Redhead Mountain Bike Park adds pump track, skills course, new trails

The new centerpiece is a paved Velosolutions pump track, one of only a few in Minnesota, surrounded by a gravel skills course with bridges, rocks and berms. Trailhead improvements include a bike washing site, water fountain, maintenance shed, lighting, concrete walkways, secure fencing and landscaping. Chisholm Parks, Trails and Recreation Director Collin Luke said the city wanted to draw a different group of riders, including people interested in stunt riding and pump-track riding, while lead trail builder Erik Carlson said the paved version was chosen over a dirt track because it would be faster, easier to maintain and more of a destination draw.

For St. Louis County, the project fits a broader shift in how outdoor amenities are being used as economic-development tools. Redhead is free to the public, owned by the City of Chisholm and operated with Iron Range Off-Road Cyclists and Minnesota Discovery Center, and the park says it now has 27 miles of handcrafted, purpose-built trails. Its official site describes Redhead as one of five mountain bike trail systems on the Iron Range, together totaling 140 miles of single-track, a network that helps position Chisholm as a place where riders can come for more than a quick stop.

The expansion follows a planning push that had already identified what the park needed next. A March 2025 master plan called for more trails, more wayfinding, jump lines, downhill features, a bike wash station, a pump track, an adaptive trail and a connection to downtown Chisholm. The park’s 2023 work plan put the project budget at $1,666,000 and said the build would add up to 12 miles of additional trails and accommodations, while also noting that the first phase of the park build, valued at $1.77 million, had been completed.