The City of Tallahassee is spending $400,000 to upgrade the Gun Range Trail system at Tom Brown Park, with construction scheduled to begin later this fall.
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Tallahassee’s Gun Range Trail in Tom Brown Park is getting a $400,000 mountain biking upgrade
The funding includes a $320,000 grant from the State of Florida and $80,000 from the city.
According to the city’s project scope, the upgrades will expand the Gun Range and Kudzila segments of the trail, widening them to 3 to 3.5 feet wide and spanning just under 2 miles.
The improvements will also include banked turns, steep ups and downs, ramps, drops and wall rides.
Barry Wilcox, the head coach of Tallahassee Thunder, says the trail has long served as a starting point for young riders in the area, where the team also practices.
“The goal of NICA is to offer a safe, accessible opportunity to introduce youth to mountain biking, Wilcox said. So, what we’re looking to really do is develop a love for cycling and an idea of what safe cycling means to them and just knowing that they can get places on their bike.
Wilcox believes the upgrades will further the organization’s goals and open the trail to a broader range of riders.
“The Gun Range has been around for quite some time, he said. But there’s definitely some improvements that could be made, and I think it would make it available to a broader range of riders with those improvements.
When asked what features he would like to see added, Wilcox said it is better to ask the kids themselves.
“That includes things like drops and jumps and skinnies and all the different built technical what we call technical trail features in the mountain biking community. They love that sort of stuff,” Wilcox said.
Kyle Milbourn, the president of the Tallahassee Mountain Bike Association or TMBA, says the non-profit has advocated for these improvements for years.
He says the upgrades will promote local health, tourism and opportunities for youth riders while offering a new experience on the trail.
“Mountain biking is a lifelong sport. Everybody from kids to octogenarians can do it. We have a huge age range of people out here riding, Milbourn said. Mountain biking has gotten so, so big, and we want people from out of state, out of town to come here and enjoy what we have to offer.
TMBA is also hoping to raise an additional $10,000 for further upgrades beyond the city-funded improvements.
“It could be everything from features that make the trails more sustainable features that make the trails nicer to ride such as signage, trailhead features, etc.,” Milbourn said.
The city says construction is on track to start later this fall and be completed sometime next year.
Donations to TMBA can be made here.
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