Jay Thompson’s mountain bike is technically black, but thanks to the Elm Creek Singletrack Trail, it often returns to his Maple Grove garage in a beige tint.
The avid cyclist prefers its coat of dirt. He desired to ride so much he moved his family here decades ago to be within two miles of the Elm Creek Park Reserve, and he became an instrumental leader in establishing its new 13-mile mountain-bike trail.
The Elm Creek Singletrack Trail opened to rave reviews last June.
On prime days in its inaugural season, up to 150 riders would be on the trail.
“It’s been wildly popular,” Thompson says.
The trail was built to accommodate all skill levels of riders—from the somewhat crazed enthusiasts longing to ride over rock piles, to families wanting a slightly bumpy ride and to disabled people needing alternative bikes and a safe environment.
“When the trail opened, I expected to see all of the mountain bikers that you would see,” Thompson says. “I was surprised by the number of families—children included—that were out there.”
Beginners will navigate fewer turns and hills on a wider trail; intermediate riders will twist through more turns on a narrower trail; advanced riders will power over piles of logs and other obstacles.
The trail is in the Three Rivers Park District and was designed by the Minnesota Off-Road Cyclists (MORC).
“One of our visions is that although we are going to add advanced features to this trail, we want everyone to ride everywhere,” said Ryan Lieske, MORC chair. “So, we’ve been putting our advanced features on a B line or a trail right next to it. The main riders can ride by, while a more skilled rider can shoot off and do that obstacle and get back on the trail.”
Three Rivers and MORC got back on the trail after a resounding success in their first mountain bike trail partnership in the Murphy-Hanrehan Park Reserve in Savage in 2007.
Elm Creek was selected for two main reasons. There wasn’t a similar trail in the north metro and the park had a large area in which to create.
“We knew there was great interest after the success at Murphy-Hanrehan,” says Wayne Iseri, park operations manager at Elm Creek.
The $200,000 trail was made possible through funding from Minnesota’s Parks and Trails Legacy Grant Program, the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Recreational Trails Program. A number of local partners also chipped in, including REI, Maple Grove Cycling and Fitness, Erik’s Bike Shop, Bikes Belong and Specialized Bicycle Components. “The idea was really from people in the community,” Iseri says. “The funding was crucial. The park district wouldn’t have been able to do it without bringing these groups together.”
The idea wouldn’t have gone—literally—onto the ground if it weren’t for its sustainable components. MORC is a chapter of the International Mountain Bike Association and complied with ithe IMBA sustainable building rules. MORC constructed dirt trails that follow the contours of the land—not straight up hills, for example—while being conscious of controlling water runoff and keeping riders off the trails when wet.
“They are leading the community in sustainable trail design,” Iseri says of MORC. “It’s a new perspective we didn’t think of years ago.”
Previous mountain bike trails in Three Rivers’ parks were set on old dirt roads or cross-country ski trails.
“We just let the bikes go down them,” Iseri says. “We didn’t take into account much sustainability. It was about getting your bikes back onto dirt trails. When you follow roads and ski trails you are going to have a lot of erosion problems. It was a great learning process for us to see what MORC can do with a trail.”
Three Rivers is also working to make its parks more accessible to all riders. Elm Creek has partnered with the Courage Center to provide alternative, hand-powered bikes for disabled riders.
“We want to bring them out, when they normally wouldn’t think of coming out,” Iseri says. “This is a great step forward.”
