Thinking outside of traditional ball sports, mountain towns across the West—including Truckee and South Lake Tahoe—have embraced a new kind of community-friendly amenity

Before the advent of modern bike parks, if kids weren’t racing BMX on a proper track, they were building janky jumps out of plywood and foot stools in driveways, sidewalks and cul-de-sacs across America. Bloody shins, missing teeth and arms in slings were badges of honor, as was the number of friends you could jump over as they laid on the ground.

In the 1980s, bicycle skills development resembled more of a makeshift Evel Knievel stunt than it did a well thought-out, planned and developed park endorsed by elected officials.

Forty years later, the landscape of kids hitting jumps on bikes has changed both literally and figuratively. Municipalities nationwide have embraced the modern bike park, and in mountain towns across the American West, these parks are as important a public asset as a baseball field, tennis court or skate park—a safe gathering place not just for youth, but for entire families, with parents hitting jumps and pump tracks alongside their kids.

The Lake Tahoe region is fortunate enough to have two such amenities: the Truckee Bike Park and Bijou Bike Park in South Lake Tahoe. 

A new map at the Truckee Bike Park highlights the 23 trails across 12 acres of land, courtesy photo

The Birth of a Bike Park

In 2010, Cortney Knudson and Brooks McMullin noticed a trend: Mountain towns creating professionally built bike parks and pump tracks. On their way home from Sun Valley, Idaho, after riding a new bike park, the Truckee residents wondered why their town didn’t have something comparable.

The pair, both avid bike park users, contacted the Truckee-Donner Recreation & Park District (TDRPD) and discovered there was already a permitted area for recreation at Riverview Sports Park. All they had to do was raise the funds to construct a pump track. After a successful community fundraiser, the Truckee Bike Park was born, featuring a pump track and strider track, built by a paid professional team and others who donated their skills.

It was the beginning of a 15-year partnership among the TDRPD, Truckee Tahoe Airport District, Truckee Sanitation District and the 501c3 nonprofit Knudson and McMullin started, Biking for a Better World (BBW). The Truckee Bike Park now sits on 12 acres of land, with 23 trails constructed by some of the most talented park builders in the country. 

The park has become known as an excellent community gathering place to progress skills and confidence. Additionally, it’s a free resource that people of all ages and socioeconomic backgrounds can enjoy, while the variety of features invite every kind of bicycle, from a 29-inch-wheel mountain bike to a 20-inch-wheel BMX bike.

“We travel and ride a lot of bike parks, but we started learning to jump later in life,” says Knudson. “We went to parks and found plenty of expert features, but not much for folks like us who were intermediate and looking to advance. Our goal was to make Truckee Bike Park a place with good progressive features and alternate lines to cover a range of ability levels.”

Since the first pump track was built in 2011, the park has evolved with every type of terrain imaginable, from dual slalom, slopestyle, strider track, dirt jumps, flowlines, XC loop and a “drop zone” with different-sized wooden ramps.

A gently rolling pump track at the Truckee Bike Park is ideal for kids, photo by Peter Day

“The bike park is like a climbing gym,” says Knudson. “It’s a place where you can get a lot of repetition to build skill and get more comfortable with features in a safe and well-maintained environment.”

The bike park is reconstructed each season by a crew of professional builders specializing in shaping lips and maintaining terrain. Volunteers help with pine needle removal, debris cleanup and garbage. 

“Volunteers are a great help, but ultimately, when you build a house or pave a driveway, you need to hire professionals so it’s done right,” says McMullin. “One of the biggest challenges with a bike park is making sure the park is always evolving, while keeping the jumps safe and flowing properly. We’ve learned hiring professionals is the best way to ensure the park stays in top condition.”

Of course, hiring experts does not come cheap. The TDRPD provides 40 percent of the bike park maintenance budget, but BBW covers the remaining 60 percent. BBW is also responsible for all fundraising efforts, including the former Bar of America fundraiser with the support of owners Maureen and Tom Turner. McMullin and Knudson have donated $1.7 million to date and countless hours while maintaining full-time jobs outside the park. The Bar of America fundraiser no longer happens, so BBW asks supporters to donate through their website at bikingforabetterworld.org. 

“Some folks think that tax dollars built this park, but that’s not the case,” says McMullin. “The majority of this public asset is funded through the generous donations of our supporters. If you or your kids love riding the Truckee Bike Park, please consider making a contribution to Biking for a Better World so we can keep this beloved community asset thriving.”

Ben, Amy and Max Fish celebrate the grand opening of Bijou Bike Park in 2015, courtesy photo

Building Bijou

What Knudson and McMullin created in Truckee encouraged others to do the same. Beginning in 2011, South Lake Tahoe couple Ben and Amy Fish helped spearhead the resurrection of the Tahoe Area Mountain Biking Association (TAMBA). With this new leadership came new priorities, and one of them was to build a bike park. 

Ben Fish, a principal landscape architect at Design Workshop, has more than 20 years of experience designing public places like bike parks, and one of his first phone calls was to Knudson and McMullin.

“What Cortney and Brooks did building that first pump track at the Truckee Bike Park inspired us in South Lake,” says Fish. 

It took a handful of years for Fish to work through the city process, but in 2015 construction began on the Bijou Bike Park. After months of nonstop work, relying largely on volunteer labor, the bike park was completed in the fall of 2015. It was celebrated with South Lake Tahoe’s 50^th anniversary parade, which finished at the park for the grand opening. 

