After years of pushing for a mountain-bike "skills park" on the Sammamish Plateau, the Backcountry Bicycle Trails Club got a $150,000 boost from King County to move forward with its plans, county officials announced Wednesday.
The club signed an agreement to work with the county on developing the 120-acre project at Duthie Hill Park, a swath of second-growth conifers and deciduous trees that is underused, county officials say.
The course will feature a cross-country loop, dirt jumps and downhill runs with drops, said Jon Kennedy, volunteer director of the Seattle-based trails club. The park is connected to King County's nearby Grand Ridge Park, which features a 6-mile mountain-bike trail.
Design work on the course is scheduled to begin in February, with three public meetings planned for the spring. Construction is expected to start this summer, although additional money will have to be raised to finish the project, Kennedy said. "What we're here to do is give people a recreational outlet for life," Kennedy said. The club wants to make the park accessible to riders of all skill levels, he said, with trails catering to beginners as well as advanced cyclists. "We plan on jam-packing this park full of trails."
I'm really excited about the XC loop at this park since it will connect nicely with the Grand Ridge trail I train on periodically, which I can ride to from my house for what should ultimately be a nice 45 mile out-and-back ride with a ton of climbing. I'm looking forward to attending the site walk-through in February and doing whatever I can to help design and build the XC loop later in the spring or whenever ground-breaking is.
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