The foothills of the east San Gabriel Valley have long been home to a vibrant bike culture. For decades, youngsters have built their own “rogue” bike courses in the woods around Walnut Creek, Cataract Falls, and the 320-acre South Hills Wilderness Area, known to local riders as the “Honda Hills.”
Now, the city of Glendora is looking to make the youthful do-it-yourself tradition permanent, with a professionally built bike park expected to begin construction next September, Glendora’s Management Analyst Kelsey Fay tells SBLA. The roughly one-acre Glendora Family Bike Park will be located just off Glendora Avenue, at the southwest end of - and serving as an off-road bicycling gateway to - the larger wilderness area.
In case you're not familiar with Glendora's South Hills, they're just north of the 210 Freeway between Glendora and Lone Hill Avenues. They're also just south of Foothill Boulevard, and about a half-mile bike ride from the future Glendora A Line Station, opening next year.
“This project came to fruition because there were kids that were making their own jumps and carving out trails, creating a space to ride with whatever they had up in the South Hills.” Fay says.
Future generations though will have more than a few dirt mound ramps. The course designed by Avid Trails will feature three jump lines for advanced, intermediate, and beginning riders, two pump tracks (intermediate and beginner), and a climbing trail.
The South Hills are home to various bike and walk trails already, and Fay says some may be redesignated for downhill bike use only (see map below), while a new multi-use connector loop trail will link the bike park with the further reaches of the wilderness park.
The project’s estimated cost is just over $2 million, to be funded in part by a $1 million National Park Service Land and Water Conservation grant, paired with $1.2 million in city funds. Once built, the entire wilderness area will be preserved for recreational use only, Fay tells SBLA.
The city is currently finalizing historic preservation documentation and a CEQA consultant agreement. At an August 27 City Council meeting, Fay stated that the city expects the project's environmental clearance will be via a Mitigated Negative Declaration, and construction documents should be ready by January 2025.
The bike park seems to enjoy broad support of the city, with Councilmember Karen K. Davis commenting at the same meeting, “If you could build it tomorrow, that would be great.”
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