River Parks 'Rock Yard' building on Turkey Mountain

A new mountain bike "jump trail" feature in Tulsa's River Parks will send riders down a steep course dropping more than 100' on a 1,000' trail, with as many as a dozen jumps along the way. The "Tulsa Rock Yard" will open in phases, beginning this summer, on the South end of Turkey Mountain, by 71st Street. The downhill runs on Turkey now drop about 250' over more than a mile, said Howell.

The Rock Yard was named because of the giant boulders used to create it, which were leftovers from 71st Street construction decades ago. The trails will have parody rock band names, like "Janice Jumplin" and "Leon Hustle."

Ryan Howell, who manages Turkey Mountain for River Parks, stood on top of one of the rock hubs, starting one of the trails over a ridge towards the Arkansas River. "So you're going really fast and you hit this giant jump, and then it's jump, jump, jump, jump. You'll hit jumps all the way down to the bottom, you'll hit 10-15 jumps over every single trail.

Howell said the $1.5 million project was funded by donors and grants, and will complete another step of the Turkey Mountain Master Plan, which guided development for new trails, a future Visitors Center and more parking.

The Rock Yard trails will appeal to the most experienced riders, said Jason Stouder, of Progressive Trail Design, which is building the Rock Yard, after years of working in Turkey Mountain improvements. "There's going to be some big gaps. There's going to be some spaces where you take off and there's nothing underneath you, until you get to the landing. That's why you need to be an expert rider."