Brentwood celebrates opening of first mountain bike trail

Brentwood’s first mountain bike trail opened on Saturday in Marcella Vivrette Smith Park with a ribbon-cutting celebration that drew more than 100 people to the 7-mile-long trail system.

Dozens of cyclists quickly took to the trail, which is open to the public during park hours, dawn to dusk, seven days a week.

“This will be a citizen-maintained trail system,” Bike Walk Brentwood member Matt Robertson said, adding that the community partners raised more than $80,000 for the project.

“Our community came together, and it was always very important to us that this be a true community project. There were several Saturdays where we had over 70 volunteers out here to help work on the trails.”

“We have a history of partnerships, especially when it comes to park projects,” Brentwood City Manager Kirk Bednar told The News.

“It's a testament to the community, both the residents and the business community, that everybody feels connected enough that they want to be a part of this.”

In addition to the years of work of creating a park, the city also worked to keep safety in mind.

“When we started pulling this together we had no idea all the small pieces that would have to go into this, and somebody said, 'what happens when somebody gets injured? What if they get injured?'” Brentwood Vice Mayor Ken Travis said. “[Brentwood] Fire [and Rescue] didn't even hesitate, they were right there, they came up with a plan, an effective and safe plan for a beautiful park.”

Other project partners included community groups like Leadership Brentwood, Citizens for Brentwood Green Space, Rock Solid Trail Contracting —who designed the trail —, Middle Tennessee Chapter of Southern Off Road Bicycle Association, and twin 16-year-old Brentwood Boy Scouts (and cyclists) Ryder and Marshall Schanhals who built the wooden entryway, kiosk and stone path as part of their Eagle Scout projects.

“We worked closely with the Brentwood Historic Commission to honor the city's heritage with the naming conventions of the trail,” Bike Walk Brentwood member Marty Tank said. “Behind this 200-year-old Ravenswood Mansion, you guys will ride on trails named Hardscuffle Hall and The Raven and regroup at a place called Noble's Corners. We hope that these trails will help new riders to learn the backstory of these names.”

More information about the park and all of its amenities can be found here.