This news item expired on Saturday, February 29, 2020 so the information below could be outdated or incorrect.
The Alexander Mountain Bike Park, located on Buncombe County Landfill property, will permanently close on Friday, Jan. 31 at 6 p.m. The park, which has served as a multi-user trail system for the last 20 years, will be developed as an expansion of the dirt borrow space of the Buncombe County Landfill.
“Our goal is to provide safe access to quality recreation experiences for all residents,” according to Buncombe Recreation Services Director Josh O’Conner. “Any time we lose public open spaces it’s unfortunate, but the County’s growth necessitates the landfill’s expansion to protect the health and safety of all citizens. Alexander Mountain Bike Park has been a much-loved fixture in our community, and we are grateful to all of the community organizations who have helped to maintain the park through that time.”
While Recreation Services has handled volunteer coordination and marketing of the park, the property has always been part of Buncombe Solid Waste. “Buncombe County Solid Waste has been proud to support the Alexander Mountain Bike Park through the years,” says Solid Waste Director Dane Pedersen. “Due to landfill expansions of dirt borrow space, we feel it is necessary to close Alexander Mountain Bike Park for safety and risk concerns. We apologize for any inconvenience this may cause for all the users of the park; however, it is no longer safe nor feasible to keep the park open with future expansion plans.”
This closure does not affect Alexander River Park; it will remain open to the public. Visit buncombecounty.org/parks to see a complete list of recreational resources near you.