DES MOINES, Iowa — A 50-acre plot of undeveloped land east of Des Moines is getting a facelift.
Copper Creek Mountain Bike Park project aims to provide a soft-surface trail system for recreational mountain biking, hiking and trail running. There will also be groomed trails for winter fat biking and 4.5 miles of single-track flow trails, which "take mountain bikers on a terrain induced roller coaster experience," according to the project website.
"Des Moines, actually, has the least amount of dirt trails," said She Rossetti, community outreach coordinator for Polk County Conservation. "We also have a very small percentage of land to work with in the metro area. So, adding this kind of alleviates all of our other trail heads and adds more."
The project will be completed in phases. Phase one will cost around $250,000, and phase two will be close to $500,000, according to Adam Fendrick, the park planner with Polk County Conservation.
County officials said they saw a 40% increase in trail use in 2020.
Organizers hope to start construction in fall 2022.
You can see the renderings of the project here.
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