Cycling enthusiasts Chris and Renee Creed want to make Jefferson County the destination for mountain biking – and they’re one step closer to achieving their goal.
The Jefferson County Planning and Zoning Commission voted unanimously Dec. 12 to approve the couple’s zoning request and development plan for 576 acres of property off Plattin Road south of Festus, where they plan to create public biking trails, build an amphitheater, open a restaurant and develop a campground for tent camping and recreational vehicles. The development would be called Plattin Peak Trails.
Mitch Bair, director of county services, called the plan a “quasi-commercial recreational development” with planned trails that would be open to the public and commercial aspects needed to keep the park operational.
Bair said the Creeds have talked about developing a relationship with the county Parks and Recreation Department to provide programming and event opportunities.
The County Council, which has the sole authority over rezoning in unincorporated parts of the county, will likely consider the rezoning request and development plans at a meeting early next year.
The Creeds own and operate the Pedal’n Pi bike and pizza shop in Crystal City and founded the Life on 2 Wheels nonprofit group, which provides schools with bikes and promotes safe bike riding for children.
Renee Creed said the idea for the bike park came from a trip to Bentonville, Ark., which is the “Mountain Biking Capital of the World,” according to that city’s website
“We left Bentonville, Ark., saying we’re either going to move our family here or we’re going to figure out how to get Jefferson County on board with some of this type of infrastructure and culture that comes from having connectivity in your community, trails, places for kids to run outside through the woods, ride bicycles through the woods, get off the couches,” she said. “We knew this was going to be a huge task.”
The Creeds requested their property be rezoned from large lot residential to a planned mixed-use district.
Bair told the commissioners that the plans for the property were “very close to being permitted” under the county’s code for the large lot residential district, adding that if the rezoning request wasn’t approved, the property would likely be turned into a subdivision, paintball facility or recreational facility.
He explained that by submitting the development plan to the commission for approval, P and Z staff could add conditions to the plan that the Creeds must meet when developing the property.
“Should this application not be approved, it is likely that the applicant could move forward and do almost all of the elements of the plan without the conditions that are here, too,” he said.
Commissioner Jeffrey Spraul said he liked the plans for the bike park, especially since the county could place some conditions on the project.
“By approving this plan, the county has a role, Code Enforcement has a role,” Spraul said. “This (approval) will give the county the ability to still have a role in what’s going to happen. Otherwise, we’re just going to have to trust them.”
The Creeds purchased the property from Renee’s father, Gary Surdyke, in 2021. Surdyke opened a motorcycle store in Festus in 1972, eventually expanding with several motorcycle dealerships.
“We were able to acquire this property that took us a big step forward in the dream of building a mountain bike park for the community,” Renee said. “I don’t know too many people who would take their property and open it to the public for free. Of course, there must be components that are revenue-generating. It’s got to be sustainable, but it’s for the children, it’s for the families, it’s for the folks who want to get out in nature.”
According to a P and Z report, the undeveloped property includes several dolomite glades – rocky areas in forests or woodlands characterized by exposed bedrock and drought-adapted plants.
“The dolomite glades are absolutely unbelievable,” Chris Creed said. “Those are going to remain untouched. We’ll have some trails going through them so people can see them.”
Bair said the development plan includes four phases. The “immediate phase” includes building a new entry off Plattin Road and constructing a temporary gravel parking lot, along with a trail hub kiosk with wayfinding signage and rules, several trails and a pole barn.
In the next phase, five short-term rental cabins will be built on the property, along with 29 campsites for RVs or tents. Bair said the maximum stay for those campsites and cabins would be 14 days.
After that would be the “long-term phase,” which calls for the construction of 15 more cabins; a caretaker house; restaurant; bike courses and tracks; amphitheater; pavilions; a playground and a tent camping field.
In the “very long-term phase,” according to the P and Z report, developers would add a 15-acre lake, combined event center and general store, pool, ball court and pavilions.
Renee said people will not be allowed to ride motorcycles on the property, adding that she had seen several people comment on social media that they were concerned about motorcyclists using the property.
Numerous unsanctioned motorcycle events were held on the property more than 20 years ago when Renee’s father owned it, which caused nearby residents to complain about the noise and county officials to get involved.
“Yes, there was a time in the mid-90s that he held some hare scramble races out there, and he did have a dispute with zoning and some of the residents who lived out there,” Renee said. “People assume that since my family is a motorcycle family, that two wheels means it’s got a motor attached.”
Chris said two bike trails already are being developed on the property, funded with grant money and money raised by the local cycling community.
“(The property) is an amazing asset to the county that we want to leave as a legacy for our kids and for everybody else’s families to get out and do it,” Chris said.