The longest loop at the Village Greens North mountain bike course runs 0.9 mile. The newest addition fits in a footprint of roughly 8,000 to 9,000 square feet, and riders can go around it without turning a pedal.
That gap in scale explains the project. Since it opened, the course has been a trail network where riders cover distance and take on features one at a time. The asphalt pump track opening on Tuesday, October 27, works differently. Skill comes from repeating laps on a compact circuit, and the city pitches it to riders of all ages and abilities. Most of the cost came from Arapahoe County's open space sales tax, not from the city budget.
Tuesday evening at 9501 E Union Ave
Greenwood Village is holding the grand opening of the Village Greens Pump Track on Tuesday, October 27, 2026, at 6 p.m. The city calls the track "the latest enhancement to the Village Greens Mountain Bike Course."
- Where: Village Greens Park, 9501 E Union Ave, Greenwood Village, CO 80111
- When: Tuesday, October 27, 6 p.m.
- What's provided: complimentary refreshments
- Questions: the city lists the Parks, Trails and Recreation department as the contact, at [email protected]
The event page includes a map showing where the track sits within the park. Riders coming from the other side of town should look at it first. AllTrails lists free parking at the course. Singletracks' directions say to park in the farthest lot.
The course the pump track is joining
Anyone who has only walked past Village Greens North may not know how the bike course is organized. The city's course rules handout breaks it into five named segments:
| Segment | Length |
|---|---|
| Beginner Loop | 0.1 mile |
| Trailhead to Hill Loop | 0.3 mile |
| Hill Loop | 0.7 mile |
| Prairie Loop | 0.9 mile |
| Prairie Loop to Trailhead | 0.5 mile |
Every stretch is rated green for easy, blue for intermediate or black diamond for expert. The city notes that these ratings are "relative to this park only." A black diamond here means expert terrain by Village Greens standards. It is not a comparison with a foothills trail.
The trails are lined with what the city calls "features," which are manmade and natural obstacles whose condition "can change constantly due to usage, weather, and other factors." Riders on Singletracks describe logs, rocky slopes, drops, short punchy climbs and switchbacks. The site lists the network at about 3 miles, rated intermediate. Those are rider accounts collected over several years, so treat them as color, not a current inventory. On AllTrails, the course shows 4.5 stars across 252 reviews and is described as a place to practice technical skills.
The course is built around progression one feature at a time. The handout tells riders to "begin riding on smaller features and work your way up." It also says bypass trails exist only for features on green-rated trails, and that "only one person may use a feature at a time."
That structure works for a rider ready to move from the Hill Loop to the Prairie Loop. It gives less to a rider still learning to keep a bike moving over uneven ground, and that is the gap the pump track fills.
What a pump track changes about the map
The city describes the new track as "a compact, looped circuit featuring bumps (rollers) and banked turns (berms)." Nobody pedals their way around it. "Riders generate momentum through an up-and-down body motion called 'pumping,' eliminating the need to pedal or push."
That puts different demands on a rider than the trail loops do. On the Prairie Loop, skill is tested at fixed points: a drop, a log, a rocky pitch. On a pump track, the whole circuit is the lesson, and every lap repeats it. The rollers and berms teach the weight shifts and timing that the trail features ask for later, on a surface that stays the same from one lap to the next.
The surface was chosen on purpose. City and county materials both describe an asphalt track, and the design-build solicitation called for roughly 8,000 to 9,000 square feet of it, built as an addition to the existing course. Dirt features shift with weather and traffic, as the course handout warns, while a paved loop holds its shape.
The city frames it as "a fun, accessible way for riders of all ages and abilities to improve their skills." In practice, that makes the course a full progression. A rider can learn to pump on asphalt, try the 0.1-mile Beginner Loop, then work up to the longer Hill and Prairie loops and their harder features. All of it sits in one park on Union Avenue. AllTrails already tags the course as kid-friendly, and the new track adds a stop for riders who aren't ready for any of the loops yet.
How county open space money built it
The track took several years to go from approval to opening, and the paper trail shows how it was funded.
- 2023: Arapahoe County awarded Greenwood Village $225,000 "for a new pump track at the Village Greens North Park mountain bike skills course." It was one of 12 projects in seven local cities, towns and special districts funded that year. The county noted that 2023 marked the 20th anniversary of its Open Spaces program.
- Late 2023: The city sought a design-build firm to produce the schematic design, the construction documents and "turnkey construction." The construction window was planned for September 1, 2024 through May 15, 2025.
- Spring 2024: The city's March 2024 newsletter announced a public input meeting on April 9 at the Village Greens North Pavilions to review the proposed design. It put the total project budget at $300,000, with 75 percent reimbursed by the county grant.
- October 27, 2026: The grand opening.
The opening comes well after the original construction window, and the public record doesn't say why.
The funding split matters more. Measured against the $300,000 budget, the $225,000 county grant covers 75 cents of every dollar planned. That leaves the city about $75,000 for a new feature at its own park. The money comes from the Arapahoe County Open Space Sales and Use Tax. According to the county's announcement, 12 percent of that tax revenue goes to the Open Space Grant Program each year, and the 2023 grants ranged from $80,000 to $600,000. The 2023 list shows what the pump track was competing against. Englewood received $600,000 for a playground and accessible pathways at Bates/Logan Park. Glendale also received $600,000 for a half rugby pitch, a dog park and picnic facilities at Glendale Park. Littleton was awarded $562,500 to pave and widen part of the Mineral Trail.
The city says the project was "made possible in part by a grant from the Arapahoe County Open Space Sales and Use Tax." Next to the 2024 budget figures, "in part" works out to three quarters.
Before the first lap
The pump track joins a course with posted rules, and the handout spells them out. The ones that matter most on opening night, when the park will be busier than usual:
- Bikes only. "Equestrian, motorized, or foot traffic is not permitted" on the course. AllTrails also lists the trail as closed to dogs.
- Follow the arrows. Most trails are one way, and riders are asked to follow the directional signs and respect closures.
- Stay on what's built. Riders should stick to designated trails and features and should not modify them.
- Don't lock your brakes. Skidding tires damage the trails and cause erosion.
- Gear is on you. The course is "an unsupervised facility." Helmets and protective gear are "strongly recommended," though not required.
- Report problems. Maintenance concerns go to (303) 708-6100.
The handout also includes a reminder to "be respectful of neighboring residents, wildlife, vegetation, and fellow park visitors." On a Tuesday evening with free refreshments and a brand-new loop of asphalt, expect a lot of fellow park visitors.
At Hanh Chung, we follow how Greenwood Village invests in places like Village Greens North because those choices shape what owning a home here is like day to day. If you'd like to talk about how projects like this new pump track affect your home's value, start with a free home valuation.
