The Cold Lake Mountain Bike Park has had beginner trails added, with plans for more advanced trails to be made by the end of this year’s construction season.
The most recent work had mountain bike park designer and builder Jay Hoots of Hoots Inc. return to Cold Lake to oversee the addition of two 130-metre, beginner-level bike trails. The new work complements the existing intermediate and advanced trails at the park.
Hoots is scheduled to return in September to complete a multi-purpose trail that will be designed to roughly follow the museum fence, as well as two advanced trails approximately six to seven kilometres long.
“These are, and will be, exciting additions to a facility that is already getting a lot of attention from within the city and throughout the greater region as well,” Mayor Craig Copeland said. “It’s becoming a busy destination and we are thrilled with the early success that it has had. A big thanks goes out to the crews and volunteers who are helping this become a reality.”
Cold Lake City Council had funded the trail portion of the mountain bike park after accepting a design made by Hoots Inc. that involved extensive public consultations and input. A bike skills portion of the facility is included in the plan, but has not been funded as of yet.
“We’ve had excellent reports of the strong sense of ownership that the local biking community and our visitors have had over the trails,” Copeland said. “It’s very encouraging not only to hear about the enthusiastic use the trails are seeing, but also that they are being respected and cared for.”
The public is reminded that the use of motorized vehicles is not permitted on the bike park trails. Users are also asked to pay attention to and respect the signage placed in and around the park.