Young, aspiring bikers will have an opportunity to test their skills at Alice Lake Provincial Park thanks to a new bike trail that has recently been completed.
Ron Goldstone of B.C. Parks helped create the project and he's encouraging families and kids to come check out the finished product.
"This is a first for our region," he said. "It's a great opportunity to get young people off the roads, which can be dangerous, and get them to come to the park."
Goldstone said the proposed expansion of the playground at Alice Lake was scaled back in support of a more bike-friendly path and area. He said B.C. Parks moved forward after canvassing 麻豆社国产residents.
"All the people that we canvassed gave us nothing but positive feedback for this idea," he said.
The bike trail is designed to be a part of the forest and features a gravel loop along with an area where kids can practice tricks. Goldstone said the park is ideal for beginners below the age of 10, but intermediate riders could also have a good time. He added that while the playground is smaller, it's more of a "natural" type of design as opposed to the plastic-heavy playgrounds so prevalent today.
"There aren't really a lot of kid-specific bike parks in our area," he said. "And they certainly haven't been built in provincial parks, so I think it's a good chance for families with young bikers to come to the park."
The trail, which took approximately two weeks to build, is open now to the public.
However, Goldstone said that even though they may be building a trail, he doesn't want to see others start doing the same in a provincial park.
"We might be building a trail here, but that doesn't mean that this is open season for the forest," he said. "The kids' bike park is unique and something different for Squamish, but people need to make sure they respect the forest at the same time."
The park has access to several mountain bike trails outside of the park for adults and advanced riders if they want a greater challenge. Alice Lake Park's official opening for camping takes place on April 1. The park features 108 vehicle-accessible campsites, including 55 with electric hook-ups.
For more information visit on Alice Lake, visit www.env.gov.bc.ca/bcparks/explore/parkpgs/alice_lk/.
