Big Marsh's Big Future: The Big Hill

UPDATE 8/14/25

Friends,

Hub construction begins in less than 2 weeks! We anticipate the hub roll-in construction being completed in September with trail building to immediately follow and for the Big Hill trails, the final element of the original bike park plan, to be opened in November. 

We've been able to fundraise for this, due to the incredible support of the local bike and eco-recreation community. This is the last chance to support this project and we'd love to encourage anyone able, to please give generously so we can make the best use of our construction time and resources. Your donation today will help us make the trails as feature-rich as possible while we continue developing programming that speaks to the Big Marsh community.

We cannot believe we're finally here ready to build these amazing trails on the South Side of Chicago! Friends of Big Marsh would like to send a huge THANK YOU from the bottom of our hearts to everyone who has supported this project, and Big Marsh Park itself. 

Thank you!

Paul + The Friends of Big Marsh team

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Friends of Big Marsh is a 501c3 non-profit organization which provides unique bicycle and outdoor experiences at and around Big Marsh Park so all communities receive the physical and mental health benefits that comes with time in nature. 

We want to take the Big Marsh experience to the next level and new heights...literally.

We are embarking on a mission to complete the original vision by expanding the ride experiences and developing new trails on the ‘Big Hill’.

Big Marsh’s Big Hill is large by Chicago standards and sits at 30’ feet tall on 5 acres of the core bike park. The Big Hill is packed with potential to provide a feature rich ride experience that is unparalleled in urban parks. This ambitious project will include 8 gravity-fed, progressive trails alongside pedestrian access. The project will total $1.5MM raised from grassroots supporters, corporate and foundational sponsorships, and major donors. 

In 2024, "Friends..." will be committing to getting half of this construction by raising $750,000 to build 5 mountain bike optimized trails, the drop-in feature, and a multi-use climbing trail. To date, we've raised $340,000 and gotten a commitment for a $250,000 matching grant. We need $210,000 in the coming months to get this completed! The additional funds will be used to include all-weather trail material for at least one of the trails, so we can invite the public to more days for riding and save the Park District from future maintenance cost increases.

For this project to happen we need YOUR support. Please donate at the link above! These personal donations will go a long way in securing the major donor and corporate support which will be needed to complete this project and truly increase access to mountain biking and eco-recreation on Chicago's South Side.