“The city funded a significant portion of the park build with in-kind services and equipment. It was a really cool collaborative project,” says Fish. 

A young Max Fish helps shape and maintain Bijou Bike Park, courtesy photo

At 5 acres in size, Bijou is smaller than Truckee Bike Park, but it maximizes space thanks to thoughtful design. One of the park’s main limitations is that Bijou is almost entirely maintained by volunteer labor. Because Bijou has been more of a passion project for TAMBA, it hasn’t grown at the same pace as Truckee Bike Park. 

“A lot of cities are still learning how to support a bike park,” says Fish. “It’s not as easy as a sports field where you paint lines and mow the turf. Thankfully, the City of South Lake Tahoe set up a volunteer agreement, allowing community members to help maintain the bike park.” 

Perhaps the longest-serving volunteer for Bijou, and for TAMBA, is Fish’s son Max. 

Now 15 years old, he’s been present for every stage of TAMBA’s resurrection. Both Max and TAMBA have grown up together, and with each completed project, there is a photograph of a taller and taller Max holding a tool. Last summer, Max went from being a volunteer to the youngest paid staff member, becoming the steward of the park and a role model for younger kids who frequent the site. 

During COVID, both the Truckee Bike Park and Bijou Bike Park became indispensable assets for many families, allowing their children a safe place to recreate outdoors. 

Max Fish, 15, goes no-handed at Bijou Bike Park, courtesy photo

“For our family, the bike park grew in importance during COVID,” says Fish. “Beyond that, there were so many first-timers showing up on old bikes that had previously been rusting away in a garage. It emphasized the importance of having accessibility. A trail like Corral is deep in the forest, which is less accessible for new riders. But a bike park, it’s the gateway to bigger adventures.”

Because Fish’s profession is tied to public amenities like bike parks, he sees the evolution firsthand. He’s currently working on designs for new bike parks in Denver, Stockton and a 100-acre park in Frisco, Texas.

“Back in 2011, there weren’t many examples of successful bike parks besides Valmont in Boulder, Colorado,” says Fish. “But today, bike parks are becoming as ubiquitous as skate parks. Every city needs to have a bike park, as they foster a welcoming and inclusive community along with accessibility to the outdoors most urban families don’t readily have.”

The Middle Ground

There’s one main drawback to having a bike park in South Lake Tahoe and Truckee—winter. Both sites shut down for almost half the year, leaving a need for another park at lower elevation that can be ridden nearly year-round. 

Just down the hill from Tahoe, Carson City has developed a reputation for its burgeoning trails community thanks to the efforts of local nonprofit Muscle Powered. In 2017, a group of locals including professional freerider Greg Watts—known for pulling off the first double backflip on a mountain bike—began working on designs for a bike park at Centennial Park in eastern Carson City. A preliminary plan was completed by Sensus R.A.D. Trails, a nonprofit trail-building company started by local mountain bike legend Cam Zink. 

However, the pandemic in 2020 shut down all efforts and the idea went stagnant. In 2023, local resident Dan Thornton, who had no knowledge of the previous efforts, pondered the same thing that Knudson and McMullin did back in 2010: Why isn’t there a bike park here? 

Thornton reached out to Muscle Powered, and much to his surprise, the group came back to him with the previously created preliminary plan. Thornton connected with Watts and Cody Wilkins of Sensus R.A.D. Trails to further develop the plan. Then Thornton joined the board of Muscle Powered to ensure the project did not stall again. 

Carson City Parks, Recreation and Open Space recently released a Centennial Park Master Plan Survey to the public. Thornton activated 700 of his bike park supporters to fill out the survey, resulting in overwhelmingly positive support for incorporating a bike park in the master plan. 

“We’ve been intentional about ensuring this project aligns with broader community priorities,” says Thornton. “Residents want expanded recreational opportunities, youth engagement programs and spaces that promote community well-being. The bike park directly addresses those needs in a way that is cost-effective, scalable and community-driven, which is especially relevant given reductions happening at the federal level.”

The city has been receptive to the support. According to Thornton, the park will have three design phases, with the first tentatively planned on 6 acres. The eventual goal is to tie the bike park into the neighboring network of singletrack trails. And thanks to the rocky soil and dry location in the rain shadow of the Sierra, the park should remain open through most of the winter.

“My kids don’t mountain bike, but I’m doing this to help get kids get off of phone screens and get them outdoors,” says Thornton, explaining why he’s taking on such a monumental task. “A bike park is a missing piece of infrastructure here in Carson City that will be critical in further building our valued outdoor community.”

Although the city’s master plan incorporates the bike park design, it isn’t yet guaranteed. Thornton is seeking a champion on the board of supervisors to ensure the project happens and encourages residents to write a letter of support to the Carson City Board of Supervisors.  

Outdoor recreation is evolving. The traditional ball sports of yesteryear are not as popular as they once were, and public spaces in towns like Truckee and South Lake Tahoe reflect the diverse and changing needs of mountain communities. Through his work, Ben Fish considers bike parks the nucleus of this evolution. 

“It’s exciting to see how communities are embracing bike parks,” says Fish. “It’s introducing a new demographic to bikes while bringing increased outdoor accessibility to urban families. Every city should have a bike park, and the most exciting part is we’re seeing it happen.”

Also known as @trail_whisperer, Kurt Gensheimer is a professional storyteller and trail builder. As co-host of @mindthetrack podcast, he profiles the “core lords” of mountain culture in the Northern Sierra Nevada and Great Basin of Nevada.