For years, cyclists in the Fraser Valley have been asking for a place to gather, ride and play in the community. Simply put, they want a bike park to call their own.

This year, the town of Fraser is set to break ground on a bike park that will be open to all — free of charge.

The Fraser bike park will be located alongside U.S. Highway 40 in the Cozens Ranch Open Space, a 120-acre space between Fraser and Winter Park.

A Fraser River Corridor Master Plan was completed in 2018 and includes plans to develop recreational amenities in a riverside park area near the Lions Pond area. As a recreational amenity, this bike park fits nicely into the master plan.

The bike park will have features for users of all skill and ability levels. It will include approximately 1,800 linear feet of beginner through intermediate dirt skill trails, 1,000 linear feet of dirt connector trails and 1,680 square feet of paved asphalt pump trails.

The park will include multiple skills courses for riders of all abilities, a bicycle playground, progressive jump lines and a central trailhead hub with seating, shade areas, bike repair stations, signage and natural play structures.

This hub is meant to be used as a gathering and resting place for bikers and other users of the surrounding multi-use trails and open space. Parents and guardians can take a seat in the shade while watching their children ride in the park.

Designed to be used by as many riders as possible, the park’s layout caters to everyone from young children to seasoned riders. The park will also have features that adaptive cyclists can utilize.

As riders build their skills and grow more comfortable on mountain bikes, the park trails act as a stepping stone, allowing riders to access more advanced features and other area trails located nearby the bike park.

Professional bike park builders join the project

Since fall of 2023, Fraser has been working with American Ramp Company to design the bike park. The town had a community survey that was used to help guide the design of the park and discover what residents wanted out of the project. The park’s final design approved by the town at the July 17, 2024 board of trustees meeting.

In the fall of 2024, the project was put out to bid for finalized design and construction. The town manager signed a contract with Avid Trails for the finalized design and construction of the Fraser bike park.

Groundbreaking for the park is tentatively set for July and construction of the park is expected to continue until October, according to Fraser Assistant Town Manager Sarah Catanzarite. Depending on weather, the town may host a soft opening in the fall and Catanzarite expects the park to be fully open to the public in May 2026.

Partners in the project include Headwaters Trails Alliance, Fraser Valley Metropolitan Recreation District, Fraser Valley Mountain Bike Alliance, Trestle Bike Park and Skinny Traffic Trails.

Skinny Traffic Trails President Elliott Leslie said that this bike park will fill a void for many bikers in the area.

“The town of Fraser has gone to great lengths to seek input from the community at large and future users, built a team of qualified local advocates to help guide the process, and worked with agencies from local to national levels — all to ensure the project has evolved in a way that considers a wide array of perspectives and will deliver the highest possible quality facility,” Leslie said.

Maire Sullivan from the Headwaters Trails Alliance has said that Fraser is one of the few resort communities in this Colorado corridor that doesn’t have a bike park.

Sullivan said she was excited about the bike park and explained these facilities are extremely popular, especially among younger bikers. According to Sullivan, people have been asking the Headwaters Trails Alliance to build a bike park for years.

The Fraser Valley Mountain Bike Alliance president and co-founder, Adam Nicholson, sat on the park design committee and helped the town understand what mountain bikers in the Fraser valley wanted out of the park.

Nicholson is particularly excited about the fact that the park will offer the opportunity to riders of all ages and abilities for progressive skill-building. By offering progressively challenging features, it appeals to a wider range of riders and keeps younger children engaged.

“Kids get good at riding so fast,” Nicholson said. “You might start at five years old as a beginner and by the time you’re seven, you’re already an advanced rider. If the bike park is too easy, then they’re bored, and they’re not going to go use it. So we wanted it to be to have enough progression and challenge to it to keep kids engaged all the way through high school.”

The new bike park will also function as a gathering place, give new riders a chance to work on their skills and offer people a place to casually ride after work or school.

A bridge to more riding opportunities

During the summer, Winter Park Resort transforms into Trestle Bike Park, a full-service downhill park. Individuals who are working or attending school during Trestle’s operating hours can go ride on an outdoor trail after hours, but Nicholson said that this type of mountain biking can be daunting or difficult for many.

“The barrier to entry for that is pretty stiff, sometimes, with the amount of fitness needed,” Nicholson said.

Lastly, Nicholson believes that the bike park will create better community between riders.

“We can go do a meet up afternoon with whoever, and we can all ride together at our own ability level – together and cheering each other on because we’re just in this one central place,” Nicholson said. “I think it’s going to be really cool for that. I think it’s going to be a cool place for our riding community to huddle.”

The town is still currently gathering funding for the bike park and is also accepting sponsors for the bike park. Any interested businesses or entities can reach out to Catanzarite directly for more information.

Donations to help fund the bike park can be made through the Headwaters Trail Alliance at HeadwatersTrails.org/ under the “donate” tab. Every dollar goes towards completing bike park construction this summer, according to Catanzarite.