Tag Archives: Sechler Park

First CROCT trail work day scheduled: April 19 at Sechler Park

 Marty Larson, AKA Paul Bunyan Marty Larson Marty Larson, AKA Paul Bunyan

On Wednesday afternoon, Marty Larson and I visited the Cannon Rivers bottoms in Sechler Park to scout a trail, do a little marking, and clear some downed branches.  We need some demonstration trails to show members of the Northfield Parks Board (PRAB) what singletrack looks like and where it might go.  We are NOT authorized to do any ‘creating’ at this point (eg, building berms, rollers, technical obstacles, etc).

We’d like to get a team of volunteers out Saturday morning, April 19th, to clear things out a bit more.

  • 8 am: socializing at the Goodbye Blue Monday or Tandem Bagels, whichever is quieter/has space.
  • 9 am: meeting at the pavilion / playground near the south entrance Sechler Park.

bow saw hand pruners loppers

Bring hand pruners, branch loppers, and bow saws so we can clear the trails where we’ll want PRAB members to walk. Bring rakes, too, as the ground is thick with years of composting leaves and vegetation. Eventually when most of the work is done, we will be installing the outdoor, brush cameras we got from shooting authority, they will surely capture great shots.

Park gates are NOT open till May 1.  So if you’re coming in a vehicle, it’s probably best to park in the cul-de-sac behind Walgreens, as there’s not a lot of room for parking at the far end of Sechler by the Heath Creek entrance.
It’s fine to ride in on your bikes.  The double-track from either end is solid now.  So if you’re biking from Northfield, ride the road to the first baseball field and then cut behind it. Here’s a screenshot of a map. The red X is where we’ll be working.
Sechler Pk work day april 19

Our presentation to the Northfield Park and Recreation Advisory Board: good vibes

CROCT presentation to March 20 Northfield Park and Recreation Advisory BoardMarty Larson and I made a brief presentation to the Northfield Park and Recreation Advisory Board (PRAB) last night. They seemed to like our plan to create river bottoms mountain bike trail in Sechler Park, and seemed open to exploring the possibility of a trail in Roosevelt Park and Roosevelt Ridge Park. They also wondered if Odd Fellows Park, site of a new dog park, might be a park that could accommodate both a trail and a bike park/pump track.

We were asked send a formal letter of request to the Parks staff requesting a formal agreement between CROCT and the City, starting with permission to work on a trail in Sechler Park this spring. Staff will take that request to their weekly staff Development Review Committee (DRC) meeting and then put it into an upcoming City Council meeting packet, hopefully with a recommendation that the Council direct the PRAB and the staff to work with CROCT on implementation.

Here are links to some of the maps and resources we used in our presentation:

Sechler Park

Roosevelt Park

Hauberg Woods

Small pump tracks and skills parks

Northfield Parks Resources