QECP Latest Trail Developments

Catch up on the latest trail developments from the dedicated team of trail builders and what the future holds for the trails at Queen Elizabeth Country Park.

Over the last year we have been working on updating the old purple trail at QECP. This is a large project to get rid of nasty climbs and fire road descents, replacing them with modern trails and singletrack with optional features for riders to hone their skills on. The overall project has four phases which when complete we hope will provide some great beginner/intermediate level riding within the park.

So far we have completed phases one and two of the project which have eliminated one of the hardest climbs in the park with a modern switch back style surfaced climb and some fun, fast surfaced singletrack. We are now simply awaiting the signage before we can officially open these trails but they can be used now. The blue trails on the map below show the new route.

Now these two phases are complete we are looking to move onto the next stage of the blue trail which will see the removal of the final fire road descent to be replaced with some new singletrack with berms, rollers and other features. When complete this, with the other trail we have incorporated into the new blue with give a 1.5 mile singletrack descent within the park; which we hope will put some huge grins on a lot of faces. Work on this will start once we have final agreement on the trail corridor from both the Forestry Commission and Hampshire County Council and we have finished our Autumn/Winter maintenance programme.

Looking beyond phase three of the blue trail redevelopments we also have some other plans on the table with the powers that be:

• An all new A3 section on the red trail
• A new section before the tabletops/snakebites
• Further development and extension of the blue trail

The above are our short to medium term goals, longer term we will be looking to make significant changes to the red trail to make much longer and add a progressive skills area to the park.

Whilst we can achieve this with the people we have today all of these plans will be accelerated with more people on the tools, so check out our Facebook page for regular updates on dig days and further trail news. And don’t forget we offer bribes in the form of Hargroves discount cards and free season tickets for parking.

www.qecptrailcollective.co.uk