In her submission for a state award, Sedona Parks and Recreation Manager Rachel Murdoch asked why a community with nearly 250 miles of trails needs a bike park.
“While always a tourist destination for hiking and art, Sedona has evolved into a mountain bike destination as well,” she wrote. “With the ever-growing popularity of the Sedona Mountain Bike Festival and great marketing efforts from our local tourism bureau, mountain bikers are coming in droves to ride the city”
Additional tourism means additional use of the Forest Service trails. The additional use was begining to negatively impact our forests. Forest Service approached the city asking us to consider a park and within two years the Sedona Mountain Bike Skills Park was a reality. Murdoch’s explanation of why the park is important to both the community and its visitors helped persuade those judging in the 2019 Arizona Parks and Recreation Association awards.
On Aug. 20, Sedona took home the top prize for outstanding facility in a community with a population under 10,000 for the Sedona Bike Skills Park.
Murdoch said she was very happy with the award, the first Sedona has won in the category. As to why she submitted this project for the award, she said,
“It’s important for the department to get recognized. So, we look at the different categories each year to see if we have anything that falls into those particular ones.”
Other Sedona APRA winners in recent years include:
- 2013: Natural Resources Award — Sedona Wetlands Preserve
- 2012: Volunteer of the Year Award — Bob Huggins and the Sedona Volunteer Park Rangers program
- 2012: Outstanding Aquatics Program — Pumpkin Splash
The Sedona Bike Skills Park is 13 acres of dirt hillside and natural vegetation at Posse Grounds park, Murdoch wrote. From conception, this park was designed to blend seamlessly into the existing, natural landscape. Trees and bushes were retained and most of the trails are not visible from outside the park. It was designed to work functionally with existing trails and park users.
“I put a lot of blood, sweat and tears into this park,” said Jordan Reece, the bike park’s maintenance supervisor. “I get compliments from people all the time who come out here and use the park. It makes me feel good that something I’m passionate about gets recognized and enjoyed by others.”
The bike park was the brainchild of Murdoch and Sedona Bike Coordinator Doug Copp.
“We took it to council over and over and got the project supported … defended it and explained it,” Murdoch said. “Since then we’ve had a lot of volunteer hours that have been put into it, which is awesome. We’ve had individual, students and large groups.”
Reece said that volunteers are always needed to help with the park’s upkeep. He’s there for eight hours every Tuesday but accommodations can be made if a large group or organization wishes to come out on a weekend.
“They don’t necessarily have to use shovels — they can help water or rake,” he said. “It’s all needed and appreciated.”
Those interested in volunteering are asked to call Parks and Rec at 282-7098.
Ron Eland can be reached at 282-7795, ext. 122 or by email at reland@larsonnewspapers.com.
