A new bike and skate park, Lost Canyon Bike and Skate Park, is coming to Joe Rowell Park in Dolores. The project, driven by community input and a successful fundraising campaign, is set to break ground on Aug. 4, with completion expected by early October.
The space is meant to allow teens and young adults to have a space to ride bikes, skateboard and more in an area built just for them.
The project began with a 2022 townwide survey that gathered input on desired improvements for Joe Rowell Park, which remains popular because of its extensive playground. Among the top suggestions was a bike and skate park, an idea that resonated with those hoping to enhance the park’s appeal for teens and young adults.
Jake Carloni, owner of Dolores Bike Hostel, applied to be on the parks committee that headed up the project, and ended up being put in charge of the project’s next steps.
The project, a nonprofit, was formed under the Onward Foundation. The group launched a GoFundMe campaign, raising $30,000 in five weeks to fund initial designs. A contractor was selected and public meetings were held to refine the design for the park. Input from community members, including youths, shaped the design, with additional insight provided by a contractor representative with Olympic skateboarding experience.
“People stop from all over the county and all over the Four Corners area to come to our playground and play in the river and whatnot, but what we have is a gap,” Carloni said. “Once you’ve graduated from the playground, there’s not really a whole lot to do after that. So what this does is really fill a critical gap for those younger teens and all the way up to, I mean, I’ve got friends in their 30s and 40s and 50s who are psyched about this. It’s really going to be a cool, communal place for kids and families to spend time.”
The park’s development also secured a major boost through a Great Outdoors Colorado grant. The grant, valued at just over $775,000, allocated $175,000 specifically for the bike and skate park. Combined with additional grants, community donations and sponsorships, the project has raised nearly $150,000 more, bringing the total close to the $700,000 needed for the first phase. A recent fundraising push aims to close a $10,000 gap, with $40,000 already collected toward a $50,000 goal before the groundbreaking.
The bike and skate park will be located in a nonirrigated, triangular section of Joe Rowell Park southwest of the ball fields, near the River Trail. The park will span just over an acre.
The first phase includes two main components, a concrete skate park and a bike park. The skate park will feature mini ramps, quarter pipes, stairs, rails, boxes and more, catering to skateboarders, scooter riders, BMX cyclists and roller skaters.
“Whatever you can ride on concrete, you can ride on this part,” Carloni said.
The bike park will include two jump lines, one smaller and one larger, each with three jumps featuring steel and wood takeoffs and dirt landings. Additional features include rock gardens, skinny ramps and a 180-degree turn to loop riders back to the starting point. A separate area designed for younger children will offer long ramps, rideable rings and a barrel-like structure to build confidence and skills.
A third phase, an asphalt pump track with berms and rollers for momentum-based riding, will commence once further funding is raised. The park aims to fill a recreational gap for teens and young adults who outgrow the playground but lack dedicated spaces for biking and skating. By creating a safe, off-street environment, the park will reduce the risks associated with kids riding on streets and makeshift jumps around town.
“There are always kids ripping their bikes and scooters through the street and jumping off curbs, and there’s no dirt pile around town that’s safe from kids coming over there with shovels and turning it into jumps,” Carloni said. “It’s one of those things where all of that activity happening all over town is a little more spread out and dangerous. Being able to centralize that at this park and bring kids together while all working toward developing skills and making friends.”
To further support the park, a brick fundraising campaign offers donors a chance to purchase customized bricks for $250 until the end of July. These bricks, featuring up to three lines of text, will become rideable features in the skate park, and only 50 are available. Larger sponsorships will be recognized on signs, including a main park sign displaying the project’s logo and supporters’ names.
