The Blaine County Recreation District will unveil a new "pump park" in Hailey on Wednesday, Oct. 7. The grand opening will take place from 5-6 p.m. at the park on Fox Acres Road, adjacent to the Aquatic Center.
A pump park is a small dirt bike track where the objective is to gain speed at the outset and then use momentum to move over bumps and through banked corners.
At the opening, former professional mountain bike racers will give a demonstration on the track before turning it over to the public.
The parks are intended to help mountain bikers improve skills and prepare them for more arduous singletrack adventures, as well as provide a great workout for both children and adults.
Rec district Executive Director Jim Keating said the plan for the park has been in the works since spring and construction has been taking place over the past five weeks.
Keating said Alpine Bike Parks, a Colorado-based bike park planning company, helped design and construct both the Hailey park and another pump park under construction in Ketchum.
Keating said that although planning for the two parks began independently, the rec district worked in cooperation with the Ketchum Parks Department to build the cycling amenities. If construction remains on schedule, the Ketchum park should open within two to three weeks, Keating said.
"We partnered on everything from bulldozers to dirt," he said. "These parks will not only teach bike skills, but will also augment the valley's biking amenities, like the Wood River bike trail and all of our backcountry singletrack."
Keating said tracks of this type have become increasingly popular around the country because they are relatively inexpensive to build and easy to maintain.
Jon Duval: jduval@mtexpress.com
