Cyclists will soon have new mountain biking trails to zip through in Jefferson County.
Chris and Rene Creed, owners of the Pedal’n Pi bike and pizza shop in Crystal City and founders of the Living Life on 2 Wheels nonprofit group, hope to open a park featuring public bike trails south of Festus in April, although an exact date has not been set.
The park, called Plattin Peak Trails, currently has three trails under construction with plenty more to come, Chris Creed said, adding that the long-term goal is to turn the 576-acre property, off Plattin Road, into a bicyclist’s oasis, with a campground, cabins, amphitheater, restaurant, general store and event hall.
Creed said the bike park will make it easier for families to get out into nature.
“We don’t have anything like this around here,” he said. “Everybody has to drive so far to enjoy nature, and that’s really why Rene and I want to do this. We want families to get out and enjoy what we have to offer down here.”
The Jefferson County Council voted unanimously Jan. 27 to approve the couple’s request to rezone the park property from large lot residential to a planned mixed-use district. The Council also approved the Creeds’ development plan.
Scott Seek, District 5 county councilman, who represents the southeastern part of the county including the Plattin Peak Trails property, said he fully supports the bike park.
“The Creeds did a great job of putting this all together,” Seek said. “We are lucky as a community to have people like the Creeds to do this type of project.”
District 3 Councilwoman Lori Arons, who represents a northeastern portion of the county, agreed.
“I can’t wait to get my little bike out there,” she said.
Chris Creed said a parking lot and restrooms must be built and signage must be installed before the park can officially open.
Additionally, the property’s main entrance, currently located on a corner of Plattin Road, will be moved to a safer spot.
“I’m maybe a little optimistic on this, but we’re shooting for an April opening, being able to invite everybody out there,” he said.
More trails will be added to the park as funding becomes available, and Express Mart’s giveback initiative EM Outdoors is helping the Creeds raise money for the project, Creed said.
Three fundraising events are already in the works for this year, including a casino night on April 25 at Knotting Hills in Pevely, a golf tournament on July 11 at the Crystal Highlands Golf Course in Festus and a wine-tasting to be held in the fall.
The trails
Creed said he and his wife have hired Zac Milner, owner of Stray Trails in St. Louis, to build a green-level downhill flow trail and a connector trail on the property, which are nearly completed, and the trail-building company will soon finish a blue-level downhill flow trail once the weather improves. Stray Trails has completed similar projects in Eureka and Steelville.
“(The downhill flow trails) are wide and smooth – they’re not all rocky and crazy,” Creed said. “You use gravity to help you go down the hill. Green is for beginners; blue is for intermediate, and black is for the advanced. As you go from green to blue to black, the trails will get deeper; they’ll get rockier.
“In some people’s mind, they’ll get more dangerous, and other people see it as just more fun.”
Both downhill flow trails will be about 1 mile long, winding back and forth through the woods.
The property includes several dolomite glades – rocky areas in forests or woodlands characterized by exposed bedrock and drought-adapted plants. The glades will remain untouched, but some of the biking trails will wind through them, Creed said.
As the couple raises more money, Stray Trails will develop black-level trails, single-track skinny trails and enduro lines, which will “pretty much go straight down” the steepest hills on the property, Creed said.
“We’d like to also have a nice, hard, packed trail that’s flat for some of the older folks on their e-bikes to just go cruising in the woods,” Creed said. “We want to have a variety for everybody to get out and enjoy.”
Future of Plattin Peak Trails
According to the Creeds’ development plan, they have laid out four phases for Plattin Peak Trails.
The first phase includes the trails, parking lot, restrooms and signage. In the next phase, five short-term rental cabins will be built on the property, along with 29 campsites for RVs or tents. The maximum stay for those campsites and cabins would be 14 days.
After that is 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 plan, the Creeds would add a 15-acre lake, combined event center and general store, pool, ball court and pavilions.
Creed said he didn’t yet have a timeline for when the short-term rental cabins and campsites would be added to the property.
The couple’s priority is building the trails and inviting cycle enthusiasts from the county and beyond to get out into nature at their park.
“We want to get people out enjoying the dirt,” he said. “We want them coming down to Festus and seeing what we have to offer and telling their friends about (the bike park).”
To support the fundraising efforts for Plattin Peak Trails, Creed said donations may be dropped off at the bike and pizza shop, 514 Bailey Road, or made through the Living Life on 2 Wheels website, livinglifeon2wheels.com.