Why Bentonville is America’s Next Boom Town
I spent last week in Northwest Arkansas for a few reasons: I wanted to watch the UCI Cyclocross World Championships in person, it was a good time to connect with friends in the bike community, and while there why not ride some of the epic Bentonville MTB trails?
While I’d visited Bentonville, the home of Walmart, two years ago for work, I was not prepared for the acceleration of growth happening there. It’s not just the outstanding gravel riding and 400 miles of meticulously built MTB trails. It’s more than that: bike-themed coffee houses, bike businesses, bike events, art museums, restaurants, and more. I consider myself a jaded traveler — I feel like I’ve seen it all. And yet, I was completely floored by what I experienced on this trip; it’s an entire region that is being rebuilt around bikes.
Let’s break down what’s happening there and why it’s got years of growth ahead. Bentonville in 2022 is like Austin in the early ’90s. The current population of Northwest Arkansas (569,000) is almost identical to that of Austin in 1990. Both places share similar trajectories, with Bentonville being lower on the curve but growing quickly. Cities on the way up need three ingredients — employment, culture and higher education — to attract businesses and young professionals. Here’s how Austin and Bentonville compare:
1. Large employers —
- Austin — IBM (1967), Motorola (1974), Dell Computer (1984), State of Texas, University of Texas
- Bentonville — Walmart (1962), J.B. Hunt Transport Services (1961), dozens of Walmart suppliers, increasing number of tech & bicycle businesses, University of Arkansas
2. Cultural currency —
- Austin — Music, then the SXSW Festival, then tech
- Bentonville — Bikes, with tech and entrepreneurship on the way
3. Proximity to a major university —
- Austin — University of Texas
- Bentonville — University of Arkansas (25 miles away in Fayetteville)
What I saw in Bentonville is a creative bike culture that is transforming not only the city but the entire region. With over 400 miles of spectacular trails already built, and still going at a rate of 2 miles per day, the area has become the undisputed MTB capital of North America. It sounds improbable — Arkansas? The Ozarks? Really? — but it truly is the case. There are over a dozen bike shops there, in a city of just 50,000 residents. There are six or eight bike-themed coffee houses like The Meteor. Gary Vernon, who supervises the trail building, brings in the best trail builders from all over the country. He encourages them to be as innovative as possible in building fun features that appeal to every level of cyclist. To be clear, these aren’t just “trails through the woods.” Each path has unique features, often art installations and an attention to detail that is unparalleled in my outdoors experience.
What kickstarted the bike movement here was investment from brothers Steuart and Tom Walton. Their grandfather Sam founded Walmart. They’ve committed a big chunk of their family money, via their Runway NWA investment vehicle, to bike infrastructure and business. The trails were built under the OZ Trails umbrella. And via Runway they’ve also invested in made-in-the-USA Allied Bicycles and purchased the Rapha cycling apparel brand. They’ve put their money into local real estate and invested in cycling events like the Cyclocross World Championships that I attended. I’m not sure there’s a bigger commitment to free public recreation anywhere in the country. Imagine that Vail, Aspen, Snowbird and Jackson Hole were all built in one town and free for the public to use. That’s what the MTB infrastructure is like here. In fact, it might be the most ambitious project of its kind in the world.
The Walton family investments have lit a fire under the bike community. I know six people who have recently moved to Bentonville just for the bike culture. New businesses are sprouting quickly there, and existing businesses in the bike space (like Allied Cycleworks) are moving into the area. The bike shops and coffee houses are proliferating, and on the trails you meet cyclists from all over the country. I foresee at least 10 years (and probably much more) of meteoric growth for Bentonville.
As great as it is here, you can’t talk about Arkansas without mentioning a few negatives. Specifically, Arkansas was among the first states to pass anti-trans legislation in 2021, and now many others are following suit. In addition, Walmart, the proceeds from which have funded most of the growth in Bentonville, has a long history of paying shamefully low wages. The company only raised their minimum wage to $11/hour in 2018. I personally have problems with these things. But I’ve thought deeply about the negatives and sought counsel from my friends Rahsaan Bahati and Molly Cameron. Rahsaan owns a house in Bentonville and Molly is a trans advocate who spends a lot of time in the the state. I believe we stand more to gain by supporting the growing bicycle community in Northwest Arkansas and using bikes as a vehicle to engage in important discussions. As Rahsaan says, “It’s hard to fix a problem by running away from it.”
Like many places, you have to visit Bentonville to understand what’s going on there. Specifically, it’s important to get out on the MTB trails to see the insane attention to detail and commitment to a world-class bike experience. I have colleagues in the bike business who’ve not yet been there and just don’t believe me when I say it’s “the bike capital of North America.” It sounds so improbable. And before I first came here two years ago with Tim Johnson, I was dismissive of the possibility. But now I’m a believer, and I hope all of you can get there to see it for yourselves soon.
