Tucson’s 100-Acre Wood is on track for a major transformation, with city officials, community leaders, and design experts sharing their vision last week for the long-anticipated outdoor recreation space. 

The meeting provided an opportunity for residents to learn about the upcoming enhancements to the area near the intersection of South Alvernon Way and East Golf Links Road that was once the site of a large homeless encampment.

The new 100-Acre Wood Bike Park will include new trails, skill areas, and safety upgrades. The park has been a long-term collaborative effort between the City of Tucson, Pima County, Davis-Monthan Air Force Base, and local cycling organizations, including the Sonoran Desert Mountain Bicyclists and The Trek Foundation.

“The 100-Acre Wood bike park represents 20-plus years of dreaming, planning, and collaboration,” said Capital Planning and Development Project Manager  Stephanie Kopplin noted during the presentation. “The vision has always been to create an accessible urban bike park that provides safe but challenging trails and features for riders of all ages and skill levels.”

Originally conceptualized in the 1990s and further developed in the 2010s, the park gained traction in 2014 during a master planning process.

But after an initial wave of progress in 2019, the park was forced to close due to the COVID-19 pandemic and an increase in homeless encampments.

Now, thanks to renewed investment, including grant funding from the Arizona State Parks Heritage Fund and support from local cycling groups, the park is set to reopen with significant upgrades.

Nat Lopes, a professional bike park designer with over 20 years of experience, outlined the planned improvements, saying he’s worked on projects worldwide and was still impressed by the natural beauty of the 100-Acre Wood site.

“I’ve ridden in all 50 states, nine Canadian provinces, and 15 different countries, helping communities build sustainable trails and bike parks,” Lopes said. “Tucson has a unique opportunity here, with a stunning desert landscape and a committed biking community.”

Proposed upgrades include:

• A 10-mile interconnected trail system that will allow riders to explore every trail seamlessly, including beginner-friendly paths and advanced technical tracks.
• Skill-building areas that will include rock gardens, balance beams, log rides, and progressive jump lines for riders to develop their abilities.
• Pump tracks and flow trails with smooth, rolling terrain that allows riders to build momentum and practice bike handling skills.
• Freeride and technical features that will give more advanced riders access to slant wall rides, curved wall rides, tabletop jumps, and potentially large gap-style jumps.
• Outdoor education elements that will focus on native plants.

“It is a beautiful site with all of the native species of cactus and vegetation, flora, fauna. I think there's a great opportunity to have some outdoor education kind of programming along with the project,” said Lopes.

Despite the enthusiasm for the bike park’s revitalization, officials acknowledged ongoing challenges, including lingering unauthorized use of the area and the need for infrastructure improvements.

“This phase of improvements will not include the development of restrooms, parking or water infrastructure on site,” Kopplin said.

Lopes said both Freedom Park and Todd Harris Park, both located a mile or less away, have parking and restroom facilities 

Another major focus is ensuring a safe and responsible transition for individuals who have been living in the park.

Last May, the city cleared out a large area of the park to allow for the Air Force to conduct testing for PFAS chemicals, but unhoused individuals continue to seek shelter in the park.

The City of Tucson’s Housing First program is actively working to provide outreach and assistance to those affected.

“Our goal is to provide compassionate, whole-person support to decommission the site and continue to provide park inhabitants with the opportunities, resources and support needed to transition into stable housing,” Kopplin said.

Justin Hamilton, the city’s Homeless Protocol Outreach Supervisor, said the city has been using a phased approach to decommission the remaining encampment. In November, the city took a census of people living in an area referred to as Zone Two and has been working with outreach organizations to connect those people with resources.

“We aim to fully decommission Zone Two by the end of February,” Hamilton said. “Our goal in 2025 is to have continuous outreach in 100 Acres (that will) continue once a week until all zones are unoccupied.”

With $340,000 allocated for this phase of improvements, city officials and partners say they’re optimistic about the park’s future.

Residents can provide feedback on the proposed designs through a community survey until February 20. Kopplin said the city will incorporate feedback into the design that will be made public for further input in the spring.

Samantha Callicutt is a Tucson Spotlight reporter and graduate student at the University of Arizona. Contact her at Scallicutt@arizona.edu.

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