SoCal Town Breaks Ground on Haskell Canyon Bike Park

People and bikes are like peanut butter and jelly. We're good together. Bikes get you where you want to go. You breathe fresh air. Pedaling doesn't pollute. Heck, if you're not careful, you may even catch some exercise. In a world built for bikes, everyone is safe, fit, and gets where they need to go. Haskell Canyon Bike Park is helping bring the vision to life.

So far, Southern California is not that world. Despite producing a healthy pool of pros every year, SoCal remains painfully car oriented. Cyclists, despite the blood-boiling many motorists feel, find themselves riding in the proverbial and literal gutter. Broken glass or car door roulette, take your pick. Take up a little more space, and an exhilarating narrative unfolds:

"DAMN BIKERS!!", you hear amidst a flurry of honks. The vehicle accelerates, tearing the air beside you. The pink-faced driver is absolutely furious you made them sit behind you for 10 agonizing seconds. In less than 30 seconds, you'll have an awkward reunion at the light. The altercation isn't worth it: you still have all your skin.

For me, this was part of the appeal of mountain biking. I've loved riding my bike as long as I can remember. But something about riding on the road, mixed in with all those multi-ton machines piloted by civilians, freaks me out. I needed to get off-road, where the only danger was my own line-choice.

Fat tires rolling, I hopped off the asphalt and into the limestone canyons. It was immediately glorious, navigating a vast network of nature preserves and undeveloped land connected vaguely by col-de-sacs, underpasses, and creeks. Soon enough, my buddies and I started building dirt jumps, berm tracks, and other oddities. There's a lot to learn from jumping a bike. Progression is a process equally inspiring and defeating. It was a golden time, punctuated by dried blood and a the odd concussion.

Then came the bulldozers. Gone were our lovingly sculpted slalom tracks and jib-lines, our beloved kickers. The big sandbag hits further east were still safe, though none of us had the stones to send them. But as for our local spot: there would be a Trader Joe's here soon enough. Swaths of undeveloped land were unmercifully clear cut and prepped for cookie-cutter housing projects and swanky new office parks.

To be sure, the shoveling we were doing wasn't sanctioned in the least. But that's where we went if we wanted to jib after school. The window between last school bell and sundown was too quick to go anywhere else. And besides, we couldn't drive.

For the fortunate sons of Santa Clarita, however, the story might have a different ending.

On July 1, the City of Santa Clarita officially broke ground on the Haskell Canyon Bike Park, a $7.4 million city funded trail network that will transform part of the city’s 720-acre Haskell Canyon Open Space into a place for mountain bikers of all skill levels.

Spencer Rathkamp, a Santa Clarita pro who now rides for brands like Specialized and Thule, is helping to realize that vision. Of course, he's no stranger to stories like mine.

“Southern California as a whole is very unfriendly towards bikes," Rathkamp told Singletracks. He recently moved back to the area, and the city's shifting attitudes toward mountain biking are a big part of why he came home.

Just 30 minutes north of Los Angeles, Santa Clarita has quietly become one of the few cities in LA County to truly invest in outdoor recreation and open space. The Haskell Canyon Bike Park, located at 21450 Copper Hill Drive, builds on this momentum with a design that embraces both high-level riding and community inclusivity. For mountain bikers of every level, it's a dream come true.

At the event, city officials emphasized that this isn’t just another park—it’s a statement of intent.

Georgia Rios, a Communications Specialist with the city who’s been involved in the project from its inception, praised the project as an opportunity work collaboratively with the mountain biking community.

Haskell won't even be the city's first bike park. They built another one five years ago-- the Santa Clarita Bike Park-- and in the wake of the park's success, the city is doubling down.

The new bike park will feature more than 15 miles of purpose-built trails, including:

The centerpiece of the bike park will be a world-class riding complex that includes:

There’s also plenty of parking and shuttle access for future events. And thanks to the area’s rugged topography, the terrain is ready to go.

“The topography of the valley is pretty sweet,” said Rathkamp. “It’s a cool little canyon with about 550 feet of vert, which is more than enough to make good use of."

The idea for the bike park took shape when city officials reached out to Rathkamp, asking for his input and connection to the broader mountain bike world. After testing the waters with the Santa Clarita Bike Park, the city saw Haskell Canyon as an opportunity to go bigger, and to do it right.

ARC Construction is responsible for trail construction, with design and management support from AVID Trails.

The park is being designed with progression in mind. From beginner loops and skill zones to advanced jump lines and race-ready slalom courses, Haskell Canyon will offer something for everyone.

"To us, a huge deal is our greenbelt and being able to bring people out into the open space," Rios told Singletracks. "Whether it’s hiking, trail biking, or running, that’s our mission.”

The city hopes the park will attract both local riders and visiting outdoor enthusiasts, helping to position Santa Clarita as a year-round mountain biking destination in a region where public land is often off-limits to riders.

If weather and conditions cooperate, the park is slated for completion in winter 2025. And if things go well, this won’t be the last expansion.

The cathedrals of my youth are gone. And that's ok-- they weren't built to last anyway. And people need places to live, work, and eat. We were riding in the margins. Publicly funded projects like the one at Haskell Canyon are changing that.