Coler Mountain Bike Preserve is a holistic environment for everyone in today’s quickly developing world.This spring-fed valley became a homestead during the early 20th century. With the introduction of cattle damming, the creek created a pond. This pushed the native ecosystem to the fringes of the valley, not accessible for grazing. Development was inevitable, and a delicate transformation was necessary. This transformation would need to allow visitors while preserving and restoring its original ecology. The trails act like a ribbon on the valley floor transporting the public while seamlessly interacting with the stream. From stream restoration practices to ecological restoration of the meadows, all life in Coler Mountain Bike Preserve intertwines in a harmonious way.
The preserve is encompassed by a pristine 500-acre valley within the Ozark Mountain ecoregion just west of downtown Bentonville, Arkansas. An area of Northwest Arkansas that has seen incredible growth over the past handful of years. In the wake of that growth, urbanization has also begun to consume one of Arkansas’ most beautiful regions. The development of Coler Mountain Bike Preserve has played a considerable role in balancing this process by creating a natural place for people to enjoy just a mile outside of the city of Bentonville.
The main feature of the preserve that allows for this balance is Applegate Trail. It plays an enormous role in reconnecting the people of Bentonville to the natural wonders of the ecoregion. By eliminating all vehicular traffic from Coler, visitors must rely on the trail to reach the trailside coffee shop in the heart of the valley. This creates an opportunity for trail-goers to intentionally reconnect with each other while being fully embraced by their surroundings.
The trail was expertly intertwined with the restored stream, creating natural play spaces for visitors to physically interact with the natural world and their own creativity. Around the stream and trail are carefully selected native plants that provide space for local flora and fauna. Before any work started, we performed an ecological assessment to provide us with a comprehensive list of native plants for restoration purposes. One of the projects we utilized this assessment for was repurposing the cattle pastures into pollinator meadows populated by plants native to that area.
Other notable parts of this project include the 22 campsites that blend into the landscape. With a minimalistic design that differs from other commercial camping, the campsite also has one of the few access points to the café. TheAirship at The Homestead is only accessible by using one of the many multi-use or mountain bike trails, with the closest parking lot being less than a mile away.
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