Sioux City, Iowa’s Cone Park has seen some serious action in its first year.

Since the groundbreaking on August 29, 2023, Cone Park has added 10.5 miles of shared-use, mountain bike optimized natural surface single track, a paved pump track, a bike skills area, and a killer, progressive jump line. Not to mention the Cone Park Lodge at the heart of the space, featuring mountain bike rentals, lockers, and concessions; and outside a splash pad/ice skating rink, outdoor fire pits, a tubing hill, a 2-mile paved trail connecting to Sertoma Park to the east. It even has a conveyor lift so you and your bike can get a smooth ride to the trails near the top of the sledding hill.

In late June, only weeks after successful Trails Fest and grand opening events, Sioux City’s Cone Park experienced historic storms and flooding some described as “biblical-level.” Cone Park’s progressive jump line was nearly washed out and the new singletrack sustained damage throughout the trail system. In the wake of devastating storms, mountain bikers and BMX riders who love the new additions to the area are riding through the ruts and washouts towards better trails and a tighter trails community. 

Perfect Timing

Looking at rideable and well-utilized— but undeniably damaged — trails and standing water remaining in the park more than a month after the extreme weather, Sioux City’s Parks and Rec department began prioritizing repairs based on risk management and user experience. With almost serendipitous timing, IMBA returned to Cone Park during August 2024 to provide a Trail Care School sponsored by the regional trails organization and IMBA chapter, Trails Have Our Respect (THOR).

The three-day workshop was attended by representatives from the Sioux City’s Parks & Recreation Department, THOR members and staffers, and members of the growing Sioux City bike community. It was the first time IMBA had returned since finishing the design flagging for the trails concept plan in 2022. The timing couldn’t have been more perfect. 

“Supporting this new and incredible community-based bike park into the future will take significant work by both the City staff and partner organizations. Thanks to THOR, whose near-prophetic scheduling brought IMBA’s Land Management and Trail Care Schools to Cone Park right after a major weather event, participants learned to assess, diagnose, and then find maintenance solutions to future drainage and risk management issues.” said IMBA’s Chris Orr.

In the wake of the severe weather and its impacts on the trails and the community, Orr used the Trail Care School to empower the community with skills and knowledge necessary for repairing and maintaining their new trail system. He built on the stoke related to the new, comprehensive facility to get people excited about resilient trails and sustainable trail maintenance. Participants applied knowledge from the classroom to make tangible repairs to Cone Park trails.

THOR’s Community Education and Engagement Director, Melissa Antinoro was there building community and creating meaningful connections. "Sioux City already has a strong partnership between the city and dedicated community volunteers. The IMBA trail care workshops provided valuable hands-on experience in building sustainable trails. This has empowered the city and volunteers to preserve their trails and form a long-term relationship centered around their community trails. What an amazing community!" 

The Right Crews

Cone Park has one dedicated trails and maintenance professional. You’ll see him out there in a high-vis yellow t-shirt, working tirelessly on trails. His name is Jacob. Say “hi.” This guy is a hero. Sioux City also has a Parks and Recreation Superintendent who prioritizes destination-style outdoor recreation opportunities close to home, and a maintenance lead who dreams out loud about more miles of trails and better connectors for himself and his family.

When asked about the Cone Park, Recreation Superintendent for Sioux City, John Byrnes stated “It’s not lost on me just how unique this amenity is for not just Iowa, but the Midwest region. We have people traveling to Sioux City from all over for a mountain biking experience that wasn’t available before our project. It is so easy to come to work when you get to help create an unbelievable trail system that offers something for beginners to advanced riders.”

Not many have said it better than Sioux City’s Parks & Recreation Maintenance Director, Sean Jackson. “Trails are dope. Trail people are dope. Trails can stay dope if we work together to keep them that way.” IMBA agrees.

With the partnership of Trails Have Our Respect (THOR), Eastern Nebraska and Western Iowa’s regional trails organization, Sioux City has the right folks in place to take Cone Park to the next level and keep it there. IMBA can’t wait to go back for another Trail Care School and to continue to develop the professional and volunteer crews. If you’re driving through the midwest, it’s DEFINITELY worth a ride!