Missouri recreation groups and the Columbia City Council believe the Gans Creek Recreation Area would be the ideal location for 10.5 miles of new multi-use singletrack trails. However, the approved trail development has sparked mixed reactions among local residents, with some residents and environmental groups opposing the new trail development.
The back story of Gans Creek Recreation Area
The city of Columbia, Missouri, purchased the Gans Creek Recreation Area in 2007 for $8 million. The 300-plus acres comprised the former Lofty Cliff Farm, owned by the Crane family since 1877.
In 2013, the City of Columbia approved a proposal to build a park and athletic fields on the newly acquired property. The proposal included seven multi-sport fields, a 2.5-acre dog park, a playground, concession stands, sheltered areas, restrooms, and parking for over 300 cars. However, by 2016, only five fields had been built from the original plan.
Shortly after, the University of Missouri expressed interest in building a cross-country running track at the Gans Creek Recreation Area. The university reached an agreement with the city, and the Gans Creek Cross Country Course opened in 2019. It hosts state, regional, national, and collegiate championship races.
Around the same time parties were discussing the Gans Creek Cross Country Course, a new trail organization saw a need for more beginner-friendly, natural-surface mountain bike trails. This coincided with the introduction of NICA in Columbia’s schools. The Columbia Missouri Trail Association (COMOTA) began discussions with the city about the need they saw and heard citizens express.
“So the city felt [Gans Creek Recreation Area] could be a great spot for a beginner trail system,” Nate Smith, President of COMOTA, told us. “Maybe we could host NICA events with a part of this, and then on the south side of the creek, where it hadn’t been developed, we could put in some more challenging trails.”
The city of Columbia approved the new Gans Creek Recreation Area plan at the end of 2023. This updated plan traded playgrounds, concessions, and ballfields for 10.5 miles of multi-use singletrack. The 10.5 miles consists of three separate loops — a 4.5-mile beginner loop on the park’s north side, a 4.5-mile intermediate loop to the south, and a 1.5-mile loop connecting the two.
The total cost for the new plan would be just over $400,000. After the city council approved the proposal, the project opened for a public comment period.
“Some people have said, ‘Oh my gosh, it’s going to be $400,000,’” Smith said. “That’s a drop in a bucket compared to what a softball complex costs.”
However, most comments opposing the trail proposal weren’t concerned with the budget. Commenters and environmental groups are worried about the impacts on nature and a blue heron rookery on the park’s south side.
Smith felt that some of the community’s trail hesitation could be due to simple confusion. The proposed trails are in the Gans Creek Recreation Area, which borders the Gans Creek Wild Area, where cycling isn’t allowed.
Environmental groups, including the Sierra Club, have voiced their opposition to some of the proposed mountain bike trails
In addition to community members who shared their opinions during the public comment period, some environmental groups opposed the addition of trails in the Gans Creek Recreation Area. Among them was the Mid-Missouri Group of the Sierra Club.
In an email correspondence with Singletracks, Dee Dokken and Carolyn Amparan, Chairpersons for the Sierra Club, said this on the matter:
“The proposed mountain bike trail would be too intense for the ecosystem and cause soil erosion, habitat destruction, and over-use. We think the area deserves a higher level of protection, and any trail should avoid sensitive areas — steep slopes, the stream bed, riparian corridor. The city property shares a boundary with the Gans Creek Wild Area, one of a few in the state. A bike trail near this boundary would disturb the quiet and solitude that is the purpose for the Wild Area and encourage hikers and bikers to cross over.”
While the Sierra Club may oppose the addition of trails in the Gans Creek Recreation Area, it was specific about what it opposed. Amparan and Dokken expressed that the group had issues with the intermediate trail on the park’s south side. Accessing this trail would require crossing Gans Creek, and a significant portion would border a 200-foot buffer around the blue heron rookery.
Sutu Forte shares many of the Sierra Club’s opinions and perspectives on the Gans Creek proposal. Forte is the president of It’s Our Wild Nature, a conservation group dedicated to preserving a 35-acre plot in Columbia. Concerning Gans Creek, Forte speaks as a concerned resident of Columbia rather than on behalf of the organization she co-founded.
“The Gans area is stunningly beautiful. It’s like a modern-day scene of Fern Gully,” Forte told us. “Right in the middle of the lower area is a protected area for fourteen heron nests. People are very concerned about the construction of bicycle trails in that area disturbing [the herons].”
In addition to the herons, Forte also explained how sensitive the entire area where the proposed intermediate trail is. From soil erosion to endangered gray bats to pink planarian flatworms, trails could significantly impact the delicately balanced Gans Creek’s ecosystem.
While Forte doesn’t want trails in the Gans Creek Recreation Area, she doesn’t oppose them altogether. She said there are several other areas around Columbia where she could see no issues with adding trails — just not Gans Creek.
What’s next for Gans Creek?
With all the pushback the Gans Creek proposal received, the city made two decisions at the beginning of 2025. First, the beginner loop would be built on the north side of the park, away from the rookery. Second, trails on the south side would be paused for 90 days to consider the environmental impact and determine the next steps. Perhaps, during that time, a compromise can be reached.
For Smith and COMOTA, there was certainly some disappointment in hearing the city put a pause on the southside trails. Smith walked the area with Columbia’s Parks Director, the Sierra Club, the Audubon Society, and State Parks officials, just to name a few. They’ve jumped through hoops, added the requested 200-foot space around the heron rookery, and made arrangements for trail building to be done outside of the nesting season. Yet, the concerns persist.
For now, COMOTA is excited about the beginner trail on the park’s north side and its potential for accommodating future NICA races. As far as what will happen on Gans Creek’s south side, Smith told us it’s simply a waiting game. He hopes a compromise can be reached.
“We hope to work with Columbia Parks and Rec and the mountain bike community to make changes that will be acceptable to all,” Amparan and Dokken of the Sierra Club told us. “At this time, we believe this type of plan is feasible.”
The city council will revisit the mountain bike trail proposal on the south end of Gans Creek Recreation Area in early spring 2025. As far as the beginner loop on the north side, construction will be done by Nomad Trails Development and is scheduled to begin this month.
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