What happens to a brand-new dirt bike park in Eden Prairie once the ground starts freezing and thawing every few days?
Cedar Hills Bike Park opened at 9580 Eden Prairie Road on Saturday, Oct. 24, and the timing helped. Eden Prairie Local News reported that riders had warm fall weather for the grand opening, and its photos showed riders in the air off the jumps while planes passed over from Flying Cloud Airport. Less than two weeks later, the City's Nov. 6 Friday Report said the park "has quickly become a popular destination for riders." The same report also listed reminders on mud, parking and towing.
Those reminders explain how the park is meant to work. Cedar Hills was built to give off-road riding a designated place to go, away from ground that can't take it. The trails stay in good shape only if riders treat ground conditions the way the city wants them treated across all its natural areas. Winter is the first season that tests it.
Why the Trails Ended Up in a Little-Known Park
Eden Prairie Local News reported in April that the City Council awarded the construction contract to Pathfinder Trail Building for $420,800 on April 21. The only other bid came in at $443,129.52. The money came from the city's Park Improvement Fund, which is built from fees developers pay to help fund new parks and recreation amenities.
Parks Director Amy Markle told the outlet that a small committee of residents, mountain bike fans plus others who had asked about the project, helped design the skills park and trails along with a professional designer. She also described the problem the park was meant to fix. People had been riding in places that weren't built for it, including conservation areas where bike ruts had formed in native prairie.
"Mountain biking is fun — I love it myself. But it needs to be in a designated area. So we're hoping we can focus it in areas specifically designed for biking, and keep those other natural areas protected."
That's Markle, as quoted by Eden Prairie Local News. She also pointed out that Eden Prairie riders had gotten used to driving elsewhere. Shakopee, Edina at Braemar, Minnetonka and Bloomington all had trails before Eden Prairie did. Cedar Hills Park, which sits along Eden Prairie Road south of Pioneer Trail, got the project partly because of its terrain. Markle said it "has some really nice topography that lends itself well to bike trails."
Pathfinder founder Adam Buck told the outlet after the opening that construction started in July and finished about a month before the ribbon-cutting.
What's on the 15 Acres
The City's Cedar Hills Bike Park page posts separate maps for the Bike Playground, the Flow Zone and the Skills Park, along with trail loops through the park's natural areas and multi-use trails for hiking and biking. Markle said in April that most of the loop area would be "really for all ages, all abilities," with one large all-access loop for novices and shorter trails nearby for intermediate and advanced riders.
The City rates the trails this way:
| Rating | What the City says to expect |
|---|---|
| Adaptive | Wide, obstacle-free trails |
| Easy | Gentle hills, small obstacles and loose terrain |
| Intermediate | Varied terrain and steep slopes |
| Advanced | Advanced riding skills required for natural and constructed features |
Singletrack runs one way to limit erosion, so follow the directional arrows. Helmets are required for every rider. E-bikes with working pedals are allowed. E-motos, electric scooters, ATVs, remote-controlled vehicles and drones are not. Pets aren't allowed on the multi-use trails, except service animals. The Friday Report adds that e-motos are illegal on public streets, sidewalks, trails and other public property anywhere in Eden Prairie, not just at the bike park.
The Status Widget Is the Real Schedule
At the top of the City's bike park page is a live trail-status widget from Trailbot. The rule underneath it is short: "Ride dirt, not mud." The page also says trails may close during extended wet periods. The Friday Report gives the reason. Riding wet or muddy trails causes ruts, erosion and other damage, which is the same damage the park was built to keep off the prairie.
Trail maintainers post the updates themselves, and the notes get specific. In early November, the Cedar Hills Trailbot page showed the trail open and "tacky, packed" after rain. It warned that the wood features needed a few more hours to dry and pointed riders to a Tree Fort Etiquette graphic, because of "a lot of bottle necks" on that feature. Treat that as a snapshot. The status changes with the weather.
According to Trailbot's help guide, maintainers can choose from five statuses:
- Open
- Closed
- Partially Open
- Freeze/Thaw
- Closed for Season
Words like "tacky," "packed" and "icy" are optional condition tags added on top of a status. Freeze/Thaw and Closed for Season are the two statuses built for the colder months. The Trailbot app for Android and iOS can send notifications, which saves a drive down Eden Prairie Road to look at a gate.
Parking Before Winter Shrinks the Margin
The other rule from the Friday Report matters more as the days get shorter. Parking at the main Cedar Hills entrance is limited. Illegally parked vehicles can be towed, and the City asks riders not to park on nearby residential streets. Overflow parking is about a mile north at the Flying Cloud Fields west entrance, 9311 Mitchell Road, near Fields 1–2.
Riding that mile to the trailhead also makes a good warmup on a cold afternoon.
What Winter Use Looks Like on Paper
The rules for Cedar Hills' multi-use trails already list a winter user. Riders announce themselves when approaching, faster bikers get the right of way, and "hikers and snowshoers yield to bikers." Whatever the season brings at Cedar Hills, it will show up on the widget.
Minnetonka's trail, one of the four Markle named, is the closest example of a city-run suburban mountain bike trail in winter. The five-mile Lone Lake Park Mountain Bike Trail opened in 2021. It allows fat-tire biking and snowshoeing in winter but not hiking, and it closes to all users when it's wet or muddy or when the trailhead gates are shut. Minnetonka points riders to pages hosted by Minnesota Off-Road Cyclists for current conditions. The idea that wet ground closes the trail in every season is the same rule Eden Prairie already posts.
Where Groomed Winter Singletrack Already Runs
For riders who want groomed snow now, Three Rivers Park District runs the nearest established options. Its mountain biking page lists Elm Creek, Lake Rebecca, Monarch and Murphy-Hanrehan as year-round trails "weather permitting." Baker, Cleary Lake and Eagle Lake are listed as winter-only trails.
Murphy-Hanrehan has more than 10 miles of singletrack, and Three Rivers lists it as a groomed winter mountain bike trail. Elm Creek has 12.7 miles of singletrack.
Three Rivers asks winter users to do three things to protect groomed singletrack:
- Lower your tire pressure.
- Ride when it's below freezing.
- Wear snowshoes instead of boots if you're on foot.
The same Three Rivers page notes that its trails can close because of wet or warm conditions. That's the same idea as Cedar Hills' "ride dirt, not mud" rule, applied to snow.
The Next Trails May Not Be at Cedar Hills
When Markle first pitched the bike park to the council in March 2025, she mentioned a possible second phase with longer trails on Flying Cloud Airport property across Eden Prairie Road. That land belongs to the Metropolitan Airports Commission. By April 2026, she told Eden Prairie Local News that the area just east of Cedar Hills Park was "a 'no' for now." She added that the city had started discussing other areas that "could hold additional trails."
Until then, the 15 acres at 9580 Eden Prairie Road are the city's designated place to ride off-road, and the Trailbot widget at edenprairiemn.gov/BikePark is the first thing to check before loading up the bike.
Want to keep the Trailbot page and the overflow lot at Flying Cloud Fields saved for next spring? Our agents at Move Real Estate follow small Eden Prairie changes like this one block by block, from new trails to new parking rules. If you have a question about your corner of Eden Prairie, Let's Connect.
