Visiting a bike skills park (also known as a pump track) in Minnesota is a fun and easy way to improve the technical skills needed to make riding more enjoyable. But how many of us have learned to ride a bike instead of merely staying upright and confidently moving forward without falling?

By engaging in some essential cycling tips at a bike skills park or pump track, you’ll not only have a greater appreciation for your bike. You will also improve your skill level to enhance your riding ability, especially on a mountain bike trail. These parks consist of a circuit course of rollers, banked turns (berms), and other features designed to improve a rider’s skill level. The term “pumping,” by up and down body movements, generates momentum instead of pedaling or pushing. It was initially designed for the mountain bike and BMX scene, and now, due to concrete constructions, it is also used by skateboarders, roller skaters, and other similar activities. Pump tracks are relatively simple and cater to various rider skill levels. Here in Minnesota, you will find many options listed below for bike skills parks.

Fun bike skills parks and pump tracks to improve your skills

Biwabik – Little Giants Skills Park

The Little Giants Skills Park is designed for learning by exposing new riders to the varied terrain of mountain biking in an approachable setting. The four distinct trails offer berms, rollers, rock gardens, wooden features, small tabletop jumps, and gentle drops, allowing cyclists to grow their confidence riding various obstacles. Many park features here offer a ‘ride-arounds’ that enables riders to mix and match to suit their ability level while providing opportunities to try and test new skills individually.

Buffalo – Trapper’s Pond Bike Skills Park

This family-friendly skills park winds through a wooded lot on trial with several ramps to test skills, with bypass options.

Chaska  – Lions Park Pump Track

The Lions Park Pump Track is s a circuit of dirt rollers, berms, and jumps that loops back on itself. The track here is a fun and easy way to learn the skills needed for better mountain bike handling.

Cohasset –Tioga Recreation Bike Skills Park

Tioga Rec Area has over 20 miles of professional, machine-built cross-country and downhill flow trails. There are trails for every level of rider, including kid-friendly skill-building loops.

Cottage Grove – Cottage Grove Bike Park

The park is a 3-acre urban-style bike skills park open from dusk till dawn that includes a 4x track, pump tracks, two mountain bike skills areas, dirt jumps, and a tot track!

Crosby – Cuyuna Pump Track

Cyclists of all ages, beginners, and advanced levels are welcome to conquer Cuyuna’s 2,000-foot-long Lee McCormack (nationally renowned bike pump track designer) designed pump track. The facility includes three tracks (tailored for beginners, intermediate and expert riders.

Detroit Lakes – Detroit Mountain Skills Park 

A kid-friendly pump track park for those looking to improve their mountain or BMX bike skills when in the Detroit Lakes area.

Duluth – Spirit Mountain Skills Park

A perfect park for a first-time riding any “downhill” trail system is to go for a lap or two in their Skills / Jump Park located above the bottom terminal of our Express Chairlift. There are trails with all levels of difficulty in this skills park. Start easy on their pump track to learn how to ride berms and rollers. Then, when you feel ready, practice on some of the park’s berms, jumps, drops, and more. The Skills Park is a great way to get a feel for the downhill trails before moving on to the lift.

Eagan – Lebanon Hills Skills Park

Located next to the trailhead parking lot, Lebanon’s skills/terrain park is great for kids. The practice area features varying levels of skinnies, rollers & jumps, berms, and rock sections to practice improving your technical ability. Each segment of the Skills Park and all mountain bike trails are marked using the IMBA Trail Difficulty Ratings System to inform riders of technical difficulties.

Eden Prairie – Round Lake Bike Skills Park

The newest addition to the park is a bike skills playground. The bike skills course is available seasonally in a hockey rink and provides a fun rider of all ages and levels. There are nine features to explore, including ramps, beams, and rumble strips.

Hutchinson – Tartan Terrain Skills Park

Tartan Park is located within the town limits and is a skills park that caters to beginners and advanced. With many features crammed into a half-acre footprint, this is a fun place for riders to improve their skill level.

Inver Grove Heights – Vista Pines Park

New in 2022, the new family-friendly skills and mountain bike park offers many fun challenges to build on a person’s skill set.

Lakeville – West Lake Marion/Casperson Park Pump Track

Info: A single-track trail system with a new skills area was completed in the Fall of 2020. There are some bigger jumps on one side, but overall the park is kid-friendly and perfect for beginners.

Mankato – Kiwanis Mountain and Skills Park

At the Kiwanis Recreation Area trailhead, you will find a skills/terrain park with many wooden features and teeters, and a beginner/kids loop around these features.

Minneapolis – Bryn Mawr Park Skills Park 

This small skills area in Theodore Wirth Park is slightly more advanced than the other skills parks in the Twin City metro. The park area offers three skill-level loops making this an excellent spot for any rider to develop their skills. This is one of four bike skills systems in Minneapolis. Trail Map

Minneapolis – Nokomis Bike Skills Park

Located at 2401 E Minnehaha Pkwy, Minneapolis, MN, This small bike park offers kids eight wooden features on an old tennis court. This is one of four bike skills systems in Minneapolis.

North Minneapolis – Perkins Hills Park Pumptrack

It is located at 300 34th Ave. N, Minneapolis, MN, you will find an asphalt pump track. This is one of four bike skills systems in Minneapolis.

Northeast Minneapolis – Northeast Skills Park

Located at 1615 Pierce St NE, Minneapolis, MN, this skills park is also on an old tennis court. With wood track features low to the ground, this is an excellent place for kids to build confidence. This is one of four bike skills systems in Minneapolis.

Northeast Minneapolis – The Factory

It is temporarily closed and looking for a new location.

Plymouth – Plymouth Pump Track

This pump track is the first of its kind in Minnesota. The skills area consists of 210 feet of looped track with waves and berms for bicyclists or skateboarders to use their body weight and gravity to propel themselves. The pump track accommodates bicycles of all sizes, skateboards, rollerblades, and scooters.

Richfield – Taft Park Skills Track

This new bike skills park offers several off-road bike features, including berms, rollers, and jumps in the pump track setting. The center of the track features sloped wood decking obstacles perfect for tots to learn. The track is located on the west side of Taft Park at 62^nd Street and Bloomington Avenue,

Roseville – Autumn Grove Youth Pump Track

This track is small (roughly the size of a tennis court). It only has small hills and turns and is perfect for children aged two to nine.

New Ulm – Skate and BMX Park

Both parks are free and open to the public, with BMX Park use limited to May through September. Inline skaters or skateboarders may use the skate park.

Woodbury – Carver Lake Skills Park

The bike park playground is located at Carver Lake Park in the open field area just off the main park entrance road. The bike park playground has four designated areas to provide a complete progression of riding and learning, including a tot track, pump track, and an advanced skills loop with technical trail features. The advanced trail loop includes dirt rollers, wooden berms, wooden technical trail features, and rock gardens.