Photo: Ozark Off-Road Cyclists

The Saddle Up trail at Kessler Mountain Regional Park is closed due to work on slope failure areas above the baseball fields. Visitors are asked to use alternative trailheads to access the mountain’s more natural surface trails.

A crew with Crossland Heavy Contractors is working to repair failed slope areas and strengthen other areas west of the ballfields to prevent future erosion.

The crew will install rocks to help hold the slope in place, according to a city news release. The soil removed in the process will be deposited west of the new ballfield complex to support the future development of a trailhead for the Kessler Mountain trail system, as outlined in the park’s master plan. The work is being done concurrently with ongoing construction of four new baseball fields and related infrastructure.

The new field complex and slope work are expected to be complete in summer 2022.