Their vision, hard work and perseverance paid off. Now, they and every other OHV rider from Iowa and the Midwest can take advantage of the miles of trails found within Gypsum City Off-Highway Vehicle Park.

“The riders are going to have an excellent experience here,” said Dan Kleen, of Pocahontas, who is a former president of the National Off-Highway Vehicle Conservation Council.

“It’s the biggest project we’ve done in Iowa by far and the most successful project in terms of partnerships, getting everybody working together and looking at the big picture,” he added.

The first section of the park opened July 8, 2006. Since then, the site has steadily grown to become the largest of its kind in the state.

The second area of the park opened in 2014.

The site now consists of 800 acres on both sides of Webster County road P59.

Within those acres, visitors will find 65 miles of trails, a 1.5 mile motocross track, a short track for kids learning to ride, a campground and a couple of tiny houses people can stay in.

The ground had been mined for decades, yielding gypsum that was used in building projects throughout the Midwest. Although it was heavily mined, the area today is filled with trees and other vegetation. There are four ponds in the park.

To make the site into a park first required some legislative work. Former state Rep. Helen Miller, D-Fort Dodge, authored a bill that would relieve the gypsum companies of any liability associated with the park if they donated the property.

After that bill was signed into law, creation of the park moved forward. Construction started in October 2005 on land donated by Georgia-Pacific Corp. and National Gypsum Co.

Construction of the park was financed mainly with revenue from registration fees that OHV riders pay to the state.