Building the World’s Largest Lift-Served Mountain Bike Park: Trails at Mena

In the Ouachita Mountains of western Arkansas, a major project is taking shape that will put Mena on the map as a world-class outdoor destination. When complete, the Trails at Mena is expected to feature the world’s largest lift-served mountain bike park, bringing new opportunities for recreation, tourism and economic growth to the community.

Emery Sapp & Sons (ESS) is helping build the foundation for that vision, working alongside general contractor Kinco Constructors to prepare the mountain for what comes next. From major earthwork and drainage to roads, utilities, and concrete tower foundations, the team is tackling the infrastructure that will bring riders to the mountain.

No Easy Way Up 

One of the project’s biggest challenges so far came with the concrete foundations for the mountain’s lift system. With 26 towers planned along the mountain, getting concrete to each location required a little ingenuity, and, in some cases, a Black Hawk helicopter. 

Rather than rely entirely on aerial concrete delivery, the ESS team built an access road to reach 15 towers on the less aggressive slopes. That allowed concrete trucks to reach those foundations directly, reducing the number of helicopter-assisted pours and helping control project costs. The remaining 11 tower foundations required a helicopter to transport concrete to locations trucks couldn’t reach. 

Meanwhile, the crew continues to make progress across the base area, where drainage systems are taking shape, the parking lot is being prepared and retaining walls are going in along the entrance road. The team is moving 70,000 CY of imported material, with additional grading and drainage work underway. 

The work requires constant coordination. Multiple areas move forward at once, and plans can change as the team encounters new conditions or finds better ways to build. Having experience on other mountain recreation projects, such as OZ Trails, has helped ESS anticipate those changes and stay flexible.

“It’s new to everybody, so it’s going to be an ever-changing project,” the team shared. “ESS Superintendent Jake Centers and ESS Project Engineer Deric Rogers do a good job. When something changes, they’re on it and making sure all the changes are incorporated.”

Making the Most of the Mountain 

Building in a remote location means working with what the mountain gives you. When excavation for the lift system’s top terminal produced a large amount of rock and other material, ESS found an opportunity to put it to use.

The crew is hauling that material from the summit to the base, sorting it into usable sizes for drainage, landscaping, and riprap. Rather than trucking riprap in from a quarry roughly two hours away, the team can reuse suitable native stone already on site. It’s a practical solution that reduces hauling and makes use of material the project has already uncovered.

A Crew That Takes Pride in the Work 

The safety plan is built for the terrain and wildlife in Mena – including bears. Nobody goes into the woods alone, and since cell service is spotty, crews carry two-way radios. Morning safety meetings cover how everyone stays accountable and knows where everyone else is. The remote location is a challenge in other ways, too. Nearly everything is trucked in, and some supplies come from as far as Fort Smith.

Through it all, the team has kept a positive attitude and a strong sense of camaraderie. Many of the employee-owners working on the project are from the Mena area, giving them a local connection to what they’re helping build.

“They’ve done a really good job,” the team said of the whole crew. Many of the people on the job are from the Mena area, and the mood on site shows it. “Everybody’s usually smiling all day.”

Building More Than Trails 

A project like this puts a small Arkansas town on the national outdoor recreation map. For the town, the Trails at Mena project represents more than a new place to ride. The project has the potential to attract visitors from across the country, support local businesses, and create new opportunities for families who call the area home. Our crews take pride in building something that will outlast the job and shape how Mena is known. 

That potential is already generating excitement. While a project of this scale inevitably brings changes to a familiar landscape, the team has heard growing enthusiasm from community members curious to see what the mountain will become.

The world’s largest lift-served mountain bike park is a big vision. Our crew is doing the work to help Mena bring it to life.