Members of the Juneau Off-Road Association have been volunteering their weekends this summer to construct the capital city’s first off-road vehicle park.
Just beyond Sunshine Cove off Glacier Highway, Stephen Mattson was hard at work clearing brush in the beaming sun on Saturday afternoon.
“We’re out clearing one of the trails — basically involves a lot of bushwhacking,” he said.
Mattson is the vice president of the Juneau Off-Road Association. He and a handful of volunteers are working on the first phase of construction.
Off-roading is a thrill-inducing recreational activity that gained popularity during the 1990s. It involves riding motorized vehicles like Jeeps or dirtbikes on unpaved trails or terrain. But, local enthusiasts say there aren’t many places for them to get their thrills — legally, at least — in Juneau.
The new project in Juneau is a collaboration with the City and Borough of Juneau’s Parks and Recreation and Trail Mix. Right now, they’re constructing the first five miles of an interactive trail system specifically for off-road vehicles, like Jeeps, side-by-sides, quads and dirt bikes.
“It’s very special,” Mattson said. “It’s really been a combined or collaborative effort between all these different associations and people groups for this. And so it’s neat to see that level of participation in the community and that level of willingness to see this thing come to fruition.”
The city’s planning commission approved development of the site just past the 35-mile marker more than two years ago. It’s on roughly 175 acres of city land that was formerly a logging area in the 1950s and 1960s. The location was chosen in part because it’s far away from traffic and high-density residential areas.
Mattson said he’s been off-roading since 2003, when he bought his first Jeep. Ever since then, he can’t get enough of the sport or the community of riders in Juneau.
“The sense of accomplishment is really neat, and then, of course, the sense of camaraderie with everyone else you get stuck out there, and they won’t leave you hanging,” he said. “There’s always someone who can throw a winch at you or laugh at you, you know, while you’re there, pulling you off a rock.”
Shelly Lager, another member of the Juneau Off-Road Association, cooked cheeseburgers for the volunteers. She says the park has been a long time coming.
“As of now, we just don’t have a place,” she said. “They’ve been trying for decades to try to provide a place legally for people to ride.”
Lager is also a Jeep rider. And, like Mattson, she grew up off-roading in Juneau back when there were more places people could legally ride. But, over the years, those were closed off or shut down. She and her husband have resorted to traveling to places like Haines or the Yukon to go adventuring.
“I mean, it’s just the passion of being able to go somewhere, do something that you’re passionate about,” she said. “With this, it’s a little different than skiing, but I think it’s just the same thrill kind of thing.”
The park is scheduled to open for day-use once the first phase of construction is complete. But when that will happen depends on how much volunteer support the project receives.
Lager said the group hopes to expand the trails in the coming years, along with adding a test track area and a two-lane mud racing pit. She said the goal is to provide a space for existing riders to get their fill, and invite new people to try out the sport.