Oklahoma Trailhead being added at Riversport to connect Oklahoma River with city trails
Riversport is expanding its bicycle recreation venue to include a café, bike repair shop and restrooms to connect with an extension of the city's trail system along the Oklahoma River.
Oklahoma Trailhead, scheduled to be built this winter and opened next spring, will be located between SE 4, SE 5, Laird and Phillips Avenues just north of the McClendon Whitewater Center and west of Bar K, a restaurant, bar and dog park set to open in January.
Mike Knopp, executive director of Riversport Foundation, said the $700,000 addition is intended to make the river a hub for the city's 90-mile-long trails system. Oklahoma Trailhead will be located where the trails will connect with the First Americans Museum and future OKANA resort, and the Katy Trail in northeast Oklahoma City.
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"It's at the crossroads of the state and the city," Knopp said. "It's where I-40 meets I-35. We will have information about trails across the state."
The current venue consists of a pump track and BMX/mountain bike skills trails. The foundation already operates a Trailhead Café as part of the Lake Overholser Boathouse along the Overholser Trails in northwest Oklahoma City.
"We want to extend these cool outdoor recreation facilities that are pretty unique," Knopp said. "This will include a nature classroom and bike safety programming."
Oklahoma Trailhead will be built in a grove of trees that dates back to statehood and will be retained unlike other trees that were cleared for boathouses and river venues along the waterway. Knopp said the project is supported by a $300,000 recreational trails grant and a $15,000 grant from the Oklahoma City Community Foundation to plant more trees and create a community garden.
A gravel parking lot will be added between Oklahoma Trailhead and Bar K. Future phases may include an extension of the trails around the McClendon Whitewater Center.
The trails system started with a privately funded $400,000 bike and jogging track created in 1983 at Lake Hefner.
Those original 1 1/2-mile trails, now named the Bert Cooper Trails in honor of the late advocate and steel executive, have grown into a 90-mile system that extends into every quadrant of the city. Funding has been provided from bond issues and MAPS initiatives approved by voters over the past dozen years.
Another 90 miles of trails are planned as part of a master plan that will establish dedicated paths for pedestrians and bicyclists across the city
"We have a great trails system," Knopp said. "We need to support that with concessions, restrooms and seating. This goes hand in hand with advancing outdoor culture in Oklahoma City."
This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: OKC's Riversport expanding bicycle center to connect to city's trails
