Recently I have been doing a bit of mountain biking and as a result, getting very involved with our local SORBA Jax chapter. (Incidentally, join the forum @ http://www.sorbajax.com/ now! lol) I have been attending board meetings and trying to be proactive with the mountain biking community. That said, on the westside of town sits an oft forgotten gem , the old Westside Regional Park.
One of the largest parks in Jacksonville located at 7000 Roosevelt Blvd, the park itself has a rich history that dates back almost a century. The location where the park sits today began its life as the Black Point Settlement, an extension of Camp Johnson and now more recently as a regional park. Metro Jacksonville has an amazing write up on the rich history of this area and its past uses here.
In recent history however, the westside park has had its ups and downs. Not long ago, it had gained quite a bit of notoriety as a mountain bike destination with some great features built in (See below for pictures, thanks to Charlie from SORBA Jax for the snaps!), however these days it has become a haven for inappropriate activities in the woods. While the latter has calmed down quite a bit in the last 2 years due to increase in police presence, new fences and no parking signs placed in strategic areas, the traffic of times past has decreased substatially.
As a result of an allegedly what was an unfortunate biking accident, lack of signage and the proper safety protocol not being followed, most of the old mountain biking features or structures no longer remain standing. They were torn down by the city a few years ago and now all that remains is the BMX style jump areas along two of the ridgelines that are quickly eroding.
As a Westside Regional Park comittee member in SORBA Jax, we have been lobbying to make this park regain its former glory plus some! We are currently mapping the trails and working with local authorities to gain permission to begin some very minor work on the trails. Hopefully this will afford us the opportunities to further build more exciting features in this park, increase traffic and make it a safe place for families and the like to enjoy afternoons and mountain biking on the westside.
A short video of the trals current conditions
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