DATE: AUGUST 15, 2025
HOT SPRINGS NATIONAL PARK, Arkansas — Feel like taking the challenge of pedaling 178 miles from Hot Springs’ Northwoods Trails around Lake Ouachita and back?
Now’s the time to make the commitment.
Registration is now open for the 2025 Ouachita Triple Crown race, which is part of the Seventh Gudrun – Northwoods Mountain Bike Festival that runs from November 7 through 9.
This will be the second year that Hot Springs’ Northwoods Trails will host the grueling event. Last year the Triple Crown took place in frigid torrential rainy conditions that saw only two riders complete the event. Arkansan Walker Jones won, completing the course in 29 hours and 28 minutes.
“The Ouachita Triple Crown race is literally EPIC,” said Visit Hot Springs Trails Coordinator Traci Berry. “It’s EPIC because it connects three International Mountain Biking Association Epic Trails around the scenic and rugged terrain surrounding Lake Ouachita. It’s remote, technical and just tough as all get out.
“It takes a certain kind of crazy to step up to the challenge. Not to mention, working with race director Chuck Campbell and Johnny Brazil, of sponsoring Jackalope Cycling, is always a good time.”
The Ouachita Triple Crown begins and ends at the Northwoods Cedar Glades Trailhead.
The course includes three IMBA Epic Trails, the Lake Ouachita Vista Trail, The Womble and the Ouachita Trail. Participants can elect to ride the course clockwise or counterclockwise. There are separate race categories for men and women and for multi-speed and single-speed bikes.
Registration is at https://www.bikereg.com/ouachita-triple-crown.
“I’m always looking for an excuse to go to Hot Springs, and mountain biking is a great excuse,” race director Campbell said. “Hot Springs knows how to throw down a mountain bike party, and we are stoked to join in with Gudrun.”
“We are ecstatic to party on with our Jackalope extended family in Hot Springs at the Gudrun Festival,” Brazil said. “Continuing to host a race of nearly 200 miles of literal IMBA epicness in cahoots with the cycling debauchery of Gudrun Festival just makes sense.
“The Ouachita Triple Crown connects three of Arkansas’ most raw single-track trail systems to create a race course that houses the ultimate bragging rights for anyone that is able to conquer it.
“If you think you are tough enough to tackle it we sure will cheer you on, but you’ve been warned. Check out the did-not-finish stats of previous years if you don’t believe me. I’m on there.”
The Ouachita Triple Crown route was first mapped by Kenny Williams in 2019. He wanted to link together three IMBA Epic Trails into one epic bikepacking route. When connected by gravel roads, the Ouachita Trail (OT), the Womble Trail, and the Lake Ouachita Vista Trail (LOViT) create a circle around Lake Ouachita. IMBA Epic Trails are the best of the best, and Arkansas has more of them that any other state. The Ouachita Mountains, composed of rocky ridges and narrow, spring-cooled valleys provide the perfect landscape for an IMBA Epic Trail.
The Annual Gudrun Mountain Bike Festival on Hot Springs’ acclaimed Northwoods Trails annually attracts hundreds of bikers of all abilities to Northwoods, which has been voted the No. 1 trail system in Arkansas by the readers of Arkansas Outside. There are events geared for professionals, novice riders and beginners alike.
This year’s festival will be held November 7 – 9. Late registration will begin October 11 at midnight. The first 400 participants are guaranteed to receive race swag, according to Berry.
In addition to the Ouachita Triple Crown, the Gudrun Festival includes the annual Slow Roll bike ride through downtown Hot Springs; downhill Enduro races; dual slalom races; Strider race; Time Trial races, and the culmination of the Arkansas Mountain Bike Championship Series – The Attila the Hun XC race.
The 2024 Gudrun Festival drew 630 participants representing nine states.
“It’s hard to believe that we are in our seventh year of the festival,” Berry said. “It feels like just yesterday we were opening the trails to the public. Now we get to share the trail love on a daily basis and with one big celebration every November.
“The trails are a huge asset for our community and getting to share them with folks of all ages, riding styles and ability levels from several states each year is the icing on the cake. We have people who have participated every year, making it like a reunion of sorts. We hope we see many old friends and make even more new ones.”
Information about the Gudrun can be found at https://www.hotsprings.org/events/gudrun-northwoods-mountain-bike-festival/
Registration is at https://www.bikereg.com/70535
Information about the Northwoods Trail System is at https://www.northwoodstrails.org/
For more information contact Traci Berry, tberry@hotsprings.org
