Laramie Bike Park: A Place to Learn on Trails and Pump Track

"We have some amazing mountain biking around in this area but not everybody has all the skills necessary to go out to Vedauwoo and be successful right away," Michael Bork, Laramie's parks, recreation and public services director, told the Laramie Boomerang while the park was still under construction.

That sentence explains the Laramie Bike Park better than any feature list. The park behind the Laramie Recreation Center opened with a ribbon cutting on August 22, 2026. It took years of planning, one round of construction bids that came in far over budget, and a scope cut to get there. The version that came out of that process is built for learning. In its first fall, it pays off most for the rider who has never been to a bike park.

The Bids That Came Back at $3.2 Million

The money story shaped what you can ride today, so it's worth following step by step. Here is how the Boomerang laid out the timeline:

1. In 2021, Laramie BikeNet, a local biking nonprofit, secured a $700,000 Wyoming Outdoor Recreation Grant.
2. The city's parks department added $200,000, which set the starting budget at $900,000.
3. When the city opened the project for construction bids, the bids came in at $3.2 million.
4. The city "took a step back," in Bork's words, and pared the scope down. "They call it value engineering in the construction world," he said.
5. Bork asked the Laramie City Council to add another $500,000. That money came from sixth-penny specific-purpose sales tax funds, not the general fund.
6. That produced a $1.2 million construction contract. Heavy equipment arrived in May, and crews started pouring asphalt for the pump track the week of the Boomerang's report.

The regional cycling site Your Group Ride puts the full project at $1.4 million and lists BikeNet support as part of the funding mix. The Boomerang's $1.2 million figure covers the construction contract alone, which likely explains the gap. American Ramp Company of Joplin, Missouri, built the park. The Boomerang describes it as a company that specializes in bicycle playgrounds where young riders can build skills away from city streets and busy intersections.

The idea goes back much further than the grant. An earlier Boomerang story described BikeNet raising money toward design and planning, with then-president Cindy Dywan citing a $25,000 fundraising goal. By the time construction started, the Boomerang counted more than 16 years of planning. "People have been waiting a long time for this," Bork said.

What Survived the Cut

Even after value engineering, the park opened with a lot to ride. The Boomerang lists Wyoming's first asphalt pump track, four gravity-fed downhill trails, a skills development area and three jump lines. The city describes the features as beginner, intermediate and advanced.

Bork named the skills development area as one of the most important pieces for the community. He said it gives "both kids and adults the chance to be in a contained, controlled environment and learn." The pump track is the other headline feature, and he explained why it matters in Wyoming terms: "There's other pump tracks in Wyoming, but they're either dirt or rock. This will be the first asphalt one."

The advanced end is still there. When WyoFile visited two days before the opening, it found wooden planks running across the red hillside, "some curling up to the sky with a message: 'SEND IT.'" Most of the park, though, is built to teach you how to ride the rest of it.

How the Park Teaches You to Ride It

The clearest account of a first visit comes from Amber Travsky, who wrote about her own first runs in a Boomerang column updated September 21, 2026. Travsky described herself as a cautious mountain biker, "of an age where I know I am breakable." What she found makes the case that the park works for newcomers.

Getting to the top. You pedal up an access route to the ridgetop, and Travsky notes that getting off to push your bike is "perfectly acceptable." A windsock marks the summit, which is the starting point for the beginner and intermediate flow trails. An advanced route also runs down the hillside.

The flow trails. These are built so riders don't need to brake. Volunteer Maciej Pike-Biegunski told Travsky that if she wanted to brake, she should do it going up one of the rises so she could flow over the top and down the other side. Travsky rode down with her tires on the ground the whole way. "All I can say is that I did it," she wrote.

The pump track. The track's signage says riders don't need to pedal. You stand and push the bike around with your legs and upper body. The paved loop twists through banked curves, including one larger curve with wooden fencing above it for riders who want to climb higher. Signage says it works best on bikes with smooth tires, stiff or no rear suspension, and lowered seats. Jenn Hess told Travsky it's a really good workout because of how much the upper body does.

The bike. Dedicated bike park bikes are lighter, with only front shocks, often a single gear, and a much lower seat. Pike-Biegunski explained that the seat works more as a stabilizer than a place to sit. Another rider told Travsky that "any bike will do." He said he once rode the flow track on a gravel bike with drop handlebars and called it "scarier, but doable." Travsky rode her full-suspension mountain bike.

Taken together, these details fit what Bork described. The park is laid out so someone can arrive on the bike already in the garage, push up the hill, roll down without touching the brakes, and leave with one new skill.

Who Shows Up on a Sunday Morning

The people in Travsky's column match that design. Laramie resident Norman Frost told her he comes once or twice a week and finds the park a great family activity.

On that Sunday morning, Travsky saw riders from young kids to people in their 40s and 50s. Some wore cycling clothes and others wore blue jeans or sweatpants. She went back the next day to try the pump track when she had it to herself. Her goal, she wrote, was to ride it "at least as well as a 7 year old."

Ways In This Fall

The park's first fall comes with a few organized ways to start, most of them run by people who were part of getting it built.

• Adult Pump Track Clinic, Saturday, Oct. 17. Laramie Parks and Recreation's registration listing shows a 3 to 4:30 p.m. session for adults 18 and older, at $25. Participants need a helmet, a bike in working order and closed-toe shoes. The contact is Cindy Dywan at 307-721-5261, the same name that appears in early Boomerang coverage of BikeNet's fundraising.
• Wednesday evenings. Jenn Hess leads an informal women-only gathering at 6 p.m. on Wednesdays, according to Travsky's column.
• Trail upkeep. Hess and Pike-Biegunski both volunteer with the Trail Fairies, who help maintain the park. They told Travsky the facility takes "considerable TLC" and that more volunteers are needed. You can reach the group through Laramie BikeNet.

On gear, a Your Wyoming Link report from opening week says electric bikes and other motorized vehicles are not allowed. It also says helmets, knee pads and elbow pads are encouraged.

The city hasn't published operating hours or a winter or snow closure plan on the Laramie Bike Park facility page. This is the park's first season heading into cold weather, so check that page and the Laramie Parks & Recreation Facebook page before you go once the freeze-thaw cycle starts. The park sits behind the Rec Center, and the city uses 820 Regency Drive as its address.

Kelly would love to hear how your first lap goes, whether you rode down from the windsock or pushed up the hill twice to get it right. If you're new to Laramie and putting together your list of places to get outside close to home, Kelly Cooksey is happy to share what she knows about this town, one neighborhood corner at a time. Let's Connect.