A new MTB trail has opened at Dugas Community Park in Scottsville, KY with plans for future expansion

A sign for the Dugas Dirt Trail, indicating a 1.5-mile route suitable for beginner to intermediate riders. The sign features a map of the trail, along with safety instructions and contact information for emergency assistance. The trail is surrounded by lush green trees and natural foliage, with a dirt path visible in the background. — *This trail is just the beginning of what’s to come at Dugas Community Park. Photo: Oliver Creative.*

Scottsville, Kentucky just opened a 1.5-mile mountain bike trail at Dugas Community Park. While that doesn’t sound impressive, it is just the beginning of a bigger project. The park is already working on an additional 2.5 miles of trails, as well as creating a trails master plan that will help it develop even more trails in the next five to ten years.

To find out more about the park and its new trails, Singletracks spoke with Shannon Weaver, the Executive Director of Dugas Community Park, Scott Duvall, the Team Director of the Southern KY (SKY) Composite youth mountain bike team, Chip Winger, the current president of the Southwest Kentucky Mountain Bike Association, and David Moore, a local trail builder.

Aerial view of a sprawling green landscape featuring rolling hills, wooded areas, and a winding road. In the foreground, there is a parking area with several cars, and a building with a red roof. The scene is dotted with trees in various stages of foliage, under a bright blue sky with scattered clouds. — *The Dugas family donated over 300 acres of land to the town for a park. Photo: Oliver Creative.*

A family homestead became a community park

The land where Dugas Community Park is located was once the 340-acre homestead of Laura Jo and Wayne Dugas. Laura Jo Dugas was the daughter of Cal Turner, Sr., who founded the Dollar General Store.

The Dugas family lived on the land from 1963 to 1990. Afterward, they donated the land to the community, along with an operating endowment to provide for upkeep and maintenance. For a town of just over 4,000 people, having a public space that big for recreation and entertainment is huge.

The park was first opened to the public in 2016 with some walking and hiking trails. A pavilion and amphitheater were then built in 2018 so the park could host community events.

The park is run as a private non-profit corporation. It has a board of directors and an executive director.

*Weaver got up to speed quickly on the benefits of having trails and became a strong advocate for building them at the park. Photo: Oliver Creative.*

The park’s board of directors saw mountain biking as a great use for the land

Weaver, who became the executive director of the park in January of this year, told Singletracks that the board was searching for the best and highest uses of the land a couple of years ago. Two of the board members were riders and brought the idea of building mountain bike trails to the board.

According to Weaver, the idea of mountain bike trails appealed to the board because Laura Jo Dugas was adamant that the land remain as pristine as possible. This ruled out the creation of facilities like ballparks and soccer fields.

When Weaver came on board in January of 2026, the park’s first mountain bike trail was already under construction. Weaver did not have any experience with mountain biking, so he reached out to both Duvall and Winger to get a better understanding of the sport.

“I was blown away by the possibilities,” said Weaver. He learned that adding trails would benefit the community and bring in revenue to the town.

A wooded trail surrounded by bare trees, leading to a grassy field in the distance. A small stream runs alongside the pathway, under a clear blue sky with scattered clouds. — *The trail makes the most of the rolling hills in the park and offers great views of the land. Photo left: Chip Winger.* Photo right: Oliver Creative.

*The trail makes the most of the rolling hills in the park and offers great views of the land. Photo left: Chip Winger.* Photo right: Oliver Creative.

The board hired a local trail builder to create the park’s first trails

Moore, a Scottsville local, had worked for different trail builders in Kentucky and Tennessee for several years before returning to Scottsville to settle down. One of the Dugas Community Park board members, who was also the teacher of Moore’s daughter, approached him one day, asking if he knew any trail builders. Moore mentioned his trail building experience and was soon hired by the board to build the first trail.

Moore described the topography of the park as a series of rolling hills. “It’s perfect for NICA,” Moore said. He took advantage of the land to build a fun, flowy singletrack trail with a lot of rollers. “The board wasn’t sure what they wanted at first, so I built a trail that was fun to ride but that anyone could ride.”

Using a mini-excavator to rough-cut the trail, Moore built the first trail in three months. He is currently working on building the second trail at the park, which he hopes to have finished by the beginning of August.

A group of six children in helmets and cycling gear are gathered on a grassy field, each with a mountain bike. An adult instructor, wearing a green shirt and gloves, is standing next to a bike, giving instructions. The background features trees and a grassy path, indicating an outdoor biking environment. — *Dugas Community Park might become a NICA practice and race venue by next year. Photo: SKY Composite.*

Dugas Park hopes to be a NICA race venue in 2027

Weaver said that the board’s next goal for the park is to be a race venue for the Kentucky Interscholastic Cycling League by next year. He’s already reached out to Duvall to see what needs to be done to achieve this goal.

Duvall told Singletracks that “Kentucky didn’t have any NICA-specific venues or trails built according to NICA principles when the league was first started seven years ago. Now, there are seven trail systems being designed or expanded to be NICA race venues.”

According to Duvall, the park already has one of the most well-marked trails in the area, and has the parking and facilities needed for hosting a NICA race. The addition of the second trail Moore is currently building will bring the total mileage to just over four miles, which is within the range for a NICA racecourse.

A group of people at a bike trail kiosk, with a sign indicating a guided bike trail starting at noon. One person is wearing a helmet and standing next to a bicycle, while another is speaking to a child and an adult. The scene is surrounded by greenery, with a path leading away from the kiosk. — *There’s several reasons why Scottsville can become a regional riding destination, including the addition of more trails at Dugas Community Park. Photo: Oliver Creative.*

The park can also make Scottsville a regional riding destination

Winger highlighted why the area could be a great riding destination. “You can walk or ride to Dugas Community Park from downtown. The town is also twenty minutes from I-65.”

Then there is the topography of the area itself. Weaver said that “this part of Kentucky has a lot of undulating hills.” The trail that just opened makes the most of it, having a nice up and down feel to it.

Additionally, building new trails at the park is a much quicker process thanks to the park’s status as a nonprofit corporation. “There’s a lot less time spent on the approval process,” said Winger.

Winger said that the town is also within a thirty-minute drive of four other trails, including two at Barren River Lake, one at the Port Oliver Recreation Area, and one at Highlander Recreation Area. Bowling Green is twenty five miles away and has two bike shops, and Scottsville is under an hour away from Mammoth Cave National Park, which boasts roughly 21 miles of riding trails.

A rustic outdoor pavilion with a peaked roof and wooden beams, illuminated by string lights, surrounded by green trees. In the foreground, a winding gravel path leads to a wooden seating area and playground equipment, while two people are visible near the pavilion. — *With facilities like this amphitheater, the park could host bike-related festivals in the future. Photo: Oliver Creative.*

Big things are going to happen at the park in the next few years

“A lot is going to happen in the next two years,” said Winger. Once the next trail is completed, Winger mentioned that a pump track, dual slalom course, and a longer XC trail, nine to ten miles in length, could follow in the next few years, depending on plans and funding.

Winger also told Singletracks that, in addition to a NICA race, the park is planning to host other bike-related events, such as a gravel crit and trail festival, in the coming years. “With 340 acres of rolling land, the potential at Dugas Community Park is off the charts.”

For now, Weaver told Singletracks that the park is focused on creating enough trails to host a NICA race next year and finalizing a trails master plan for the park. Beyond that, “we’re just trying to get to a level where we have the credibility to be a legitimate riding destination.”