Waynesville's New Bike Park Landed a World Championship Qualifier Before It Even Opened

By Jon Tharp, Broker  ·  July 30, 2026

A brand new bike park in Waynesville landed a UCI Pump Track World Championships Qualifier before a single rider had officially turned a wheel on it. Raccoon Creek Bike Park, Haywood County's newest recreation facility, celebrates its grand opening from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Saturday, Aug. 8.

The park sits about 30 miles west of Asheville, roughly a 35 minute run out I-40 to US-23/74. The qualifier arrives Sept. 12, two months after opening day, which is a fast turnaround for a facility most people in the county have only seen from the road.

What is actually happening at the grand opening?

Opening day is aimed at families, not just riders. There will be a live DJ, a bounce house, food trucks and free Kona Ice for the first 200 people who show up.

Waynesville's Base Camp and Haywood Recreation are hosting interactive games. Pigeon River Bikes will be there, along with local law enforcement and first responders showing equipment and talking with guests throughout the morning.

Professional freestyle BMX cyclist Angie Marino is scheduled to be among the first riders on the course. If you have never watched someone ride a pump track well, stand at the fence for a few minutes. The speed comes from body movement, not pedaling, and it is strange to watch the first time.

Is Raccoon Creek only for serious cyclists?

No, and that seems to be the point. Kevin Ensley, chair of the Haywood County commissioners, described the goal as creating a space that gets people of all ages and abilities outside.

Beyond the pump track and skills course, the park includes a walking and biking path, an adventure playground and picnic pavilions. That mix matters. One person rides laps, another walks the path, the kids hit the playground, and everybody meets back at a pavilion for lunch.

Pump tracks are also forgiving in a way that mountain bike trails are not. The surface is smooth, the loop is short, and a child on a balance bike can use the same course as a racer. Nobody has to drive to Pisgah to give a beginner a good afternoon.

Why does a pump track matter for Haywood County?

Western North Carolina has become a serious cycling region. Brevard and the Pisgah and DuPont trail systems draw riders from across the Southeast. Fire Mountain Trails in Cherokee did the same thing for Swain and Jackson counties. Bailey Mountain Bike Park up in Mars Hill added lift-served downhill.

What Haywood has been missing is the entry point, the place where a family tries riding for the first time and decides they like it. Raccoon Creek fills that gap, and the UCI qualifier gives the county something the others do not have.

Corrina Ruffieux, executive director of Visit Haywood, framed it as another step in building the county's reputation as a destination for outdoor biking and competitive cycling. Event weekends fill hotel rooms in Waynesville and Maggie Valley and put people in Main Street restaurants.

It also lands in a county that has spent the last several years rebuilding. Haywood took a hard hit from Tropical Storm Fred in 2021, particularly in Cruso and Canton, and then absorbed Helene in 2024. Putting money into a recreation park is a sign the county is looking ahead.

Does outdoor recreation affect home values in Waynesville?

Buyers ask about trails now the way they used to ask about school districts. Proximity to a greenway or a trailhead shows up in what people are willing to pay, and it shows up faster in mountain towns where outdoor access is the whole reason someone moved.

Waynesville already had a strong case. Main Street is walkable and full of actual local businesses, and the Blue Ridge Parkway is minutes out of town. Asheville is close enough for the airport and the hospital without being close enough to feel like a suburb.

A park with a playground, picnic pavilions and a bike facility hosting a UCI event strengthens that case for the family buyers who have been the fastest growing slice of the Haywood market. That is the kind of amenity people still care about ten years from now, not just next season.

If reading about places like this has you wondering what it would take to live within a bike ride of one, Jon Tharp is always glad to talk through the options.

 

Frequently Asked Questions

When does Raccoon Creek Bike Park in Waynesville open?

The grand opening runs from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Saturday, Aug. 8, at Raccoon Creek Bike Park in Waynesville. The event is free and family oriented, with a live DJ, a bounce house, food trucks and free Kona Ice for the first 200 people through the gate. Waynesville's Base Camp and Haywood Recreation are running interactive games, and Pigeon River Bikes will be on site along with local law enforcement and first responders showing off equipment. Professional freestyle BMX rider Angie Marino is scheduled to be among the first riders on the new course.

What is a pump track and do you need special skills to ride one?

A pump track is a looped course of rolling humps and banked turns designed so riders generate speed by shifting their body weight rather than pedaling. That design makes it unusually welcoming for beginners. A five-year-old on a balance bike and a competitive BMX racer can use the same loop on the same afternoon, just at very different speeds. Most tracks are paved or hard-packed, so they ride well year round and do not close after rain the way dirt singletrack often does. Raccoon Creek also includes a separate skills course for riders working on technique before heading to bigger trails.

What is the UCI Pump Track World Championships Qualifier coming to Haywood County?

The UCI Pump Track World Championships Qualifier is a sanctioned event in the international qualifying series run by cycling's world governing body. Riders compete head to head on the same track, and winners advance toward the world championship final. Haywood County's qualifier is set for Sept. 12, roughly a month after the park opens, and is expected to draw elite riders from across the region. Visit Haywood has pointed to the event as evidence that the county is building a reputation for competitive cycling, not just casual weekend riding. Spectating is the easy way to see what the track can actually do.

How far is Waynesville from Asheville?

Waynesville sits about 30 miles west of Asheville in Haywood County, generally a 30 to 40 minute drive on I-40 west to the US-23/74 exit, depending on traffic through the Pigeon River gorge. That proximity is a big part of Waynesville's appeal for buyers. You get a walkable Main Street, mountain views and a smaller-town pace while still being close enough to Asheville for the airport, hospitals and a night out. The Blue Ridge Parkway is minutes away, and Maggie Valley, Lake Junaluska and the Great Smoky Mountains National Park entrance at Cherokee are all short drives from town.