Not every town has access to thousands of acres of public land or sprawling trail networks in the backcountry. But that doesn’t mean riders are out of luck. Over the past decade, bike parks have emerged as a brilliant solution for communities looking to provide quality riding without needing miles of terrain—concentrating features, progression, and fun into compact, accessible spaces that can turn a neighborhood park into a legitimate mountain biking destination.
Mapleton, Utah, is one of the latest communities to join this building boom, as it is currently developing a new bike park. But the park is just one piece of a much bigger vision to connect residents to the outdoors.
To find out more about Mapleton’s plans, Singletracks spoke to Logan Miner, the Parks and Recreation Director for the city of Mapleton, and Jay Hoeschler, Partner and Design Director of Avid Trails.
Mapleton’s unique geography makes it a great area for trails
Mapleton is a small town of just over 11,000 people that is part of the Provo-Orem Metropolitan Area. The town is located roughly an hour south of Salt Lake City and Park City in the north-central part of the state.
The town sits at 4,700 feet above sea level, with foothills and mountains to the east and south rising to over 10,000 feet. It also sits on the Bonneville Shoreline, the edge of an ancient lakebed—and the “bathtub ring” that marks the former shoreline is still visible at the base of the mountain range. Locals refer to this feature as “the bench.”
The region has great trail potential but little to offer riders
Mapleton has several factors that could make it a great trail community. First, Miner said that back in the early 2000s, the city instituted a Transferable Development Rights (TDR) Program. The TDR Program allowed private landowners who owned land in the foothills on the east side of town to transfer the value of that land to property in other parts of town so that the city could protect the foothills land and make it available to residents as open green space.
Second, development of the multi-use Bonneville Shoreline Trail began in the 1990s. The trail runs from the Utah-Idaho border in the north to Nephi, Utah, which is just south of Mapleton. Nearly 75% of Utah’s residents reside in the area covered by the trail. Currently, roughly 170 miles of the trail have been completed, including a small segment that runs through Mapleton.
That unpaved segment of trail, along with the Mapleton Lateral Canal Parkway Trail, an asphalt trail that runs north-south through the city, provides two great arteries that could link residents to trails. However, there were not many existing mountain bike trails to connect to.
Recognizing this gap, the city began work on a trails master plan in 2022.
The master plan called for the creation of a bike park and interconnected trail systems
Miner told Singletracks that one of the city’s core values is promoting an active lifestyle and outdoor recreation. However, the city had little to offer residents in the way of mountain biking.
According to the master plan, the city had 16.7 miles of existing trails, only three of which were unpaved. “There were no purpose-built mountain bike trails,” said Hoeschler, whose company was contracted by the city to do the master plan.
The Trails Master Plan, which was completed in August of 2023, focused on the Bench area of the city, dividing it into three sections: North, Central, and South. The plan identified opportunities for new trails in all three sections that could connect to existing trails and other infrastructure within the town, proposing the addition of over 100 miles of trails in total.
Additionally, the plan identified a parcel of land in the South Bench area that would be a great site for a bike park. The parcel was located just east of the intersection of Highway 6 and Highway 89, next to a new housing development. It was bordered on the west by the Mapleton Lateral Canal Parkway Trail and on the east by the Bonneville Shoreline Trail. Both trails could provide connectivity to other proposed trails identified in the Trails Master Plan, as well as the town itself.
Avid Trails proposed a design that emphasized inclusion and progression
In addition to completing the Trails Master Plan for Mapleton, the city contracted with Avid Trails to design the bike park’s initial phase, according to Hoeschler. Avid’s final product was a bike park that was rich in features.
Hoeschler said that “the concept includes two pump tracks (beginner and intermediate/advanced), green, blue, and black jump lines that will be a football field in length, a cross-country loop with optional technical features, and a hub in the center with green, blue, and black downhill lines.” But that’s not all.
There will also be a playground, pavilion, restrooms, and an open field. “You could show up with the entire family and have something for everyone,” said Hoeschler. The park was designed to help riders advance their skills and to serve as a potential practice location for local NICA teams. “NICA is huge in Utah. It was on our minds when planning the park.”
The city has raised $5 million and plans to break ground in 2026
Miner said the city has obtained $5 million for the bike park’s construction so far. Of that, $3.5 million in cash came from an agreement with a nearby housing development. The city also received a $1.5 million grant from the state of Utah. It is currently pursuing a $500,000 grant through the county, as well as more grants from the state.
It has contracted with Sunrise Engineering to build the park, and Miner said the city hopes to begin work in April of 2026. When completed, it will offer approximately four miles of trails. But that’s not all. “The intent is to have it be part of a network of trails that link together,” said Miner. Even though the park and any future trails that connect to it are being built for the benefit of Mapleton’s residents, he hopes it will become a regional attraction, too.
Hoeschler gave kudos to the city for seeing the need for mountain bike optimized trails and taking action by creating a trails master plan and bike park. “We like to design trails where your garage is the trailhead, and this project aligns with that goal.”
Know about a new trail project we should cover? Whether you’re breaking ground on the next must-ride destination or putting the finishing touches on a neighborhood flow trail, we want to hear about it. Drop us a line at [email protected] with high-quality photos of your build, plus details like trail mileage, location, difficulty, and what makes it special. We’re always on the hunt for the next great trail story, and there’s a good chance your project could be featured in an upcoming article.
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