Eugene’s largest city park will soon have expanded hiking and mountain biking trails.
Trail crews started work this month at Suzanne Arlie Park, a 565 acre property south of Lane Community College. The plan is to add a two-mile Ridgeline Trail connector from Mount Baldy and a suite of downhill mountain bike trails by the end of next year.
Philip Richardson, a landscape architect with the city’s Parks Department, told KLCC it’s important that curious onlookers stay away from the area for the time being.
“It’s really not okay for people to enter the work zone, and if they're walking on trails that are being built, that can damage the trails, and then we have to be able to repair it, and that could delay the opening,” he said.
Richardson said for now, people should not access Suzanne Arlie Park from Mount Baldy, but should enter from the south side of the LCC campus.
By the end of 2026, said Richardson, the hope is to expand the entrance off of Gonyea Road, and build a dedicated parking lot with about 80 spaces.
Funding for the development comes from a $1.2 million federal Economic Development Administration grant, 2018 park bond funds, and other local sources. Richardson said they’ve been told that the federal funding is secure.
The 20-year plan for the park includes group camping sites, a disc golf course, a pavilion, and more.
