BMX bikers looking to hone their skills on a dirt course are about to get a new place to ride, and it won’t matter if it’s their first day or if they’ve been riding for 20 years.
“Itap great that there’s enough space to get a full array of slope-style and dirt jumps,” said Morgan Benbough, project manager for Alpine Bike Parks, who is building the nearly complete Ruby Hill bike park. . “In the long run, it keeps those people coming back.”
The bike park on the south side of Ruby Hill Park — between West Florida and West Jewell avenues and bordering the South Platte River — should be open to the public by July and is expected to draw in riders from around the region.
“The bike park itself is meant to be a city-wide amenity,” said Jason Himick, project manager with Denver Parks and Recreation.
Built over the past year, the bike park will include separate courses with different tracks filled with dirt jumps and walls based on a rider’s skill level. The 7-acre bike park is comparable in size to Valmont Bike Park in Boulder and is considerably larger than the bike area in Denver’s Barnum Park.
“We have more diverse terrain here,” said Ted Van Orman, a subcontractor with Alpine Bike Parks, the builder of the Ruby Hill project.
Van Orman, an Evergreen resident, who has worked on several parks, helping build and test riding the park’s features, said the bike park will be a regional draw for the bike community.
“Itap like a hub for people who like bikes,” he said.
The bike park will be open during daylight hours and will not be staffed. It will likely be run by volunteers. Any closures would be due to severe weather or maintenance work.
The bike park is part of Ruby Hill Park’s $1.7 million second phase of the park’s reimagination into an active park. Other parts of phase two include improvements to parking in the area, the addition of volleyball and basketball courts, a skate skills area and a new spray pad.
Phase one work included irrigation replacement, a new playground area, community garden, upgraded walkways and a new roadway and parking lot.
The construction of , is not part of this phase.
The bike park will be near the sledding hill and the which brings in a lot of people during the winter. The bike area replaces an open area of grass that Himick says was not often used.
“I think the theme of this style of sport started with the rail yard from the winter and realizing we had all this bluegrass that wasn’t being utilized,” he said.
With the park being more active during the day, Himick said the hope is that there will be a reduction in some of the illicit activity that happens there at times.
Ruby Hill-Godsman Neighborhood Association co-president Sharona Thompson said that is already beginning to take shape as she has noticed less vandalism in the park.
“With all the changes happening and coming it will activate the park even more,” Thompson said. “We’ve seen a difference recently. It has reduced vandalism.”
Resident Edward Endicott remembers when the park was full of gang activity that spilled in from Federal Boulevard. While he notes that Denver Police and parks and rec did good work to curtail that, he is concerned for the park’s future, particularly with Levitt Pavilion.
“I feel very strongly that to benefit the neighborhood, the city should have instead built a new recreation center at the top of Ruby Hill Park to replace the Athmar rec center,” he said.
Thompson said that while some are hesitant to see the changes to the park, much of the neighborhood is excited for what is to come.
“Itap still in progress right now,” she said. “I don’t know what will come with it, but so many of us are optimistic.”