The Palmer Park Mountain Bike Trails and Skills Area (also known as “The Pump” – The Palmer Urban Mountain-bike Park) – The Janesville Velo Club and Michael’s Cycles staff have been working with the City of Janesville and Traction Trailworx (professional trail building) to complete a 35-acre mountain bike park with flow and progressive trails in the southern part of Janesville’s Palmer Park. This plan was created as a compromise after banning bikes from other popular off-road trails in the northern part of the park and contains professionally built MTB/BMX type trails that are fun for beginners, encourage riders to improve, accommodate riders with more advanced skills, while also being safely away from the unleashed dog space in the northern part of the park. The park currently has a 1.25-mile East ‘flow’ loop, a 1.25-mile West ‘flow’ loop, two .25-mile jump lines with a start hub, a dirt pump track, and will eventually also have a skills area. The JVC donated about $25,000 from its treasury and then also raised additional funds totaling over $100,000 that have been put towards the project’s estimated $250,000 total cost.
Palmer Park Mountain Bike Trails and Skills Area Project Total Cost = $250,000
- East Flow Loop – $50,000 Done!
- Intermediate Jump Line – $25,000 Done!
- Expert Jump Line – $30,000 Done!
- West Flow Loop – $45,000 Done!
- Skills Area – $40,000 FUNDING NEEDED
- Pump Track – $45,000 Done!
- Signage / Infrastructure – $15,000 Funded and partially completed
The Janesville Velo Club has raised funds thanks in part to the Winter Challenge fundraiser along with other fundraising efforts. These funds have been used to build the East flow loop, the West flow loop, the two jump lines and the hub. Additionally, the City of Janesville allocated the funds to cover the cost of building the pump track and a paved parking lot and completed those additions in 2024. Funds are still needed to complete the skills area and create other features. The club is continuing its fundraising efforts, but momentum has slowed significantly as so many of the local riders, foundations, and philanthropists have already been solicited for this project.
Note: Seed money and initial investments into the planning, design and build project were contributed by the Janesville Velo Club, the Rock Trail Coalition, Michael’s Cycles, and the City of Janesville.
To donate directly to this project go to https://cfsw.fcsuite.com/erp/donate/create/fund?funit_id=4981