Sparta’s Baker Park Bike Trail Opens

Sparta’s Baker Park Bike Trail opened Saturday making it the first mountain bike trail in the city limits.

Greg O’Neal and David Zuber along with many volunteers cleared the path for the mile course. O’Neal said after about two years of work, it is ready to be biked by all ages.

“We’ve had a lot of volunteer work,” O’Neal said. “There is too many to mention, but they would come in, and we just slowly worked at it. A lot of times we are lucky and get an hour for lunch at our work and David and I come up here many lunches and just worked.”

O’Neal said the Bronson Street location is inspired from Cookeville’s Cane Creek Park mountain bike course. O’Neal said he thanks city officials for allowing the parcel of land to be used for the idea of recreation use.

“We were sitting one day, and he (Zuber) said it would be cool to have one in the city limits,” O’Neal said. “And he said look at all the apartments that are adjacent relatively close to here with kids. That just got the wheels turning, and we were like okay we’d like to do something inside the city limits but yet have it to where kids could utilize it.”

The trail is open from dawn until dusk and is located across from the White County Animal Shelter. O’Neal said walkers are also welcomed.

“I am super excited, and I know David is too,” O’Neal said. “(…) I think I am more excited for the kids. I would just like to come up here and see it full of kids having fun. “