BEND, OR -- Construction is now complete on the Phil's Skills Bike Park.

Central Oregon Trail Alliance Program Coordinator Vanessa Fron tells KBND News the popular mountain biking area west of Bend needed an upgrade, “Phil's trailhead had a bike park that was really run down and needed a lot of work to get it back up to normal jump heights and levels.” She says the first phase was built in the Spring for more advanced riders; it now offers terrain for all levels of expertise, “With the second phase, we added smaller features like a strider course, drop jumps, drop zones...There is a flat zone for coaching… So, people can go out and just learn how to maneuver on a bike. The whole strip starts off with a beginner level in the front and skills progress, the further you go back and then eventually there's a big jump track and pump course.”

The project was a joint effort with contractors, the Forest Service, and tons of dirt and boulders. “Once all of that was done, all of the COTA volunteers came out and finished with hand tools, shaping, watering, so that everything stays in place. And now that winter is upon us, we are hoping that the snowpack will really settle everything in,” Fron says.

Funding for the $50-thousandr project came from local businesses and non-profits. COTA is looking for more donations and volunteers to keep up with necessary maintenance of the skills park, “It costs roughly $15,000 to maintain one bike park for one year. And COTA currently maintains about five different bike parks,” says Fron.

Although COTA volunteers will do more hand-finishing next spring, the Phil’s Skills Bike Park is open for riding now.

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