Bare Hill Pump Track

During the height of the Covid epidemic, a local family hopped in a rented RV and headed west... spending time at various places around the country with their kids, working remote, and exploring. One of the areas they ended up at for a few weeks had a sprawling pump track and bike park. Cool, right? Yes! The kids (boy & girl, ages 14 and 11) could not get enough of the track and park, lap after lap, day after day.

They brought the enrgy back home to Topsfield, MA and having been involved with the local recreation & playground group, brought the idea up to the board. It was quickly 'the next project'!

Now the hard part... finding a site. Glen Gollrad with Northeast Trailworks - a life long cyclist and avid trail builder, and an architect - reviewed possible sites in town for the track with the new 'pump track subcommittee'. The group found 4-5 sites with a preferred option right in the center of town, adjacent to the elementary school and right off the local rail trail - the Topsfield Linear Common - part of the East Coast Greenway path project.

The first community presentation proved contentious, as the 2-3 key abutters objected to the project strongly enough to force the group back to the drawing board. One site that held promise was at a large municipal complex of ball fields and trails, but because it was built on an old landfill, the State regulations are so complex it'd have created a minimum 3-5 year permitting process, as well as significant site development engineering consulting.

Finally the group re-reviewed an earlier site, a small parcel already designated as a Town Park, though unused in decades. It was close to town, and can be accessed by a bike path along one of the local state roads. Bare Hill Park had the space - albeit relatively long and narrow, but with key Town government approvals, the group was finally able to proceed with a site design, and a track layout.

Glen Gollrad at Northeast Trailworks generated the preliminary site plans and parking lot layout and met with the Police & Fire Chief's to get key public safety input. With that feedback, design and material quantities began in earnest. One unique aspect of the project was that the entire $50k budget was privately fundraised, but the vendors and materials were paid for through the Town clerk's office. This kept liability and the municipal procurement processes running smoothly.

When the 501c3 Playground / Friends of Topsfield Recreation group subcontracted with the team at Full Circle Bike Shop (Gardner, MA) Glen worked with the track builder team to get the site and the track functioning well together. With 12-14 "tri-axle" laods of dense-pak delivered, the team quickly got to work building the track and grading the parking lot area. WT LeRoyer volunteered invaluable heavy machinery and materials experience to get the parking lot and entry area built - and facilitated a lot of invasive plant removal.

In November of 2023 the Track opened to a 'full house' crowd and a block party to formally gift the project to the Town, and to open the track. It was, and continues to be - a huge success, energizing the 1/2 mile between the track and the lovely Town Center with steady traffic from kids and families riding their bikes, having a blast.