ROANOKE COUNTY, Va. – The demand for mountain biking and new trails has been expanding for not only people in our community, but throughout the state and even further, as the Roanoke Valley continues to grow as an outdoor tourism destination.
Explore Park is already one of the top spots for mountain biking in the valley, with more than 14 miles of trails currently in place. Those trails, like many others throughout the region, cater to the more intermediate or advanced riders -- leaving kids and less experienced riders with nowhere to go.
It’s an issue Roanoke County is working to address by establishing a new mountain bike skills park and trails that can be used by bikers of all skill levels.
“It’s great to have the facilities that are good for advanced riders and intermediate riders, but we need to be able to create the opportunity for youth and beginner adults,” says Doug Blount, director of parks, recreation and tourism for Roanoke County.
Blount says the goal is for Explore Park to become the starting place for people or families who are looking to get involved in mountain biking.
A series of meetings this week will give people a chance to look at some of the current ideas and give feedback on the types of trails and activities they would like to see as part of the expansion.
It’s a project that already has funding in place, with $480,000 set aside to cover everything from design work to the building permits and construction.
“We would like to build a skills park at Explore Park, we’d like to have a Duel Slalom track,” explains Blount. “We want to enhance existing mountain bike trails and we want to add new trails, so we want our citizens to help form that vision of what they want to see at the park.”
The goal is to have the design in plans all approved and ready to go by April. Then the project will be put out to bid in May, with construction set to start this summer.
Tuesday's meeting takes off at 7 p.m. at the Brambleton Center. A second meeting will take place Thursday at the Vinton War Memorial at 7 p.m.
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