Lone Pine Trails

Welcome to Lone Pine Trails at Lone Pine Greenspace! This area has been called "Lone Pine Bike Park" by youth residents.

Lone Pine Trails, in conjunction with the ecological restoration of the property, is a project we are proud to support.   The goal of this restoration is to re-establish the native Ozarks habitat by removing invasive plants and trees and planting native trees, shrubs, flowers, and grasses to support more effective stormwater management and increase the biodiversity of the area.  Additions and improvements to the existing multipurpose, natural surface trails will also include some enhancements for bicycles in the wooded area. These ecological improvements and low-impact trails are in keeping with the Springfield-Greene County Parks & Recreation Master Plan.

You may access "Lone Pine Bike Park" (bordered by Lone Pine Ave., Southern Hills Blvd., Covington St., and Galloway Creek Greenway trail) via the Galloway Creek Greenway trail. The existing trails are primarily located on the southern end of this property. Please park at one of the Galloway Creek Greenway trail trailheads. There are no on-site parking facilities at this time. Motor vehicles/bikes are not allowed.    

History

This 16.42 acres of space was preserved by a group of engaged residents in 2003 for greenspace, stormwater management, and appropriate low-impact uses, such as trails, through a Neighborhood Improvement District (NID) public financing mechanism. The required number of residents within the NID Boundary agreed to the special assessment to create this public greenspace.  In June of 2003, this area became the Lone Pine Greenspace under the jurisdiction of the Springfield-Greene County Park Board, and in December of 2003, the property was deeded over to the City of Springfield.  It is a great buffer between Lone Pine Avenue and the Galloway Creek Greenway trail. The below links will take you to public information that pertains to the formation of the NID and the purpose of the NID self-assessment, along with private donations, which were used to purchase the property for public greenspace and greenspace-like purposes. 

• Petition to Establish Lone Pine Greenspace NID
• 2003 Q & A Document from CB 2003-172
• Council Bills and Ordinances Website:  enter the following numbers into the "Council Bill No.:" box and then select "search." CB 2003-172, CB 2003-173, CB 2003-181, CB 2003-182
• NID Map - captions added

In 2019, building from the commitment of the 2003 Neighborhood Improvement District to preserve natural areas and provide additional trail and greenspace opportunities, young neighbors of the Greenspace initiated cleaning up a homeless camp and building upon a set of natural surface bike trails which they dubbed the “Lone Pine Bike Park.” People are also enjoying the trails for trail runs and nature hikes. Their enthusiasm for the outdoors and this incredible corridor, including the Galloway Creek Greenway Trail and Sequiota Park, has won the support of the City and Park Board to encourage their efforts and make sure that new opportunities are safe, accessible, and environmentally friendly. 

In 2020 several partners came together to support these efforts as many residents desire to see a more robust and connected trail system that includes both natural surface and paved trails. This area also needs extensive ecological improvements such as invasive plant removal and native tree, shrub, and grasses plantings to support both stormwater management efforts and preserve and improve the tree canopy. These low-impact trails and ecological improvements are also in keeping with the Springfield-Greene County Parks & Recreation Master Plan.

Proposed/planned improvements include:

• Removal of invasive plants and replanting of appropriate native shrubs, grasses, flowers, and addition of more trees
• Improvements to the existing multipurpose, natural surface trails
• New multipurpose, natural surface trails that also include some enhancements for folks on bicycles in the wooded area
• Two new benches
• Two new interpretive kiosks (signs)

Ozark Greenways is serving as the project coordinator. In addition to the great group of residents from nearby neighborhoods, partners include the City of Springfield, Springfield Youth Cycling Club, Springfield-Greene County Park Board, Watershed Committee of the Ozarks' Conservation Corps, and MORC. This design-build project received generous funding from the Hatch Foundation which will allow the partnership to refine existing trails and further enhance this greenspace with additional low-impact natural surface trails, mtn. biking features, and ecological improvements.  Additional grants from the Partnership for Sustainability via the Community Foundation of the Ozarks and the Greater Springfield Board of Realtors will further help support this project.  The trails are/will be maintained by volunteers, MORC, & SYCC. Springfield-Greene County Parks will continue to contract the mowing and general grounds upkeep of this area and the Galloway Creek Greenway Trail corridor. 

