Carver Lake Park's Off-Road Cycling Trails

Reed Smidt, recreation specialist for the city of Woodbury, enjoys the new Carver Lake Park off-road cycling trails

Mark Franz and his wife Kelly ride bikes with their sons Max and Jack. The boys started young, and now at ages 15 and 13 they continue to enjoy riding as a family. “It’s a great way to bond,” Franz says.

A 2010 outdoor recreation participation report by the National Recreation and Parks Association claims that more than 14.5 million kids, ages 6 to 17, participate in biking-related outings, making biking the most popular outdoor activity among children. The Franz family joins many others in riding both on the road and off, using bikes specifically designed to navigate dirt tracks and obstacles.

What the Franz family has over millions of riders across the country is the advantage of new off-road cycling trails close-to-home, in the southern part of Woodbury’s Carver Lake Park. Long before the first 3 miles of official trails opened this summer, renegade dirt trails had been built in some areas of the park by youth. These trails were not only unsafe; they created land erosion. However, the renegade trails prompted research into the development of sustainable ones. Starting in 2008, the park was evaluated by city and state agencies, approved and eventually awarded a grant through the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources for construction to begin in May 2010 on a single-track trail, roughly 18 to 24 inches wide, that weaves its way throughout the park. Paved bike paths, holding ponds and woodland areas create buffers between the off-road trail and residential neighborhoods. The trail corridor follows the contours of the land, which allows the trail to be sustainable, protects valuable native trees and provides residents with an exciting ride.

“As the trail matures and native plants grow in along the route, it will become even more difficult to see the trail unless you are riding on it,” says Reed Smidt, recreation specialist for the city of Woodbury. Franz agrees: “When you are mountain biking, you see nature at another level, as you are on trails that are deep in the woods. I love all the obstacles, uphills and switchbacks this system has to offer.”

The remaining youth renegade trails will be removed and reseeded with native plants and grasses, with the fall completion of an additional 3 miles of trail. Invasive buckthorn is a major issue in many Woodbury parks, and Carver Lake Park’s native trees and plants are profiting by its removal during trail construction.

Along with buckthorn, project volunteers have removed everything from a spool of barbed wire to a box spring, glass bottles and numerous bags of trash. “Volunteers have included youth, families, grandparents and nature lovers who want to give back to the community,” says Smidt, who’s an avid biker himself.

Many of the volunteers are members of Minnesota Off-Road Cyclists (MORC), a nonprofit organization dedicated to safeguarding the future of the state’s mountain biking. They assisted the city during the initial evaluation, trail design and building process, and will continue with trail maintenance once the project is complete.

MORC member Tiffany Wolf has biked all her life, but it wasn’t until she experienced trail maintenance work that she actually started biking off-road. “Once I learned how to traverse a mountain bike trail, I was hooked,” says Wolf. She’s likely to catch fellow MORC member Susannah King banking a newly created berm this summer. “Carver Lake Park will be a trail that folks of all ability levels will enjoy,” King says. “I foresee a lot of day trips there, with barbecues and swimming.”

They might be hard to spot from the road, but rest assured these cyclists are reconnecting with nature and grabbing some great exercise in the process.

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