Putting Fun in Fitness

Challenge Courses Get Residents Moving

THE CITIES OF GOLDEN VALLEY AND PLYMOUTH BOTH HAVE CHALLENGE COURSES DESIGNED FOR AGES 13 AND UP INVOLVING RUNNING, CLIMBING, BALANCING, AND AGILITY TESTS. EACH YEAR MRPA RECOGNIZES AGENCIES IN MINNESOTA FOR OUTSTANDING ACHIEVEMENTS. THE CITY OF GOLDEN VALLEY RECEIVED MRPA’S AWARDS OF EXCELLENCE FOR 2017, AND THE CITY OF PLYMOUTH RECEIVED AN AWARDS OF EXCELLENCE FOR 2021, BOTH IN THE PARK AND FACILITY CATEGORY.

Golden Valley’s Schaper Park Challenge Course and Inclusive Play Area

In the fall of 2017, the first outdoor fitness challenge course in Minnesota opened at Schaper Park in Golden Valley, as well as their all-inclusive play area designed to meet the recreation needs of kids and families of all ability levels.

Schaper Park is owned by the City of Golden Valley and Three Rivers Park

District operates the Luce Line Regional Trail, which travels through Schaper Park. The park includes parking and restrooms available for regional trail users, and the challenge course and play equipment enhance the experience for trail users. The fitness challenge course includes obstacles that participants navigate over, under, around and through as they race against the clock. The challenge course is designed for ages 13 and up and promotes wellness, fitness and health through active recreation for teens and adults.

“People of all ages are using the challenge course,” says Rick Birno, parks and recreation director for the City of Golden

Valley. “In particular, staff have found that the course is meeting the goal of reaching teens. Typically, play area use declines dramatically for ages 12 and up, yet teens are using the challenge course. Additionally, the timing systems — both for the challenge course and the 40 yard dash — have proven very popular.”

This timing system makes it possible for participants to compete against friends and family to see who can complete the course in the shortest time, as well as for individuals to keep attempting to better their own times. In addition, a permanent ‘selfie wall’ allows participants to take photos of their accomplishment to share on social media. Birno adds, “The challenge course leverages the benefits of outdoor exercise in a fun, exciting way that encourages people to come back to use it again and again.”

The park features are the result of a partnership that included the City of Golden Valley, Three Rivers Park District, Minnesota/Wisconsin Playground, Paul’s Pals, Golden Valley Rotary Club, and the Golden Valley Community Foundation.

“People of all ages are using the challenge course,” says Rick Birno, parks and recreation director for the City of Golden Valley. “In particular, staff have found that the course is meeting the goal of reaching teens.”

Plymouth’s Northwest Greenway trails, Pavilion and Challenge Course

A 350-acre wooded nature preserve with bike and pedestrian trails, the Northwest Greenway stretches from Lake Camelot on the east side of the City of Plymouth to a Pavilion and Challenge Course in the west. In addition to protecting natural resources and preserving a wildlife corridor rich with wetlands and trees, the Northwest Greenway provides nearly 7.5 miles of paved trails and amenities for the community to enjoy.

Situated upon two adjacent knolls, the Northwest Greenway Pavilion and Challenge Course were built on more than eight acres of upland property with scenic views of the Elm Creek wetlands, and are connected by a trail extending over Elm Creek with a box culvert structure to minimize impacts to the adjacent floodplain.

A new park amenity for ages 13 and older, the Challenge Course offers activity challenges involving netting, climbing, balancing and agility on a variety of structures. It was designed to promote wellness, fitness and health for community members, and offer unique park structures specifically for teens and adults.

The open-air Pavilion was designed to host gatherings and rentals, and serves as a trailhead for the Northwest Greenway. It features a plaza, parking, drinking fountains, restrooms, green room for events, serving counter, sink, refrigerator, bicycle repair station and more. Members of the Plymouth community gathered in the fall of 2021 to cut the ribbon and celebrate the official opening of the new Pavilion and Challenge Course. landscapes and nature, patient long-term planning, and emphasis on providing options for active lifestyles and amenities for the entire community to enjoy.”

Voters approved a $9 million referendum in 2006 to acquire land to create the Northwest Greenway and preserve open space, and trail paving began in 2015. When construction began on the recent amenities, the first phase of the project included site work and hardscape, which was followed by completion of the Pavilion building and the Challenge Course. Bids for the Challenge Course were received in January 2019, and the contract was awarded to Landscape Structures the following month. Construction began in June 2020. Landscape Structures worked closely with the general contractor, Peterson Companies, to address wetland issues during the initial phase of the project – and the two companies practiced regular, open communication.

“With a variety of neighborhood parks that connect to the nearby trail system, the Northwest Greenway offers a variety of access points,” said Rippe. “It’s more than a park or a looping trail. It’s a community asset – and a legacy for generations of Plymouth residents to enjoy.”