The riding moves through mountain landscapes, past waterfalls, and along rock walls, and feels more like being out in a park than riding near town.
Those are the Oz Trails systems I’ve spent the most time riding. Each one feels different, and which one makes sense depends on how you want to ride that day.
You can check the Oz Trails website for a full list of systems and details on each.
Using Trailforks at Slaughter Pen
Trailforks is useful at Slaughter Pen for:
Understanding trail difficulty and direction
Seeing how short trail segments connect
Planning routes through different phases
Finding access points and trailhead parking
Offline maps are helpful if you’re riding solo, exploring new sections, or moving between Slaughter Pen and other nearby Oz Trails systems.
Parking at Slaughter Pen
There are several parking options spread throughout the trail system. Some lots are larger, some are small.
I usually park at one of the smallest lots. It sits in the middle of the system, directly across from The Masterpiece, and puts me close to the trails I like best.
In Conclusion
Slaughter Pen is not my favorite of the Oz Trails systems I’ve ridden. That’s mainly because I prefer longer, continuous rides on singletrack. Slaughter Pen also draws more tourists and newer riders, which changes the feel at times.
That said, if your goal is to learn, practice, and improve your jumping, this is the place to do it.
