NEBRASKAland Magazine is dedicated to outstanding photography and informative writing with an engaging mix of articles and photos highlighting Nebraska’s outdoor activities, parklands, wildlife, history and people.
Issue link: http://mag.outdoornebraska.gov/i/1264601
52 Nebraskaland • July 2020 ountain bikers have been riding the trails carved into the bluff s at Platte River State Park for decades, its hills and rocks providing a challenge many yearn for, with the scenery providing the icing on the cake. Now they have a new set of singletrack trails loaded with unique features all for themselves as part of an addition to the park that could become a mountain bike destination for riders from across the country. Along with 4.4 miles of new trails, mostly tailored to intermediate and advanced riders, are features that include stair-steps, drop-off s, a boardwalk, log rides, curved wall rides, numerous switchbacks, a launch pad, fl at ramps, low-water crossings and table top ramps. A new access road on 358th Street, a mile east of the park's main entrance, leads to a new parking lot and trailhead, which is equipped with a restroom and a repair station. A skills track near the trailhead will help riders test their abilities before heading out into the hills. The new trails grew from the Nebraska Game and Parks Commission's Outdoor Venture Parks, an innovative public- private partnership, on a 46-acre addition to the east side of the park, which now covers 510 acres. The addition was completed in 2012 with the help of the Nebraska Game and Parks Foundation. Construction of the trails began in the fall of 2018 and, other than adding a few signs and two scenic overlooks, is mostly complete. Eighty percent of the project's $700,000 cost will be reimbursed by the Recreational Trails Program, a Federal Highway Administration program that dedicates a portion of fuel excise tax paid by off -road recreational vehicles for trail development. A signifi cant portion of the remainder of the cost was covered by a donation by Lee Stuart of Lincoln through the Lee and Debby Stuart Family Foundation, which is funded by Lee's grandfather, James Stuart. The trails were designed and built by a contractor and laid out to preserve the park's terrain. Troy Nelson, an engineer with the Commission, attended the International Mountain Bike Association's Trail Lab in Bentonville, Arkansas, to learn more about sustainable trail design, with the goal of making the trails more resistant to erosion caused by weather and general use. Nelson was integral to construction, helping to select enjoyable and safe trail sites for users. Some features were moved, ensuring riders could see the obstacles in time to decide if they wanted to go over or around them, and some trails were rerouted to make uphill sections easier to ride. Some trails in the area, including the popular Stone Creek Trail, predate the park, having been part of the youth camps that were there prior to the Commission acquiring the area and opening the park in 1982. Mountain bikers likely found their way to the trails soon after the heavy-duty, wide-tire bikes, born in California in 1978, hit the production lines of M Paul Hunter of Omaha tackles one of three curved wall rides on the new trails.