2018 U.S. mountain biking champion, 14-year-old Cayden Parker, is eagerly awaiting completion of the
Northwoods Biking Trail in Hot Springs. The Phase One trails are scheduled to be ready for visitors in the fall.
New U.S. Mountain Biking Champ One of Hot Springs’ Own America’s new mountain biking champion can’t wait for his hometown of Hot Springs National Park,Arkansas, to complete its own world-class complex of mountain bike trails so he can experience the best of his sport right at home.
Cayden Parker, 14, became the champion by winning the 13-and-14-year-olds’ Cross Country National
Championship, also known as the 11-14 STXC National 13/14 XC National Championship, at the USA
Cycling Mountain Bike National Championships in Snowshoe, W. Va., in July. He won two other races in
the competition: The 13-14 Non Championship Cross Country event and the 11-14 Short Track Cross
Country National.
He is the son of Hot Springs residents Matt and Jona Parker. His father is a cabinetmaker and his mother
home-schools Cayden and his siblings. His brother, Finn, placed third in the 11 – 12 Non Champ
competition at Snowshoe and was ninth out of 34 in the 11 – 12 Champ XC. Oh, and his mother Jona
placed second in the 35 – 39 Non Champ XC.
Cayden, who started racing in 2016, is looking forward to the completion of The Northwoods Trail, the
championship-class mountain biking complex here in his hometown.
Visit Hot Springs began construction in November on Phase One of a planned 44.6-mile system of
mountain biking trails on the city-owned Northwoods/Cedar Glades properties in the northern section of
Hot Springs. It has partnered with the Walton Family Foundation to construct the first 16-mile segment of
the project, which will provide Hot Springs with an important new tourism attraction aimed at mountain
bikers and other outdoor enthusiasts.
Phase Two of the trail system will be constructed on completion of the first 16-mile segment, with the end
result being a 44.6-mile system of first-class biking trails in the property that incorporates pristine forested
hills and three lakes.
“I’ve had chance to preview the Northwoods Trails,” Cayden said. Asked to compare the Hot Springs trail
to other trails he has experienced in Colorado, West Virginia and Arkansas, he replied, “The Hot Springs
Northwoods Trails are dope!”
Asked what it’s like to be a national champ, he replied, “It feels really good. It feels like all my hard work
paid off. Now I want to come home and win the State Championship for Category 1 in the Arkansas
Mountain Bike Championship Series.”
What would he tell a rider who is just starting out in mountain biking? “Ride a lot and keep it fun!”
“The new trails in the Northwoods property will be an enormous economic engine for our city and a world-
class recreational facility for our residents and visitors,” said Steve Arrison, CEO of Visit Hot Springs. “It’s
almost impossible to express how grateful we are as a community to the Walton Family Foundation for
helping provide the resources to get started on this new attraction.”
“The city of Hot Springs, Arkansas, is poised to become the nation’s next mountain bike destination” said
Trail Specialist Joey Klein of the International Mountain Biking Association’s Trail Solutions program.
“Hot Springs is surrounded by ample forested hillsides and pristine waterways. Cedar Glades Park and the
new Northwoods Park will be connected by trails, all of which will be designed to be completely accessible
from town.”
Klein continued, “To have such high quality trail potential not more than minutes from a historic downtown
setting is almost unheard of in this day and age. Residents and visitors alike will be reaping the benefits for
decades to come.”
A $648,421 Walton Family Foundation grant for Phase One will be matched by Visit Hot Springs. The
Phase One trails are expected to be ready for visitors by this fall. Completion of Phase Two will make Hot
Springs one of the top destinations in the United States for the growing number of American and
international biking enthusiasts. For more information, contact Steve Arrison at 501-321-2027.
