Long-awaited bike trail extension nearly ready for riders

The latest extension to the Sioux Falls bike trail system is a big one.

Not in distance but in significance.

The Cherry Creek extension has been a priority on the Sioux Falls Parks & Recreation Department plans for more than a decade but was delayed by land access and funding issues. The 1.5-mile section of trail goes from Legacy Park on West 12th Street to Family Park on Ellis Road.

“We were able to break through with a few of the landowners to get the deals done,” said Tory Miedema, a park development specialist.

The paving is finished, and the bridges are in, but the section isn’t officially open. Crews still need to add safety railings along the bridge abutments. That will happen when it’s warm enough to drive posts in the ground, which should be soon, perhaps this week, Miedema said.

The Cherry Creek stretch brings the total distance of paved bike trails to just shy of 40 miles, including access spurs.

Now, cyclists, runners and walkers can access the trail from Songbird Street, which runs west from La Mesa Drive north of 12th Street. Thousands of residents now have access to the trail without crossing 12th Street.

It’s also a direct route to Family Park, which includes a fishing and kayaking pond, dog park and walking trails.

Family Park will maintain a primitive feel, Miedema said. The master plan is coming together and likely to include more developed walking trails, bird-watching areas and off-road bike trails. There are 245 acres available at Family Park, more than 150 acres of which are north and east of the dog park and pond.

The Parks & Recreation Department is working with the nonprofit group Falls Area Single Track to potentially develop mountain biking in the park. It’s a continuation of the group’s effort to have 25 miles of off-road single track in Sioux Falls by 2025. FAST started building single track in 2010 at Leaders Park, near East Sixth Street.

Since then, there have been major developments at Tuthill and Legacy parks with additional trails at Yankton Trail, Pasley, Spencer and Dunham parks. Much of the off-road riding is accessible from the paved bike trail, connecting it all together. The only park not on the bike trail system is Leaders.

Currently, there are about 14 miles of single track.

FAST also recently reached an agreement to build mountain bike trails at Great Bear Ski Valley as that park expands. Great Bear is also the next major destination for the paved bike trail system.

Ben Blomberg, president of FAST, said the early designs of potential trail at Great Bear would add 5 miles, but it’s possible it would be more once the actual building begins. That’s the priority for the group in the next couple of years.

Since Family Park is still in the city’s planning stages, it’s hard to know exactly when there might be mountain biking added, said Blomberg, but there’s potential for 3 or more miles in the park’s northeast section.

“That would be one of the properties on our big board of potential places to add trail,” Blomberg said.

The goal of 25-in-25 “is coming in hot,” he said. But in the big picture, the mileage is expanding and creating a system intertwined with the Big Sioux River Greenway where families and enthusiasts can bounce in and out from dirt to pavement and back from Legacy to Tuthill to downtown.

“It will be close, and there is more greenway distance that can be added,” he said.

The extension of Cherry Creek isn’t the end for the west side. The next phase is scheduled for 2026 but could get moved up, Miedema said. From there, the trail will continue north to the USD Community College for Sioux Falls and USD Discovery District, Jefferson High School and Southeast Technical College. In total, it will add about 7 miles from 12th Street to the north.

That will create a northwest bypass that will connect on both ends to the main 20-mile loop.

A 1-mile extension from Lien Park on Cliff Avenue to Bahnson Avenue, which is big step toward Great Bear, is scheduled for next year.

At the bottom line, the mileage of biking, hiking and running trails is a pretty big number. It’s potentially 75 miles of paved and off-road recreation trails in the city.

One of the unique aspects of the Sioux Falls system is that because it follows the Big Sioux River and Skunk Creek, there is no intersection with automobile traffic.

Cherry Creek was a decade in the making, but it’s significant for the people who live in the area, Miedema said.

“It’s a huge deal for the west side,” he said. “One of the big things is connecting neighborhoods to the main trail loop. It’s been tough to get there with the interstates and the river.”