On Saturday, Oct. 28, about 70 volunteers hiked through the woods at Brentwood’s Marcella Vivrette Smith Park, clearing narrow paths for the city’s new mountain bike trails. The workday was organized by the Southern Off-Road Bicycle Association, Middle Tennessee Chapter (SORBAMidTN), which was tasked by the city to build the initial 2.5-mile section of a larger mountain bike trail system.
In 2021, SORBAMidTN, Bike Walk Brentwood and Brentwood Green Space approached the City about creating a mountain bike trail through the undeveloped portion of Smith Park. The City has made bicycle and pedestrian pathways a priority over the years, with the Brentwood Board of Commissioners creating an ad hoc committee in 2015 to examine expanding these venues. The City agreed to support the project, and the organizations hired Rock Solid Trail Contracting, a professional design firm, to develop a trail plan.
On Feb. 27, the Board of Commissioners formalized its partnership with SORBAMIDTN and granted the non-profit permission to begin construction on the new trials. The association has worked on several other mountain bike trails in the region, including courses at Nashville’s Percy Warner Park, Franklin’s Wilkins Branch Mountain Bike Park, and Montgomery Bell State Park in Dickson County.
Through this new partnership, SORBAMIDTN is building the first 2.5 miles of the trail, with the City overseeing the development of 4.5 additional miles in the back of the park. Earlier this year, Brentwood awarded Old Hillsboro Building Company the contract to build that section.
In addition to serving the Brentwood community, the resulting seven-mile trail will provide local high school and middle school mountain bike teams with a place to practice.
SORBAMidTN plans to host another workday in December, and the organization is also accepting donations to reach its fundraising goal of $60,000.
To volunteer or donate, please visit brentwoodmtb.com.
