DIY BMX Dirt Jump Track: Planning & Construction Guide

Some BMX riders with extra land may eventually want to learn how to build a BMX dirt race track. Not only is it a great way to practice BMX tricks, it also saves you the time and money you would spend on a BMX track. Planning is a very important part of building your track. Where do you want your track to go? How many jumps do you want and how big do you want them? Once you have a answer to the previous questions, you should begin. It's strongly suggested you get good quality dirt and make sure you keep leaves, twigs and rocks out of it.

When building a track yourself, you'll need the following tools:

• A spade
• A flat edged shovel
• A wheelbarrow 

It is always a good idea to build the jumps first.

1. You should have a design. The best way to start building your course is to place the jumps. Put piles of dirt where you want your jumps to be. Pile dirt and pack it down before you shape your jump.
2. Make the dirt piles smooth and rounded with no flat stops. It's best to keep curving your jump until you get a good transition. The suggested jump is usually four feet, but to keep things interesting you should have different sized jumps. Always measure the distance between your jumps. It's suggested that they are at least five feet apart.

Now onto building the actual track.

1. Mark out your track. Know where you want your track to go and mark the track so you know where to put your soil.
2. Strip the top soil off your track. Using a turfer, strip the top layer of grass and soil off your track.
3. Import your soil. Lay your soil over the area you stripped.
4. Shape the imported soil. Pack the soil and spray it with water to make the track hard.

Don't forget to look for inspiration when making your track. Do an online search for other people's tracks to get a general idea of what you want yours to look like. Building your own BMX track is a very rewarding task that allows you to customize your track the way you want. Make sure to take advantage of that.

Note: When building the track it's good to keep a few things in mind:

• The starting gate should be at least 24 feet wide or wide enough to fit eight racers.
• Also the track should be 900 to 1,200 feet long.
• There should also be a fence along the outside of the track to keep spectators from getting too close to the track.
• Make sure there is proper drainage for the track. If water gets trapped on the track, your track will turn to mud.
• The outside radius of a turn should be 30 feet.