HomeMy WebLinkAboutLake Elmo Eval
Ben Prchal
City planner, Lake Elmo MN.
Ben
Thanks for asking my opinion on which of the city parks would be most appropriate for supporting a
mountain bike trail system.
Overall most of the parks are too small to support a trail system that would attract riders. Reid and Ridge
park do have some space but they also have some programming with ball sports and that takes up a
considerable amount of space. The only park in your system that I believe holds potential for mountain
bike trail development is Sunfish Lake Park.
The reasons I believe Sunfish Lake Park offers the greatest potential for the development of trails are as
follows:
1. Great topography: During my visit I was impressed with the multiple ridges that run through this park
and the elevation change on each of the ridges. The ridges would allow Lake Elmo to build trails that
would appeal to a multiple skill level audience. Families could ride together as well as the more
experienced riders and all user groups could have a trail that would meet their expectations.
2. Adequate space: The average rider likes to ride for around 1.5-2 hours on local outing. With the
average speed of riders being approximately 7 MPH that would mean that you need a trail of
approximately 7-10 miles in length. Just for reference Lebanon Hills mountain bike trail is about 12
miles long and is located on a parcel of land that is approximately 120 Acres in size.
3. Soils: I checked the soil types in several locations around Sunfish Lake Park and believe that they
would do a very adequate job of supporting properly sustainable trail construction.
4. Location: This location is ideal. It is centrally located, offers space for adequate parking and does not
have a lot of developed user areas as of this time.
Summary: Sunfish Lake Park offers all of the parts that could be developed into an above average
mountain bike trail system. I believe that the park would support a trail quite easily in the 7-10 mile
length which is what most riders would like to ride. Also, with the high school team looking for a
location where they can practice this would provide the ideal venue for them to practice in to develop
their skills. It is important and I cannot stress this enough that the trails be professionally designed and
constructed by a company that has experience building these types of trails.
Thanks for giving me this opportunity to review that parks within the City of Lake Elmo. Please let me
know how I can be of further service to you or the City of Lake Elmo.
Sincerely,
Tim Wegner
Trail Source LLC.