I fell in love with the concept of bike parks after visiting Winter Park, CO last year. As a result, I decided to start doing some research into other places to ride. One such place is Skypark Santa’s Village in the mountains just north of San Bernardino, California.
In the Winter, this is a kids paradise of Santa Claus frosted rooftops and candy canes. In the Summer, it becomes a somewhat basic but very functional bike park with a small number of runs that are fun for the whole family.
This park has no lift. This is not much of an issue, though, as the climb to the very top of the park takes all of maybe 10-15 minutes if you are a slow climber. My 11 year old Son climbed to the top in (probably) about 8 minutes. It’s not too tough.
Coming down, you have options that run the entire spectrum of skill sets. The kids can drop down a beginner run (after you have guided them down it once or twice, of course), and then you can take an intermediate or expert run. The runs are quick and simple, but there are lots of sections that contain wood features, some rollers, bumps, berms, and even a jump line.
There isn’t much gnar on any of the trails. Everything is fairly smooth and straightforward.
Skypark is worth a visit if you want to ride with the family. It provides a fun, simple experience that caters to the beginner and pro alike. The only downside is that you can ride every run in about half a day. So go do them twice!
