‘A magnet for fun.’ New, first-of-its-kind in Columbus bicycle playground opens
The newest playground in Columbus — considered to be the first of its kind in the Chattahoochee Valley — is officially open.
MidTown Inc. hosted a grand opening and ribbon-cutting ceremony Wednesday for the new MidTown Children’s Bicycle Playground in Dinglewood Park, at the intersection of 13th Street and Warren Williams Road.
Julio Portillo Jr., executive director of MidTown, said the new bicycle playground has already proven to be popular.
“In the past two weeks, since the park has been open, we’ve been here on the weekends, weekdays, and there’s been just a tremendous amount of children enjoying it with their families,” he said. “It’s just great that they’re taking advantage of this great project.”
The bike playground will encourage children to exercise, learn basic biking skills, get them outdoors and away from computer screens, and perhaps try their new skills at other places for biking, like the Standing Boy Trails and the Dragonfly Trails in Columbus.
“It’s a magnet for fun for these kids to learn how to ride their bicycles and get ready to go up, maybe on some more challenging trails,” said Columbus Mayor Skip Henderson
Features of the MidTown Children’s Bicycle Playground
The park, designed by Colorado-based International Mountain Bike Association Trail Solutions, includes:
Toddler Track: Child-oriented loop trails that can be connected to a gateway green single track. It links wide, low-skills development features, tunnels, hoops, art placement ride-arounds and animated features. They make the biking experience more like a playground.
Skills Track: This track is designed to develop biking skills for all levels of riders. They are laid out as a loop trail, with features including skinnies, ladder bridges, rolling ramps, kinked boardwalks, ride-around options for those choosing to not do a feature and fall zones that are free of obstacles.
Modular Pump Track: A looped sequence of rollers and berms (swooping, banked turns) that are 2-to-4 feet tall and created in a linear and a looped configuration. Loops have been designed to maximize a rider’s momentum by pumping. They can be ridden with minimal or no pedaling and are suitable for all ability levels.
Linear Pump Track: This helps riders advance from skill tracks to an intermediate pump track.
Portillo said plans are in the works to build a Dragonfly Trails connector on the other side of the creek bordering the bicycle playground.
“The network of trails that Dragonfly has, it makes it accessible from all points where you can access the Dragonfly Trail and come straight to the park and enjoy it,” he said.
Funding for MidTown Children’s Bicycle Playground
The project was made possible through MidTown’s partnership with the Columbus Parks and Recreation, Engineering and Public Works Departments, Standing Boy Inc., Dragonfly Trails, International Mountain Bicycle Association Trail Solutions, Kaizen Collaborative, Aaron & Clements Inc. and Pound-Clark General Contractors LLC.
The playground has been privately funded, with a price tag of about $600,000, Portillo said.
Tyler Pritchard, MidTown board president, told the crowd the project is a testament to donors and their financial gifts.
“This truly would not be possible without your generosity and without your belief in MidTown’s mission,” he said. “It’s projects like this that help us move our mission forward in making midtown a truly great place to live, work and, obviously, play.”
Members of the Georgia Cycling Trail Rangers and the Columbus Bike Racing Team officially opened the playground before dozens of young riders tested the playground’s features.
Safe Kids Columbus and the Columbus Parks and Recreation Department fitted and gave away free bike helmets to those needing one. The Icey Girl gave away free kid’s treats.
This story was originally published March 26, 2026 at 12:03 PM.
