Update: the 2026 Bikes, Blues & BBQ rally has wrapped up. Keep this guide handy for planning next year, and check the official rally site for the new dates.
Every year at the end of September, riders from all over the country roll into Northwest Arkansas for Bikes, Blues & BBQ, and every year a lot of riders discover the same thing about two weeks too late 🌻 the hotels near the rally are gone. The 2026 rally ran September 30 through October 3, 2026 in historic downtown Rogers, so for next year, plan your stay as early as you can.
What's happening, and where
Bikes, Blues & BBQ bills itself as the world's largest charity motorcycle rally, and it has the receipts 🌻 more than $3 million donated to local causes over two decades. The 2026 rally was centered on downtown Rogers, with designated motorcycle parking, road closures around the rally area, live music on the downtown stages all weekend, bike shows, stunt shows, demo rides, a beer garden, and the 10th annual Frisco Inferno barbecue competition with spectator tastings. Doors opened at 3 PM on Wednesday the 30th and it ran through Saturday night.
The organizers also publish mapped rides for the days you'd rather be on the road than in the crowd. The Devil's Den loop and the War Eagle ride are the two most people do, and both start within an easy shot of Bentonville.
The same weekend, on two wheels of a different kind
Bentonville doesn't sit this one out. The Arkansas High Country Race, a 1,000-mile self-supported gravel-and-pavement loop through the Ozarks and Ouachitas, launches from downtown Bentonville each fall. Final dates and details are on their site, so check there if you are a cyclist rather than a motorcyclist and want to be in town for the send-off. Fall weekends fill up fast, so book early.
Why stay in Bentonville instead of next to the rally
Here's the honest trade. Staying in downtown Rogers puts you in the middle of it, which is great until you want to sleep. Oakwood Oasis is about 15 minutes from the rally area, on a quiet street minutes from downtown Bentonville, and it's set up for people who ride in for the day and want somewhere calm to come back to.
- A garage for your bike. The house has a garage plus driveway parking for up to three vehicles, so your motorcycle sleeps inside, not in a hotel lot.
- Actually quiet. Quiet hours are 10 PM to 7 AM and we mean it. The living room looks out on woods, not a parking lot.
- A real kitchen and a real coffee bar. After four days of festival food, you might want eggs.
- Two bedrooms, two baths. A king and a queen, so two couples riding together each get their own room and their own shower.
- Fast WiFi and a workspace for the person in the group who swore they'd only check email once.
What we won't pretend: this is a duplex, not a private ranch, and it's a 15-minute ride to the rally rather than a two-minute walk. If being able to stumble back to bed from the beer garden is the priority, book downtown Rogers and book it today. If you'd rather ride in, enjoy the rally, and ride out to somewhere peaceful, this is the place.
Fill the off-hours
Rally mornings are slow, and Bentonville is a good place to be slow. Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art is free and ten minutes away. The downtown square has coffee and breakfast that doesn't come out of a food truck, and our Local Extras page has the spots we actually send guests to. If anyone in your group brought a mountain bike instead, the OZ Trails start behind the house 🌻 our Trails page covers what's reachable without loading a car.
Book it before it's gone
Rally weekend is one of the busiest weekends of the year in this area. Check availability on our Rates page and book direct through our site for a lower rate than Airbnb. If the dates you want are already taken, message us anyway 🌻 cancellations happen, and we keep a list.
Bye Bye Now.
