A new park for mountain bikers has opened up in Nanaimo.
Located in the Harewood Centennial Park, the new skills course officially opened up on June 30. It’s free to the public and was created in partnership with the Steve Smith Legacy Foundation.
Steve Smith was a Canadian mountain biker who passed away in 2016. The foundation was named after him to honour his legacy and pass along the positive power of mountain biking to today’s youth.
The new skills park is a “green level,” which indicates that it’s beginner-friendly — an ideal place for first-timers to figure out the basics of ridership prior to explorering the many mountain biking trails Nanaimo has to offer.
“I am proud of the City’s commitment to adding recreational opportunities for youth,” Leonard Krog, mayor of Nanaimo, said in a news release. “The Harewood Mountain Bike Skills park serves as another great opportunity to promote an active community and keeps Nanaimo a great place to Live, Work and Play.”
The addition of the mountain bike skills course to Harewood Centennial will likely make the park an ever more popular destination.
In addition to the mountain bike skills course, feature-rich Harewood Centennial Park is also home to two sports courts, a skate park, a water park, an accessible playground and. Two artificial turf fields are currently underway as well.
The development comes as a part of Nanaimo’s 2023-2026 Council Strategic Framework.
Roger Collins
