Bella Vista: Nature Trails, Lakes, and Culture
Accommodation in Bella Vista
A stay in Bella Vista can center on a variety of attractions: nature trails, seven lakes, a museum with set visiting hours, and an annual arts and crafts festival. The main planning considerations are trail lengths, regulated access to the lakes and POA facilities, and visiting and event dates. This makes it easy to organize your time around the activities that interest you in Bella Vista.
Trails and Scenery
The Blowing Springs Biking Trails are located in Blowing Springs Park and include 6.3 miles of natural trails. Hiking is also permitted. The trail area’s natural surroundings include rock bluffs, springs, and caves, as well as established natural habitat. These landscape features give you a sense of what makes the area distinctive, beyond the trail length.
The Back 40 is a natural, publicly accessible mountain biking trail system on the east side of Bella Vista; hiking is also permitted. At 40 miles, it is significantly longer than the 6.3 miles of the Blowing Springs Trails. The two areas therefore differ in both size and location.
Beyond these trail areas, Bella Vista’s mountain biking and hiking trails pass lakes, springs, streams, and waterfalls. A purpose-built mountain biking trail system with varying difficulty levels was planned for the Little Sugar Trails; the first 12 miles opened in late 2019. Conditions on the Blowing Springs Trails may change seasonally. Conditions and access points at Back 40 may change. Keep these notes in mind when planning a specific outing.
Museum and Festival
The Bella Vista Historical Museum is open year-round Wednesday through Sunday, from 1 to 5 p.m.; admission is free. Outside regular hours, the museum offers private tours and programs about Bella Vista’s history. This means there are both set visiting hours for regular museum visits and offerings outside that time window.
The Bella Vista Arts & Crafts Festival takes place annually on the third weekend in October. More than 225 artisans showcase handmade works there. If you would like to plan your trip around the festival, check the specific event dates in advance.
Seven Lakes and Regional Trails
Bella Vista’s seven lakes offer opportunities for fishing, boating, water skiing, kayaking, and swimming. To use the lakes and other POA facilities, you must register as a guest of a POA member or a vacation rental provider in Bella Vista. If you plan to include water activities in your stay, take this access requirement into account.
The more than 40-mile Razorback Regional Greenway connects Bella Vista with Fayetteville, Springdale, Rogers, and Bentonville. The trail system places the local trail areas in a regional context: Bella Vista is one of the connected communities, while Blowing Springs and Back 40 are described by their own trail lengths and locations.
Discover more destinations: Bentonville, Gentry, Pea Ridge, Siloam Springs, Rogers, Garfield
Back to the main travel overview: Benton.
