07 May . 2024
Meet Our New Mountain Bike Park: The Trek at Tehaleh
No need to slow your roll when there’s new biking trails to be had. The Trek Mt. Bike Park is officially finished and promises to be a wild ride for all you Tehaleh mountain bike fans. The new bike-exclusive park offers a wide range of trails, spanning over 6.5 miles, for all types of riders, a welcome sight for the growing sport.
The years of planning, collaboration, and hard work has finally crossed the finish line. In an interview with Rob Buck, the Chairman of the Pierce County Evergreen Mountain Bike Alliance, gave us some insight into how this park came to be and what Tehaleh residents are to expect from the park.
A Big Team & Volunteer Effort
Buck is an avid mountain biker himself. He even has the battle scars to prove it. “I got two plates and 13 screws in my collarbone, but besides that I'm fine.” Despite the injury 7 years ago, he’s back to hitting jumps and enjoying the ride. “If I’ve got half an hour just to go play? I’m gonna do it. I’ve got to go ride.” Beyond this, Buck has a remarkable appetite for improving trails and making sure they’re maintained for the next riders.
The Puget Sound community has tons of passionate volunteers who have done their best to make these parks their finest. The park has been a labor of love for the community, with many volunteers coming together to help build the trails. The lead trail builder, Brian Tustison, designed the park with the help of other trail builders and a large group of volunteers. The first official trail building party saw 55 people show up to help, and the work has continued since then with over 1,000 hours of volunteer trail building and 3,800 hours of professional trail building.
The process to get this park ready has required a similar persistence for all parties involved. As a non-profit, Evergreen Mountain Bike Alliance was able to land a grant to take on this project. This was an essential motivator to get NASH and Pierce County Parks on board. As the stars have aligned like a derailleur shifting gears from a tough climb into easy mode, the last two years have seen this dream coast into its full stride.
Now that the park is complete, Trek has been deeded over to Pierce County Parks and Pierce County Evergreen will help build volunteer events to maintain the trails.
“I want to give huge kudos to the group of riders from the Tehaleh area whose dream it was to have this park. Without their vision and passion there is no way this would have ever happened.”
A Park For Everyone
The park itself has something for everyone, with a variety of trails for different skill levels and riding styles. With a total of 260 feet elevation difference from top to bottom, Buck describes the park as having "a little bit of everything," including cross country trails, jump runs, and even a dual slalom trail. “You can get your buddy up next to you at the top of the trail and race them down. It's almost like you’ve got two identical tracks following each other.”
The trails are rated like ski runs, with green for beginner, blue for intermediate, black for expert, and double black for the most advanced riders.
Looking for air? The park also features a skills area where riders can learn how to jump properly and progress to bigger jumps. “You come up to a jump and you hit it. Well, then how do you get to the next bigger jump and the next bigger jump? There's one spot where there’s these three jumps in a row. The first one's about 5 feet, and if you don't hit your brakes you're going to clear the next one too, which is about 6-7 feet. And if you don’t hit your brakes you're going to clear the next one which is about 8 or 9 feet.”
As a bike exclusive park, there's no hiking or dog walking allowed for obvious safety reasons. This however will be a great opportunity for e-bikes to see the trails they might have been missing out on. Buck says that the benefit of e-bikes is that you just get to go out on more runs, more often.
“I’ve ridden e-bikes before and at the end of the day, you're just as tired. You just get more chances to do the fun stuff.”
Tehaleh is a new MTB paradise
The park is open year-round, although some trails may need to be closed during the winter months . There are no fees to use the park, and it is expected to attract visitors from all over the region. Down the line, there may even be races and events held at the park, Buck says.
“It's a unique new spot. it has elements of a bunch of different parks. It's very lush and very pretty up there. There's a lot of vegetation, it has a different vibe than any park that I generally have been to.”
And if you don’t have a bike? Buck says now is the time to buy as bike prices have lowered significantly, making the barrier to entry an easier climb. He says Facebook Marketplace has plenty of great deals but also likes Bonney Lake Bike in Sumner. Though if your bike is in a state of disrepair or needs a solid tune-up, Rob recommends giving The Bicycle Hub in Puyallup a call.
Keep an eye out for more information on the Trek at Tehaleh Grand Opening event this summer, or reach out to your friends at The Tehaleh Welcome Center and Pierce County Evergreen for more information on the park and get ready to tear up the mountain!