While threats of trail closure continue to climb at an alarming rate, a relatively new concept of riding is on the rise and sweeping the nation (and beyond) in the form of indoor mountain bike parks. For most, these indoor riding oases will never take the place of any outdoor trail, but in times of inclement weather, a roid-driven El Niño, in regions where dirt lies beneath several feet of snow, and in cases where you just want to mix it up, wax some skill, or try something different, the indoor bike park is there for you.
There are certainly more, but here we’ve gathered nine of the most exciting, feature-filled indoor parks spanning the lower 48 and Canada so you can beat the wintertime blues right now!
Ray’s Indoor Bike Park: Cleveland, OH & Milwaukee, WI
- Sq ft: 130,000 (OH), 110,000 (WI) (12,077m² & 10,219m², respectively)
- In-house service/repair: No
- Rentals: bikes and bike storage. Helmet and armor is FREE with admission.
- Specials: 1st-timer deals Mon-Fri
We’ll start off with the big guns. The first of its kind and the one that started them all: Ray’s! If you’ve ever spent a winter in the Upper Midwest, you understand why an indoor MTB park in Ohio and Wisconsin couldn’t make more sense. Ray Petro invested all of his life savings plus a $25,000 loan for start-up simply because he wanted to ride during the winter. Not only did he accomplish that, but he also became an indoor park industry leader, inspiration for so many would-be indoor bike entrepreneurs, and a hero for locals looking to escape the punishing Midwest off-season.
Lumberyard: Portland, OR
- Sq ft: 48,000 (4460m²)
- In-house service/repair: Yes
- Rentals: bikes, helmet, armor, bike storage to members for a fee
- Specials: Two-for-One every Tuesday from 6p-10p
When the Lumberyard threw open its doors in Spring 2012, it became the first indoor MTB park west of the Mississippi and gave the mountain bike-unfriendly city of Portland a much-needed opportunity. Will Heiberg and Michael Whitesel co-founded Lumberyard, revamping an old bowling alley (heads up!) into a beautiful mosaic of pumps, bumps, and jumps with all ages and skill in mind. When you visit, don’t forget to sign up for the Sniper Action Photo to snag your high-flying no-hands banger.
CranX Bike and Sports Park: Syracuse, NY
- Sq ft: 90,000 (8361m²)
- In-house service/repair: Yes
- Rentals: bike, helmet, armor, bike storage available to all and free to members
- Specials: discounted entrance weekdays and weekends after 5p
Watching video after video of each park listed here was a ride in and of itself, but CranX in Syracuse, NY gets my vote as the most intriguing. And never mind the high-flying action to be had indoors–come summertime, Cranx has an outdoor bike yard in excess of 3 acres! To put that into perspective, CranX outdoor park is as big as Ray’s of Cleveland, the second largest park listed.
The Wheel Mill: Pittsburgh, PA
- Sq ft: 80,000 (7432m²)
- In-house service/repair: yes, but limited to small repairs
- Rentals: bike, helmet, armor, bike storage to members
- Specials: Ladies Night every Monday, MTB night every Thursday
The Wheel Mill is the brainchild of Harry Geyer and was built through careful collaborative efforts, by local volunteers alongside legendary trail builders, and as organically as possible. In fact, 75% of the park was assembled with reclaimed lumbar and other scrapped material. Opened Spring of 2013, The Wheel Mill has since prided itself as a cycling hub for Pittsburgh, providing space for all ages and skill level, events, clinics, and some serious thrashing.
Wasatch Indoor Bike Park: Salt Lake City, UT
- Sq ft: 27,000 (2508m²)
- In-house service/repair: No
- Rentals: bike, helmet, armor, bike storage to members
- Specials: monthly overnighters (BYOB… sleeping bag, that is)
As it stands, there are only three indoor MTB parks located in the lower 48 west of the Mississippi, and two are in the Pacific Northwest. For those anywhere in between, it’s the Wasatch Indoor Bike Park located near downtown SLC, UT. Since opening in September, 2014, creator Spencer Randle has been busy expanding the park from the initial 11,000 sq ft space to a potential 50,000. With each successive expansion comes bigger features, faster lines, and more good times.
Burlington Bike Park: Burlington, WA
- Sq ft: 40,000 (3716m²)
- In-house service/repair: Yes, Skagit Cycle
- Rentals: bike and helmet
- Specials: Free lesson Friday with instructors on course
What would you do with 180 semi truck loads of dirt? Well, if you take a peek inside Burlington Bike Park’s indoor facility, you’ll see what they did. Burlington’s one acre of pumps, bumps, and jumps has been brought to you by real dirt! Word on the street is that founder and park builder, Joe Prisel, is the brains behind Portland’s Lumberyard and numerous features at Ray’s in Cleveland and Milwaukee.
