ABOUT US
TRAILS FOR ALL
Community for Outdoor Recreation, Biking, and Adventure (CORBA) is a volunteer-based organization dedicated to building, improving, and maintaining multi-use trails and promoting activities and events on the trails in Wisconsin’s Chippewa Valley, including mountain biking, trail running, snowshoeing, hiking, and more.
CORBA works with public and private landowners in Eau Claire, Chippewa, Dunn, and Barron Counties in its ongoing trail development mission. The organization relies entirely on volunteer efforts and partner donations. Even though this is a volunteer crew, growth and maintenance of the trails requires equipment, tools, supplies, facilities that require funds. All membership dollars, donations and gifts are directed to the management and improvement of the CORBA trail system
DOCUMENTS
- CORBA Bylaws »
- Financial Reports »
MAILING ADDRESS
2809 E. Hamilton Ave, #127
Eau Claire, WI 54701
CONTACT
Our History and the Meaning of the Name
Formed in 2005 to work with Eau Claire County on trail development at Lowes Creek County Park in Eau Claire, CORBA (first named the Chippewa Off Road Bike Association) and its volunteers put in over 400 man-hours in the first year to build six miles of single-track. Also in 2005, CORBA helped host the first Chippewa Valley Firecracker mountain bike race, as part of the Wisconsin Off-Road Series. In 2006, CORBA applied for and received non-profit status and is recognized as a 501(c)3 organization. Key individuals and families making it all go in the early years included the Plummer family, Marsh family, Deetz family, Manthe family, and more.
In 2011, the Chippewa Valley Powder Keg snowshoe and fat-bike race was added to CORBA’s event lineup. The Fall Back Blast trail run was added in 2014. In 2015, CORBA first hosted the US National Snowshoe Championships. By 2020, CORBA recognized the increased variety of usage of its trails and dropped the specific “off road bike” aspect of its name and adopted the slogan “Trails for All” to signal a fully welcome approach to trail runners, hikers, snowshoers, and other multi-use trail users. At this point the organization simply went by “CORBA” with no meaning behind the name.
In 2023 and 2024, with some new voices added to the board, CORBA introduced a broader array of adventure-based events by adding the Coon Fork 40 gravel race, the Here to Beer Trail Ride, the Trails Gala fundraising event, and more. This was also when a new meaning behind the CORBA acronym was explored, with the membership and board ultimately voting for “Community for Outdoor Recreation, Biking, and Adventure.”
Since its inception, CORBA has played a hand in developing and maintaining shared-use trails at Lowes Creek County Park and Northwest Community Park in Eau Claire, Hickory Ridge in Chippewa County and Centennial Park (formerly Otter Creek Park) in Altoona. CORBA has since grown to include trail systems in Dunn County and Barron County as well, for a total of ten trail systems.
No matter the meaning behind the name or the type and number of events held, CORBA will always stand for one thing: Trails for All.
