Laramie Bike Park construction begins behind rec center, set to open in August

Dirt work has started behind the Laramie Community Recreation Center on a bike park city officials say will give Albany County a new ride spot in one of Laramie’s most visible public corridors. The project sits between the rec center and Laramie High School and is expected to open by the end of August, with a layout that includes Wyoming’s first asphalt pump track, a skills development area, downhill gravity trails and jump lines.

The site choice puts the project in a place where families, students and rec center users already gather, which makes the construction especially hard to miss this summer. City plans show the park divided into feature zones, with a mix of beginner and more advanced elements aimed at riders of different ages and skill levels rather than a single-use course.

The bike park has been years in the making. Laramie BikeNet helped launch the effort in 2017 by raising $10,500 to help pay for a location assessment, conceptual design, construction estimates and a phasing plan. The city later held public input meetings on Oct. 2 and Nov. 6, 2019, and a final report followed in February 2020, when no site had yet been selected. By December 2021, BikeNet President Richard Vercoe had completed an Albany County Recreation Board grant application with the city for a final plan, cost estimates and a geotechnical report for the rec center and high school site.

The financing took several turns before construction began. The original budget was $900,000, made up of a $700,000 Wyoming Outdoor Recreation Grant and $200,000 in specific-purpose tax funds. City Council later rejected a December 2024 bid because the only offer came in at $3,637,897, far beyond the available money. After that, the council amended the budget by $500,000, bringing the total to $1.4 million, and the city moved through a 2025 request-for-qualifications process that drew three qualified proposals and then two bids on June 27, 2025.

In August 2025, the city awarded the final contract to American Ramp Company for up to $1.2 million, with Progressive Bike Ramps and Velosolutions Pump Tracks also part of the build. The negotiated package priced the asphalt pump track at $394,000, jump lines at $350,000, the downhill slopestyle course at $300,000 and the skills area at $99,000, along with separate amounts for signage, bonding and final design work. The remaining $200,000 was set aside for irrigation, fencing and other local work.

For riders, the biggest change will be simple: a purpose-built bike park in the heart of Laramie instead of improvised practice areas. For the surrounding rec center and high school corridor, the project adds another public draw that should bring more cyclists, families and weekend activity into a part of town already central to Albany County recreation.