Drop-in Open House on August 19, 2021

Please join partners at a drop-in open house at King's Way United Methodist Church's outdoor pavilion, located at 2401 S. Lone Pine Avenue between 5-7 pm.  You may view the concept renderings and provide input via a comment card.

• Click HERE for the online comment card open August 16-22, 2021. Click HERE for the comment summary. 
• Click HERE for the Frequently Asked Questions handout.
• Click HERE to view a high-level concept rendering. Concept renderings do typically evolve throughout a design-build. 
• Click HERE for the Natural Surface Trail Frequently Asked Questions handout.

Planning/Activities/Events:

• May 2024:  the project is still paused due to the litigation between the ten individuals and the City of Springfield. A jury trial has been set in June 2024. The information has been removed from Casent; therefore, we do not have the specific dates and times of the jury trial. 
• May 3, 2023:  the project is still paused due to the litigation between the ten individuals and the City of Springfield. The Springfield-Greene County Park’s staff will be making efforts this week to improve the appearance of the Lone Pine Greenspace due to the amount of time this project is taking to resolve. As a reminder, this public space is owned, managed, and maintained by Parks’. The Parks’ plans to use the clean fill and the illegally dumped rubble at another Parks’ location. They will also transport the landscaping stones and store them at one of their secure sites. The stones will be returned to the project site when the time is appropriate to do so.
• January 9, 2023:  the project continues to remain paused due to the lawsuit filed on March 25, 2022. 
• November 15, 2022:  City Council officially adopts the new comprehensive plan, Forward SGF, which also includes the updated Springfield-Greene County Parks & Recreation Master Plan. The process began in 2019 and was adopted by the Springfield–Greene County Park Board in 2021. Click HERE to learn more. 
• March 25, 2022:  a group of ten residents file a lawsuit against the "Lone Pine Bike Park." Public information regarding the status of this lawsuit can be found on CaseNet:  Click HERE to learn more. 
• February 11, 2022:  Ozark Greenways provided an update to the Springfield-Greene County Park Board.  The Park Board votes to continue with the modified project. Click HERE to learn more. 
• January 13, 2022:  The project continues to remain paused.  Planning & Zoning Meeting; Springfield-Greene County Park Board is requesting a change of use of their property from public open space to public open space and trails. The change of use was approved. Click HERE to learn more. 
• October 21, 2021:  The project continues to remain paused, and the materials will continue to remain on-site as the partners seek a compromise and solution.   
• August 23, 2021:  The project remains on hold. 
• August 22, 2021:  online Comment Card ends. 
• August 19, 2021, from 5-7 pm:  drop-in open house at King's Way United Methodist Church's outdoor pavilion, located at 2401 S. Lone Pine Avenue.
• August 2, 2021:  the City/Parks/OG regretted not providing more direct communication and mailed approximately 640 informational letters to the residents within the NID boundary and invited them to comment on the design-build project. The open house will be on August 19, 2021. The project will remain paused as more time is allowed for review and input.
• Project Paused July 12:  ecological improvements paused.
• Project Paused July 1:  trail building paused.
• Project Mobilization on Monday, June 7:  deliveries of supplies and materials will begin, and the WCO Conservation Corps will begin removing invasive bush honeysuckle the week of June 14. Orange "Pardon Our Progress" signs are placed on-site with a QR code linking to this page. 
• Ceremonial Groundbreaking on June 1 at 3:30 pm:  Read the full news release by clicking here. 
• Volunteer Work Day on Saturday, May 15th from 9-11 am:  the focus of this work day will be on splitting more fence rail and starting to set it around the large sinkhole.  Project updates will be announced around 10:45 am. Please let Mary know if you will be attending by Friday afternoon. Reminder-bring your own work gloves and water bottle!
