Park Farm MBT Trails
The Tri-State Mountain Bike Riders (TMBR) is developing another extensive mountain bike trail project at Park Farm Winery. Two trails are currently open, and more are expected later this fall, according to TMBR Project Manager Zach Hodge. He explains that “through the generosity of the Cushman family, TMBR has a 25-year lease on 110 acres next to Park Farm Winery.” Hodge is managing the build on TMBR's behalf, working with the Cushmans and Traction Trailworx, the company designing and building the trails. Hodge explains, “It’s a great adventure tourism / agritourism opportunity for the Driftless area — where locals and visitors alike can ride, hike, eat and relax all in one place.”
The plan is to build 9 trails and about 9.2 miles of singletrack for riders of all ages and abilities, including the first National Interscholastic Cycling Association (NICA) compatible race network in our area for youth mountain biking. There will be plenty of green- and blue-rated trails, with a few added expert lines for those seeking a bit more thrill.
The first two trails are complete. Cork (1.15 miles) is the beginner trail and an NICA race course (renamed as Beehive), and Cask (1.7 miles) is a family friendly, blue-rated trail. The builders expect to finish roughly another mile before the end of this year. Those trails are open for riding and hiking already. Hodge notes that the names on the concept map are just placeholders. The Cushman family will rename the trails as they are completed, with trail names that have significance to the family based on the land and how they’ve enjoyed it (e.g., Cork is now Beehive). Park Farm Manager Jim Cushman is excited to share the property with cyclists.
The total project is estimated at $600,000. With nearly $300,000 pledged, all through private donors, the project is roughly halfway completed. Their goal is to complete fundraising and build the second half of the system next year. This has been one of the bigger challenges for the project. TMBR has been very successful in the past at acquiring local, state and/or national grants for trail projects. The uniqueness of this system being built on private land through a lease has steered away all of the grant applications so far. TMBR is very thankful for their donors and is confident they will achieve funding goals. Donations can be made to GoFundMe, and trail condition updates can be found at tmbrtrails.org. A trail map can be found at https://tmbrtrails.org/park-farm-trails-system/
A section of the Park Farm Trails developed by TractionWorx