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Sep 02, 2023

Bike skills tracks to be built at Bluffside Park with Winona couple's donation

The entrance to the Bluffside Park bike trails is seen in Winona on Tuesday, Aug. 22. The park has over 10 miles of multi-use trails. Winona philanthropists Will and Shirley Oberton have donated over

The entrance to the Bluffside Park bike trails is seen in Winona on Tuesday, Aug. 22. The park has over 10 miles of multi-use trails.

Winona philanthropists Will and Shirley Oberton have donated over $130,000 to build a mountain bike skills park at Bluffside Park.

The couple is active in outdoor recreation and was inspired to donate the bike park to Winona after seeing their grandkids enjoy a similar mountain bike park while visiting Cable, Wisconsin.

“We see the enjoyment it brings them, and it’s good, healthy activity,” said Will, the longtime president and CEO of Fastenal. “A few bumps and bruises, but we like to see kids outside.”

The $135,000 skills park will be located west of Holzinger Lodge at West Lake Boulevard in Winona and will offer three sections of features.

One section will be a tot track for beginning riders as they become accustomed to riding off-road on bumpy dirt surfaces. It’ll have balance bike-friendly features, varying trail textures, small wooden features and long, low dirt rollers.

A bike repair station at the entrance to the Bluffside Park bike trails is seen in Winona on Tuesday, Aug. 22.

The next two sections will have separate beginner and intermediate hubs that consist of two lines — a jump line with 6-8 tabletop-style jumps and 3-5 drops of varying size with the smallest at the top and the largest near the bottom.

The beginner and intermediate hubs will have rollers, berms and jumps built in a “flow” trail style with up and overs built on each course to avoid user conflict.

Shirley said philanthropic work has always been important to both of them, and they were inspired by mentors like Bob Kierlin and Mary Burrichter, who founded Winona’s Minnesota Marine Art Museum and are currently building Masterpiece Hall.

“There are people who give a tremendous amount to the community,” Shirley said. “We know that we’re very fortunate, and so that inspired us to always try to find ways to give back to the community.”

The Winona City Council accepted the donation last week. Construction on the tot track will start this fall, putting Winona on the map of mountain bike skills parks in the area with Upper Hixon Forest Pump Track in La Crosse and the Trempealeau Bike Park.

Construction of the beginner and intermediate hubs in Winona is scheduled to be between May and June 2024 with a park opening scheduled for July 14.

After moving to Winona about 40 years ago, the Obertons said they’ve fallen in love with the city, its beauty and community.

“We want to help make Winona a place where people want to raise their families,” Will said.

Winona Director of Recreation Facilities Patrick Menton said the technical grade of the soon to be constructed park makes it an ideal location while not taking over too much of the existing bluffs trail system.

“This bicycle skills course is essentially a playground for bikes and is truly for all ages,” Menton said. “When you look at the whole master plan of the Bluffs Traverse, it’s like the size of a thumbprint on that. So it’s a small area, but it’s finely tuned and with this donation we’re going to put out an incredible bicycle playground for people.”

Mayor Scott Sherman said the donation gives him the “warm fuzzies.”

“This is a prime example of philanthropy that is impacting our outdoor recreation infrastructure. I know there’s been a lot of work behind this for the past year or so,” Sherman said. “I can’t wait to see this come to fruition.”

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