Flashback to a random summer weekend in the late 1980s. It’s race day at Carbon Valley Motorcycle Park, an MX (motocross) track found in a shallow coulee, on the plains of Kneehill County. It’s a busy event with groups of riders coming in from all over Calgary and area, eager to challenge the track. And themselves.
Bikes are offloaded and made ready, there’s a couple practice runs and the race is on. The dust flies, there’s mud everywhere, an incredible din so loud as to be almost deafening and always present danger. It’s an adrenaline fuelled rush and a thrill to be part of. That applies to participants and spectators.
Carbon Valley Motorcycle Park (Gone): from 2017 – once touted as “Western Canada’s Finest Motocross Facility”. Pop history with Chris Doering & Connie Biggart (BIGDoer/Synd)
Thanks to “Dale” for sponsoring this and many other posts at BIGDoer.com. Be like Dale…
Present day…it’s a all quiet now and it’s been this way for decades. There’s a few remains left behind to remind one of what was once here, like the now grassed over track, falling down bleachers, an official’s booth and what’s left of a concession trailer. You need a a little imagination to piece it all together. No one comes by anymore except for occasional visitor such as us, and otherwise cows call it home most days.
Scroll down for photos and to comment.
This post is from eight years ago and today everything you see is now pretty much gone. Time marches on, but at least we had a chance to document it in the past and it’ll live on in this little write up. Our visit was on a dreadfully dreary April day with flat, lifeless light, but due to field rotations, this was the only window available to us.
Welcome to Carbon Valley Motorcycle Park.
Now back to the moment…stand there in silence on the edge edge of the track and imagine yourself a spectator. It’s easy to do. There’s the scream of engines. It just so noisy and the sound something akin to a swarm of angry bees. Banked corners, death defying jumps, high speed straightaways – a competition plays out in your mind. Cheers from those taking it in. A hot dog in hand and some thrill a minute action. Yes sir, this is some fun.
Snap back to reality and look around. It’s all over and you’re standing in a dilapidated place, forgotten and disused.
Now it’s time for photos. Aaaaaah, just stepped in a fresh one and it’s a reminder that this is cattle country.
The track dates to back the mid-1980s. A Calgary Motocross group, the Wildrose MX Association was behind it and this allowed members needing a place to hold sanctioned races, somewhere to play. They had a track in the big city of Calgary, but for all kinds of reasons couldn’t do it there. It was more for casual use and not the serious events.
They needed something suitable out on the lone prairie and far away from any neighbours. Something remote and with no one close by to disturb.
Viola and this shallow river valley would do, with the land offered up by a local farmer for a nominal lease fee. That his sons participated in the sport no doubt helped here. It was about as good a location as they could hope for.
Access was easy via a nearby highway and there were no houses or farms close by. All that noise, congestion and dust would not be a problem.
They built a dirt track following the lay of the land, and soon after, several times per year, the track hosted major events. Attendance was good and sometimes the participants numbered in the hundreds. In between there were occasional practise events, but mostly when not in use by the club the land was cattle pasture. There were always lots of cow patties left behind for race day!
An old poster shown to us promotes an event at Carbon Valley, circa 1987, and proclaims it as “Western Canada’s Finest Motocross Facility”.
By the mid-1990s the owner sold the land and this forced the group to vacate the track. They searched for for a replacement for a while, but with no luck. The problem was soon solved when their “everyday” track in an industrial section of Calgary was allowed to handle official events. The city said no before, but with a little prodding changed their minds.
This track, visible from busy Blackfoot Trail, is still there today.
The Carbon Valley track sits down in a bowl and there was a good view of the action from the lip, up where the bleachers stood. The banks, curves, jumps and the layout of the runs all look intact, albeit grassed over. An official’s booth, not long for this world will soon fall down. The chow wagon, an old Atco type trailer, sits back of the stands. A flat area to the north was for parking and below that was the pit area.
The guard shack at the entrance to the Carbon Valley property, interestingly, is from a grain elevator. It’s an old biffy and fuel storage shed repurposed. The teal-esque colours tell is it once belonged to the Alberta Wheat Pool. They probably picked up for a song or maybe for free, when one of the nearby grain elevators closed. There was a fair number in the immediate area and it might even be from Carbon. Who knows?
A dirt track leads in from the highway and into the grounds. We heard it got hellishly soft and slippery when wet. The people that came here loved dirt and mud, so it probably added to the fun and was no big bother.
Bleachers overlooked the action in the bowl below.
Carbon Valley was still in a somewhat intact state as we saw it many years ago, and even though long closed it still saw the occasional motorized visitor. Sometimes locals would sneak in on their bikes for a couple laps. The current land owner told us it happened on several occasions and they sort of shrugged it off. “Scares the cows…”
The grounds are quiet now and with the last vestiges of the facility presently gone, save for the ghost track, all that’s left are memories. Plus a few photos from those who knew it, and from us too.
When we first published this piece many years ago, we were flooded with messages from riders who knew the track. All spoke fondly of it and the great times they had riding there. Outside those circles, it’s not well known, but to members of local MX fraternity it’s fondly remembered. Enjoy the tour…
“If you grew up on the prairies, (or even if you didn’t) you are going to love what Chris and Connie do. Part urban explorers, part historians, part documentarians, and intrepid travellers, (they) make this site interesting, educational, and addicting. Highly addicting!” James Churchill.
Something to say and no one to say it to? Go here: Contact Us!
Date of adventure: April, 2017. Location: Kneehill County, Alberta. Article references and thanks: David Pinkman of the Wild Rose Motocross Association and the landowner for access.
_________________________
BIGDoer.com: Historic Connections & Comparisons – Pop History – Simply Fun!
Comments are (OFF)