Nobody likes getting hit with a flying frisbee mid-ride. For years, mountain bikers have ridden kindly through and around the disc golf holes at Jordan Creek. But due to increasing participation in both activities (as well as more hikers, dog walkers, fisher people, and enthusiasts of other activities) we want to make sure we preserve this gem of an urban trail system and avoid conflict with other park users.
We also can serve our riders better—especially those who are not Jordan regulars and don't know every twist and turn or how to best navigate the back-to-back four-way intersections—by smoothing out the trail flow in places and highlighting with signs and maps, ideal routes. And yes, the park managers are concerned about the density of trails, and new connectors or trail segments popping up that can have a negative impact on the wildlife.
Working with Lehigh County Parks department, and the disc golfers, we're embarking on several important initiatives at the park.
This summer VMB will:
-Install directional trail signs that identify key loops in the park that riders can follow and have a great experience even without a tour guide (something that's almost impossible now).
-Reroute several sections of trail that directly cross disc golf holes, or pass closely by tees or baskets
-At the request of the Park, based on concerns about soil erosion and sedimentation, asking riders to avoid a segment of trail along the creek by what was formerly the 5th disc-golf hole (for the same reasons, the disc golfers are also moving that hole.
Below are maps of the preferred routes, and detailed images of re-routes and closures. It's crititical to respect these trail closures and ride on the rerouted sections. Much of the work is being done by the Lehigh Valley Composite Mountain Bike team, under the guidance of VMB and our Jordan Trail Ambassador Dave Campain. These student athletes, along with their coaches, parents, and other volunteers are working hard to tackle this and we urge everyone to respect their effort and these closures. It's crucial we do so in order to continue enjoying the access we do at this wonderful park.
The Green (short and easy), Blue (a little bit harder), Purple (challenging good times) and Black (heart-attack fun) are outlined in the map below. The red lines are new rerouted sections. The yellow lines are trail segments we've been asked to stop riding.
A closer look at the trail reroutes and closures on each loop (there are none on black)
Green (notice the area closure on the bottom left--please stay out of that area, especially the hill where the Disc Golf basket is due to erosion conscerns)
Blue Trail Reroutes: There are two significant ones happening in this section that will avoid disc-golf holes and improve the overall flow. Please enjoy them once they are finished and stay off the closed segments.
Purple Reroutes: There is just one short closure here and some new trail segments to help the flow and create a more satisfying loop
