Beverly Park – Mountain Bike Trails w/Obstacles – Cedar Rapids, Iowa

Beverly Park is located in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. Directions from I-80: take I-380 N to exit 17 for 33rd Ave SW toward Hawkeye Downs, turn left onto 33rd Ave SW, turn left onto 21st St SW, and take the 1st right onto 37th Ave SW. Parking is free but limited. The primary activity on the trails is mountain biking and I’m not sure what the rules are regarding dog walking. There is a port-o-potty but no water fountain. My cell phone service was strong while in the park. The following Google Map shows two GPS tracks: a counter-clockwise loop on easy-only trails and a clockwise loop that includes most of the difficult and more difficult ones. Also, please read our blog post specifically pertaining to the Beverly Park mountain bike race.

My first ride at Beverly Park was a counter-clockwise loop on the easy trails. I biked on the following: 2, 3, 4, 6, 8, 9, 4, 3, 2, and 1. My phone estimates a 2.8 mile ride with a change in elevation of a 100 feet.

Although curvy, the easy trails are very fast because they are smooth, have no rocks, gently sloping, and all of the obstacles are optional. In addition, the bridges are wide and the fallen trees are small.

Trail #4 includes a large fallen tree that can be biked, although I did not give it a try.

Trail #6 is a jaunt through a grassy field. It was one of the longer climbs and with its gentle slope I had no trouble on my single speed.

All of the obstacles on the easy trails are optional. I believe the following obstacle was on trail #2b, and there were a few more that I did not photograph.

I felt confident after my ride on all of the easy trails so I decided to do a second loop that included most of the “difficult” and “more difficult” ones. I biked, and at times walked my bike, clockwise on the following trails: 2, 15, 16, 13, 3, 12, 11 10, 3, 5, 4, 7, 6, 17, 6, 4, 3, and 2. This loop was about 4 miles long and, also, had an elevation change of 100 feet.

Unlike the easy trails, some of the difficult ones have obstacles that are required to be crossed by either biking or walking (like me). The subsequent picture shows one of the smaller obstacles, a piles of logs on trail 15.

I had to walk my bike through a few tricky sections on #16, including an expert-only rocky drop. These were the only rocks I saw on any of the trails.

In addition, #16 has a low-lying log bridge.

After #16, I got a little confused as to which trails I was riding but I think it was 13, 3, 12, 11, and 10. It was on this sequence that I experienced some insanely awesome human-made obstacles and bridges. I walked over most of them because I am not that good. And, I didn’t know what was around the corner since this was my first visit. The first obstacle was an uneven wood platform that connected to a narrow log bridge.

The picture below is of a narrow log bridge that is connected to the uneven platform above. Is it as challenging as it looks? Or, do I need to step my game up and give it a try?

Next, came a series of three uniquely challenging bridges. The first was built on a turn.

The second starts with a steep hump.

And, the third is a long straightaway with a two to three foot drop on both sides.

I believe it is trail #10 that has the following huge pile of logs.

Trail #5 was fun and easy and had only one obstacle that was optional. It is the other large fallen tree than can be biked.

After trail #5, I biked on #7 which was fast and easy. Next, I checked out trail #17. About half way through it I got confused as to whether I was still on it, where it ended, and where it started. So, at the subsequent obstacle I backtracked to #6 and headed back to the parking lot.

In sum, Beverly Park has an impressive and intricate set of trails squeezed onto a small plot of land. The easy trails are fast and curvy. The difficult trails contain some of the coolest human-made obstacles I have ever seen. Off the top of my head, I can only think of three places I have mountain biked that have human-made obstacles as cool as the ones here. The first is the mountain bike skills park in Fort Collins, Colorado. The second is the Poverty Creek Trail System in Virginia. And, the third is Scott County Park north of Davenport, Iowa. Visitors to Cedar Rapids should also check out the trails in Thomas Park and at Sugar Bottom near Coralville Lake.