The Lunch Loops in Grand Junction, CO, is one of the most iconic trail systems on the Western Slope. Renowned for its rugged, technical trails, the expansive network also boasts a large trailhead area at the base of the ridge. That trailhead saw 227,000 visitors last year, proving that it’s an important hub for locals and tourists alike.

While the Lunch Loops trailhead has long been home to a small bike park, it was last rebuilt about 10 years ago and was in serious need of some love. “Of course, [it] was done on a very small budget, so it’s been pretty deteriorated for a while,” said Faith Rodriguez, Executive Director of the Colorado Plateau Mountain Bike Trail Association (COPMOBA). The jumps were also geared more toward BMX riding and didn’t serve the mountain bike demographic very well. 

One of the takeaways from a recent community survey COPMOBA conducted was that local riders wanted more jumps and skills-based features. A revamp of the Lunch Loops Bike Park (LLBP) would be the perfect place to add them. Spencer Rugland, a local rider and owner of Thunderbird Trail Works, was selected for the project.

Phase one: dual slalom

The first phase was a quick $10,000 addition of a dual slalom course to the property, and it’s already open to the public. 

“Last week, COPMOBA and the Grand Valley Youth Cycling Club hosted an event on the improved dual slalom, and we’ve received some great feedback so far,” said Rugland. “Being a fairly flat area, we are limited in what we can do, and still have the track work well, but I feel like we’ve made a big improvement. Once we return in the fall for the big overhaul, we’ll be able to tweak it and make adjustments if we feel the need.”

Phase two: the full buildout begins this fall

The bulk of the LLBP rebuild will take place this fall. “There’s going to be four jump lines, two blue and two green with wood features,” said Rodriguez. “And then there’s going to be a rock garden. And then more of a progression area where the smaller kids can get comfortable on wood features before hitting the jumps.”

Rather than carving out a big expert line for expert riders, COPMOBA is deliberately catering to the masses. “We don’t have set distances yet, but our jump heights will start around three and a half feet and grow to approximately six feet for the larger blue line,” said Rugland. The progression between lines is engineered to be seamless. “The plan will be for the last jump in the easier line to be the same size as the first jump in the next larger line, and so on,” he explained. “So as you ride one line, and the jumps grow throughout the line, once you’re comfortable with the last jump of a line, you’ll be ready for the start of the next larger line.”

And it won’t be all jumps, either. A rock garden will give riders a taste of what makes the Lunch Loops, well… Lunch Loops. “The idea here is to replicate what you would see out on the trails in the Lunch Loops area,” said Rugland, noting they want to “prep the riders for what they’ll experience ‘in the wild'” without bogging them down. 

The wood features, meanwhile, reflect the reality of who’s actually riding here: they’re designed for trail bikes, not dirt jumpers. “These will be designed with a more open radius, as we’re catering to more ‘trail bikes’ than dirt jump bikes,” Rugland explained, with “steel frame features with rough-sawn lumber surfacing” built in-house to dial in the right shapes for the area—part of COPMOBA’s broader goal of building something durable enough to outlast the budget bike parks that came before it.

The final timing hinges on fundraising. COPMOBA has committed $85,000 — $35,000 as a down payment, plus $50,000 earmarked as a match — but the remaining balance for the project still needs to come in. “We’re fundraising through the summer, and then in the fall, he’ll finish the rest of the build,” Rodriguez said, noting the organization is relying on local, community-driven fundraising rather than grants at this stage. If you want to help make the LLBP rebuild a reality, be sure to donate now!

Know about a new trail project we should cover? Whether you’re breaking ground on the next must-ride destination or putting the finishing touches on a neighborhood flow trail, we want to hear about it. Drop us a line at [email protected] with high-quality photos of your build, plus details like trail mileage, location, difficulty, and what makes it special. We’re always on the hunt for the next great trail story, and there’s a good chance your project could be featured in an upcoming article.