• Brentwood Neighborhood Trail Connector Project:  The City of Springfield will begin this neighborhood trail connector project in Spring 2021.  It will cross Lone Pine Avenue at a new signalized crosswalk at Greenwood St., cross Covington St., run along the south side of Covington St., and tie into the Galloway Creek Greenway trail. This project was identified in Vision 2020 and is not a part of the Lone Pine Greenspace project, This project is funded in part through Surface Transportation Block Grant Funds with a local match from the City's Transporation Tax.  We will post updates as we receive them! Be on the watch for temporary trail closings in Spring 2021. 
• March 31-April 2, 2021:  Plan revision and proposal submitted to a local, private family foundation. 
• Site Illustration Public Input March 10-26, 2021:  email mary@ozarkgreenways.org comments. Click here to see the Site Illustration Plan-DRAFT. 
• Volunteer Clean-Up Day on Saturday, March 6th from 2-4 pm:  Join MORC, WCO & OG for limb lopping, splitting fence rails,  and invasive bush honeysuckle removal. 
• February 2, 2021:  The Director of Parks included a brief update regarding the Lone Pine Project, among other updates, to members of the City Council during a "Tuesdays with Council" noon meeting.
• On-site visit on Wednesday, January 6th from 3:30-4:30 pm:  met with trail designers, Sr. Parks Planner, Public Works Staff, and WCO's Conservation Corps Director to walk the site to visit about new trails, reroutes, ecological improvements, and review the neighborhood connector trail plan.
• Virtual Planning Workshop on Tuesday, December 8th, 2020 from 6- 8 pm. Bring your ideas for Lone Pine Bike Park-including suggestions for improvements and creative ideas for new trails and features within this sixteen-acre greenspace!  We will work together to develop a site plan for the area to help refine and enhance what has been created by a fabulous group of Springfield residents. This site plan will be a tool for use by all stakeholders. Ozark Greenways will use it to seek funding for Lone Pine Bike Park.  This planning workshop is hosted by Ozark Greenways.  It will be facilitated by Tim Rosenbury, Director of Quality of Place Initiatives. Jeff Smith, Sr. Parks Planner, and Caleb Sanders, Watershed Conservation Corps Director, will also be there to help answer questions and provide expert advice. Please RSVP to Mary by December 6th. Everyone who RSVPs "attending" will receive a link to the virtual planning workshop on Monday, December 7th.  
• Map Activity on Saturday, December 5th from 2-3 pm:  Since the workshop is virtual, we will miss out on one of the fun activities-marking up a map!  Mary will be at Lone Pine Bike Park this Saturday (December 5) from 2-3 pm with a giant map for y’all to mark up.  Please be sure to wear a mask. OG will bring the map and markers.  You bring your ideas on where features/trails should go/be re-routed.  Drop by and spend a few minutes! If not, no worries you can still provide your input during the December 8th virtual workshop.  
• Volunteer Clean-Up Day on Sunday, November 8th, 2020  from 2-4 pm.  Volunteers should provide their own work gloves and water bottles.  Face masks are required when 6-foot physical distancing is not possible.  Please park at one of the Galloway Creek Greenway Trailheads and travel by foot/bicycle to Lone Pine Bike Park.  Activities may include blazing the outer loop trail, existing trail corridor clearing, removal of invasive plant species, and picking up trash in the bike park and along the Galloway Creek Greenway trail.  RSVP to Mary by 4 pm on Friday, November 6.
• September 16, 2020:  Ozark Greenways' Executive Director presented a trail update, including this project, to the Springfield-Greene County Parks Board of Directors. Orange signs are placed at the entrance to the wooded areas with this website listed. 
• Lone Pine Greenspace & Trails Meet and Greet on August 4, 2020, at 5:30 pm:  Stop by Lone Pine Bike Park and meet Ozark Greenways & Springfield-Greene County Park Staff. 

Parking & Trail Access

Pershing Middle School, 2713 E. Seminole St.

The Towers Shopping Center, 2896 S. Lone Pine Ave.

Sequiota Park, 3500 S. Lone Pine Ave.

Gallery

View the Lone Pine Trails Gallery