Adventure to the Birch Park Pump Track!
Before I was a parent I didn’t even know pump tracks were a thing. (Has it always been a thing?) Even after finding out about pump tracks it took me awhile to check one out because I was scared of badass dirt bikers flying all over the place. This was not a place I felt I would belong.
Well thanks to the mom network I heard enough good things about the Birch Park Pump Track and decided to give it a go. We strategically went early on a week day so that those scary badass dirt bikers would be in school or at work and I happily found we had the place to ourselves for a little while. Birch Park was the first pump track experience of my life and color me impressed, this was fun!
The Bike Park is just a small section of Birch Park. The pump track shares a parking lot with Birch Park’s Disc Golf Course. Don’t panic if you see the lot is packed, the disc golf course seems to be very popular so it doesn’t mean that the pump track is busy.
Our Bikes
Just for reference to help you figure out if your littles are ready for Birch Park, when our crew visited the pump track our two smallest members were a three-year-old on a Woom 1 balance bike and a six-year-old on a Woom 3 bike. Confident riders, but still little kids and not mountain bikes. The bikes did great and handled everything the track had to offer. We met friends that were on mountain bikes and they all meshed easily.
Birch Park Pump Track: A Flexible Path
Though it was dumb luck that led me to this pump track first, I recommend it to others as a first pump track experience. The open design allows for a lot more flexibility than a very manicured and built up trail. The various challenges can easily be avoided as the rider goes around the track. For example, the balance bike kiddo took a few laps to work up going right over the middle of these mounds at the start of the track. Thanks to it being a quiet morning and each feature being surrounded by flat land, everyone was able to take baby steps rather than being thrown in the deep end to sink or swim!
After the rollers at the top of the hill, the track leads you down to a very cool wooden berm that is totally optional. You can take the berm or follow the trail around behind it. Woom 1 never went for it, Woom 3 worked up to it and was doing it like nothing by the end of our visit.
The berm (or the trail behind) leads you to a wooden bridge. The ramp up is steep so you do need speed to make it and our crew walked the bikes up the initial ramp many times. Similar to the berm, there a dirt path that lets riders bypass the bridge completely.
The See Saws!
Well these things are mildly terrifying. I went up on this just on my feet and my brain immediately started sorting out the logistics of calling 911 because I was definitely about to break my leg. Spoiler alert, I survived.
There are two of these in the park. They are both off the main path so riders can totally skip them. Provided the bike park isn’t crowded, riders can take their time in navigating over when they are ready. The Woom 3 went over a few times succesfully. I wasn’t sure the Woom 3 was really meant for such a thing because there is a drop at the end, but it survived too!
Birch Park Pump Track: Quick Facts
| Parking Lot | Dirt parking lot |
| Bathroom Situation | Porta-potty |
| Sun Exposure | Tucked into the forest, there is plenty of shade |
| Picnic | Shady picnic table with a partially obstructed view of the track. |
| Ground Cover | The track is all packed dirt and wooden structures |
| Official Page | Amherst Rec Department |
| Closest Food and Bathroom | It is 2 minutes down the road to the Black Forest Cafe for coffee, lunch or snacks and a bathroom. |
| Nearby Fun | Just 1 minute down the road is the playground Joshua’s Park |
| Address | 11 Baboosic Lake Rd, Amherst, NH |
