Woodstock To Open Family Mountain Bike Trails at Dupree Park

The city of Woodstock next week will celebrate the opening of the latest network of trails throughout the area.

A grand opening of the Dupree Park Family Mountain Bike Trail is set for Saturday, Oct. 4 at Dupree Park, located at 513 Neese Road. A ribbon cutting is slated to be held at 9 a.m. After the ribbon cutting, the trails will be open for kids’ group rides and bike games.

At 11 a.m., a Kids Bike Clinic will be presented by Sorella Cycling. Free hotdogs and hamburgers will be available from 11:30 to 12:30 p.m., while supplies last.

The grand opening coincides with the International Mountain Bicycling Association’s 11th Annual Take a Kid Mountain Biking Day, which features hundreds of events across the world and encourages parents to take their children mountain biking.

The Dupree Park trails are a scaled down version of mountain bike trail systems with the same trail use rules as the other networks in the Woodstock area. This provides an environment that allows the rider to practice navigating a trail map and following guidelines such as the travel direction changing by the day of the week.

Rated as easy, the three main loops — named Lions, Tigers and Bears — are beginner-friendly with a wide, smooth trail tread. The grades are very low, and the trails are meant to be fun at slower speeds.

A short bike skills trail — dubbed Oh my! — also provides technical features designed to teach balance control and bike handling. These are perfect trails for kids and for novice off-road riders as well as those getting back on the bike after a long hiatus.

“The Dupree Park trails are another great product of the partnerships between the city of Woodstock, Greenprints Alliance and SORBA Woodstock,” said Gary Moore, trail director for SORBA Woodstock. “Each brings their expertise and resources to make projects like this successful and Woodstock is a better, healthier place to live with these leaders working together in our community.”

Pinnacle Orthopaedics sponsored the project and noted it’s ”excited to partner with the city of Woodstock in helping to promote health and wellness within the community,” Managing Physician Dr. Michael Kuczmanki said.

For more information, call Woodstock Parks and Recreation at (770) 517-6788 or visit the agency’s website.

(Photo: bridge and boardwalk at the Dupree Park Family Mountain Bike Trail, which bridge connects the Bear Trail to the Lion and Tiger trails. Credit: city of Woodstock)