Lake Leatherwood, Eureka Springs: A Local's Guide to the Trails, Bike Park, and Lake

TLDR: Lake Leatherwood is a 1,610-acre city park about five miles northwest of downtown Eureka Springs, centered on an 85-acre spring-fed lake with hiking and biking trails, seven downhill runs, boat rentals, cabins and camping. The park is roughly a ten-minute drive from downtown. Cliff Cottage Inn gives each suite one reserved off-street parking space for the vehicle carrying the bikes.

Most people searching for Lake Leatherwood are not looking for the same thing. Some want a campsite. Some want a cabin, a lake to paddle or a trail to walk. Then there are the people who already know exactly which bike is going on the rack.

So that's the order this goes in. Riders, skip down two headings. Nobody's offended.

Lake Leatherwood: 1,610 Acres, Five Miles Out of Town

Lake Leatherwood City Park is at 1303 County Road 204, off Highway 62 West, about five miles northwest of downtown Eureka Springs. It is roughly a ten-minute drive from downtown. The park office is open every day from 8:00 AM to sundown, and the number is 479-253-7921.

Here's the cost, since every recommendation on this page comes with one: you have to drive. If you have spent the rest of a Eureka Springs trip parking once and walking everywhere, getting back in the car may feel like a chore.

Leatherwood is worth the ten minutes.

The park wraps 1,610 acres around an 85-acre spring-fed lake. The woods hold a shared-use hiking and biking trail network, a seven-run downhill bike park, a marina with rentals, cabins, camping and a 7,600-square-foot playground under the catalpa trees. The ballfields sit here too.

The Dam and the Stonework That Made the Lake

The lake is man-made. Federal nomination records trace construction of the Lake Leatherwood Dam and early recreational facilities to 1938-1940: the Works Progress Administration built them under the direction of the Soil Conservation Service, using Civilian Conservation Corps labor.

The dam has a solid cement core faced with hand-cut native limestone mined nearby. It is 630 feet long and 55 feet high. That is more useful than the competing shorthand you will find on local pages about whether this was a WPA or CCC project. Both show up in the paperwork. So does the Soil Conservation Service.

Lake Leatherwood Park is listed on the National Register of Historic Places as the Lake Leatherwood Park Historic District. The park's current overview also points visitors to the historic diving platform and other New Deal-era structures around the lake.

That's the part I wouldn't skip. Workers cut that stone by hand more than eighty years ago. It is still holding back a lake. Go look at it.

Lake Leatherwood Trails: The Loops Worth Taking

The Lake Leatherwood trails are shared-use routes through the woods around the lake, much of the network built as hand-cut singletrack. Cyclists get plenty of attention here, but the trail system is not bike-only.

The park's map names Miner's Rock, Mulladay Hollow, the Leatherwood Trail, the Ballfields Loop and the Bench Loop, along with Leatherwood Falls, the CCC Powder House and the CCC Stone Tunnel.

Trust the map over anything you read online, this page included. I'm not going to tell you a trail is flowy or beginner-friendly because somebody on the internet said so, and I'm not the one who cut it. Use the current park map for the route names, lengths and conditions that matter to your day.

The park maintains more than 25 miles of trail, downhill runs included. Pick the route from the current map and give yourself enough daylight to turn around when you mean to.

Wear tick spray. Ticks are a most-of-the-year issue here and are worst in summer. It isn't a reason to skip the walk. It is a reason to keep a can in the car.

Lake Leatherwood Bike Park: Seven Runs, Two Hubs

The Lake Leatherwood Bike Park was built in 2018 by Rock Solid Trails. Seven downhill lines drop from two hubs on the ridge. Helmets are mandatory. For Eureka Springs mountain biking, this is the gravity side of the conversation.

The North Hub holds the park's Beginner and Intermediate runs, plus its Expert-rated line: Shreddy Yeti is Beginner; Skunk Ape and Swamp Stalker are Intermediate; Cyclops Drops is Expert, with what the park calls one of the biggest drops in Arkansas.

The South Hub holds Troll Bridge and OGre Run, both Advanced, and Yowie Rocks, rated Expert.

Yeti, skunk ape, swamp stalker, cyclops, troll, ogre, yowie. Somebody named seven downhill runs after seven creatures and then filed the paperwork. Nobody in this town builds a boring anything.

A closed shuttle is a bad morning. Before you load the bikes, check the official Lake Leatherwood Bike Park page for current trail information and shuttle operations. The park currently lists The Gravity Feed as a licensed shuttle provider, but it does not publish a fixed shuttle schedule or price on that page.

On the Water: Rentals, Fishing, and the No-Wake Rule

The marina rents by the hour, and the current prices are straightforward: kayaks $20, fishing kayaks $25, canoes $25, paddle boats $25 for up to four people and stand-up paddleboards $20. Inner tubes are $10 for the day, which is the best-value line on the board if you have kids and no ambition.

There is a paved boat ramp, an accessible kayak and canoe launch and a bait shop at the marina. Motorboats are allowed at no-wake speed.

Fish in the lake include bluegill, crappie, catfish and largemouth bass. An Arkansas fishing license is required. If swimming is part of your plan, call the park office for the current rule before you count on it.

The park's boating and fishing page is the place to recheck rental prices before you go.

Lake Leatherwood Camping and Cabins

Lake Leatherwood camping ranges from furnished cabins all the way down to primitive sites.

There are six furnished cabins with full kitchens and three mini-cabins with bunk beds. The Lake Leatherwood campground has four RV sites with water, electric and septic hookups for rigs up to 30 feet; four electric campsites; thirteen primitive sites; and one group campsite. Lake Leatherwood cabins and campsites book through the park's lodging and reservation page. Use the current booking page rather than a nightly price copied from an old article.

For day use, the Sal Wilson Memorial Pavilion dates to 1939. The playground is 7,600 square feet and sits under the catalpa trees. The ballfields are part of the same park and serve as event space during the Fat Tire Festival.

The Lake Leatherwood campground is good camping. I'm not going to pretend otherwise to sell you a room. It puts you at the trailhead. If waking up inside the park is the point of the trip, stay there.

The Fat Tire Festival Weekend

Once a year, Lake Leatherwood hosts the Eureka Springs Fat Tire Festival and Eureka Enduro. That weekend has its own logistics, registration and race schedule, so I will leave those details to the Fat Tire Festival guide.

Staying in Town, and Where the Bikes Go

The cabins and campground put you at the trailhead, and plenty of riders use them. If that is the whole plan, the park has a good answer.

Cliff Cottage Inn is the other kind of trip: a real bed and a hot shower after shuttle laps, then downtown without getting back in the car. Breakfast can arrive at your door on a silver tray at 8:00 or 9:00 AM if you add the Breakfast Rate. It is optional and gets breakfast handled before a morning at the park.

Every suite at Cliff Cottage Inn also has one reserved off-street parking space, available from 11:00 AM on arrival day to 2:00 PM on departure day. Roof racks and hitch racks clear the parking area. Bikes can be locked outside in spots tucked out of view from the road. Our FAQ page has the current parking and check-in details, including what to do about a second vehicle.

If you are timing the trip for fall color, our fall foliage guide covers when the hills usually turn. If not everyone in the car plans to spend the trip on two wheels, our things-to-do guide covers the rest of Eureka Springs.

Then, the evening. Cliff Cottage Inn sits above downtown, so once the bikes are put away, you descend 17 steps to Main Street for dinner.

If staying in town is your version of the trip, have a look at the suites.

Frequently Asked Questions