CLEVELAND — The Cleveland Metroparks revealed Wednesday its plans to add the first outdoor public-use pump track for BMX and mountain bikers in Northeast Ohio. It also announced plans to expand an existing mountain bike trail.
Separate from the mountain bike trail expansion, the pump track will be a loop-style track that will feature small hills and banked turns that will allow mountain bike and BMX riders to maximize their momentum along the track with minimal pedaling.
The pump track as well as the enhanced mountain bike trail network at Ohio & Erie Canal Reservation will be located just north of Canalway Center, connecting the nearby Towpath Trail that runs through the reservation and providing trail access directly to and from downtown Cleveland.
“This pump track will be the first of its kind in Northeast Ohio, offering a new challenge and amenity for our biking community,” said Cleveland Metroparks CEO Brian M. Zimmerman. “We’re also excited to partner with the Student Conservation Association (SCA) on the expansion of our original mountain bike trail at Ohio & Erie Canal Reservation. These projects build upon our mission of conservation, education and recreation, and support youth conservation leaders in our community.”
The metroparks also partnered with SCA to collaborate on the expansion of the existing mountain bike trail at Ohio & Erie Canal Reservation.
Through the partnership with SCA, a small group of high school students will work to double the size of the metroparks’ oldest mountain bike trail that was the first of its kind when it opened in 2007.
The work will begin to expand the natural surface trail to approximately 5 miles later this summer, with an expected completion date by summer 2022. Within the expanded trail, there will be sections for beginners, intermediate and advanced levels.
Riders generate movement by pumping along the track through up and down movement on track’s hills and banked turns, the metroparks said in the news release.
The project design on the pump track will be completed in the early summer with construction scheduled to start soon after. The Cleveland Metroparks said the pump track will open in fall 2021.
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