Joyride 150: Toronto, ON, Canada
- Sq ft: 100,000 (9290m²)
- In-house service/repair: Yes
- Rentals: bike, helmet, armor, bike storage to members
- Specials: Old guys (30+) Night every Thursday, Women’s Night every Tuesday
Joyride 150 was established six years ago by avid riders Scott Bentley and Mark Summers in order to keep riding throughout the year, improve skills, and welcome new folks to the biking community. In 2016, the passion continues rolling forward upon a foundation of capable staff, the ability to change the riding features in the park, and a commitment to having a good time.
Mega Cavern Underground Bike Park: Louisville, KY
- Sq ft: 320,000 (29,728m²)
- In house service/repair: limited
- Rentals: bike and helmet
- Specials: daily and multi-day pricing, punch cards, group rates
Finally, what list of this nature could possibly be complete without Mega Cavern? Never mind the comforts of a climate-controlled bike park, Louisville’s bike cave is 100 feet underground! Talk about off-the-chart trails, this subterranean system is literally under the radar. Mega Cavern has over 320,000 square feet including over 45 trails comprised of jump lines, pump tracks, dual slalom, BMX, and cross country singletrack all in a limestone cave 10 stories below the earth’s surface, making this “underdoor” park not only one-of-a-kind, but the largest of its kind.
Other honorable indoor mentions include the Air Dome in Whistler, BC and the Highland Training Center at Highland Mountain Bike Park, NH, but they are only open in the summer during the outdoor bike park season.
The beauty of an indoor bike park’s “trail” design is that it’s only limited by a builder’s imagination (and maybe the walls and ceiling, too). What begins as a blank canvas, ends up becoming nothing short of fun, fast, high-flying works of art.
If there’s an indoor bike park we missed, we and Singletrackers everywhere want to know! Tell us about your indoor bike park in the comments below.
Burlington Bike Park has been closed for quite some time. Makes me wonder how outdated the rest of this information is.
Thanks for the update. I’m looking into this, but at the time this was written, Burlington was definitely up and running. Brian, do you have any other details on when and why they closed?
Mega Cavern Underground Bike Park: Louisville, KYhas been permanently closed for two years. I just tried to schedule a visit. The girl who answered didn’t know why it was closed.
Ray’s in Milwaukee is closed.
Bummer. This was written about a year ago and was recently re-shared. Sad to hear that 2 out of 9 of these didn’t last a year. 🙁
I was going to visit Cranx in December, but read that they lost their lease. The Facebook page says ‘permanently closed’. So, down to 6?
Cool sites and many riders who are far more skilled than I am, so understand that I do have a respect for these sites and the riders. BUT, imo none of these sites should be listed as trails on our Singletracks trails database — like Rays Indoor Bike Park in Cleveland currently listed at #98 …. at least Rays is no longer listed in the top 10 or 20 trails “in the world”. “In the world” added for emphasis, but still the site was listed as such at one time. Don’t get me wrong, I am supportive of these sites being listed on the website, but as a separate category in the database. Maybe I am missing something (wouldn’t be the first time), but it seems by definition, these are not trails. I would think that if they were listed as a separate category, it would actually promote them in a greater way … … and properly so. You could just make a new column in the db identifying these sites, keep all the current data on each site, and then develop an output report to produce a separate listing.
Is everyone aware that Ray Petro suffered serious injuries while mountain biking in Ohio last September?
I sincerely appreciate this Indoor MTB Park list! Ray’s get the most attention from Cycling Magazines and other MTB/BMX tribes. Nonetheless, I’m happy to see others have followed Ray’s dream/idea and turned their Indoor Park into reality. With that being said, my Old Hometown has an abandoned, three story Factory next to Lake Lenape and the Great Egg Harbor River in Mays Landing, NJ. There hasn’t been a Day that’s gone by since Ray’s was built that I’ve dreamed of creating a Indoor MTB Park at this location. Nice there isn’t a Indoor MTB/BMX Park listed for the Mid-Atlantic States, I’d Love to be the First to Pioneer this Dream. Before doing so, I would Hope those who have ridden Ray’s or any Indoor Park would contact me for support and ideas on this MTB/BMX adventure. I Hope to hear from you soon. Much obliged.
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