A heavily wooded ravine marks the eastern side of Nall Park.
A mountain bike trail winding through the wooded area of Nall Park in northern Roeland Park is under consideration by the city’s parks committee.
Nall Park, which sits at the end of Nall Avenue, has 10.47 acres with much of it heavily wooded. The wooded section includes a ravine on the east side of the park that separates it from the nearby Boulevard Apartments. Across Nall to the west is a Johnson County wastewater treatment plant that lies in Mission.
The potential for a looping single-track mountain bike trail is being pursued in conversations with Urban Trail Co., a local company that has collaborated around the metro on more than 100 miles of bike trails since 2001. About 1.5 miles of natural surface are suitable for a single track trail at Nall Park, according to parks chair Jennifer Provyn.
The single track trail uses packed earth for the trail but can be made more challenging with rocky areas and when it is crossed with tree roots such as at the Shawnee Mission Park mountain bike trails. The trails are suited for nature hiking, trail running or biking.
Establishing a mountain bike trail does not preclude a disc golf course for Nall Park, which also has been under consideration by the parks committee. The cost of establishing a trail should be under $15,000, Provyn indicated, but some of that expense could be reduced by using volunteer labor.
The bike trail possibility is still being researched in cooperation with public works and would need to be presented to the city council as a recommendation if it works out. Building the trail would require clearing brush from the trail corridors and then actual trail construction which can be mechanized for a wider packed surface, according to the committee.
The trail also could connect to the Roeland Park Community Center if some erosion issues are resolved, Provyn said. The city also is looking at establishing an ADA compliant hard surface connection between the park and the nearby community center which the bike trail could intersect.
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