A High Alpine Trail Build, New Corporate Trail, and Funding Announcement [Trail Flow]

Trail Flow is a roundup of all the mountain bike trail related news of the week including new trail builds, advocacy, and planning. Do you have trail news? Email [email protected] for possible inclusion.

High alpine trail build underway at Arapahoe Basin in Colorado

IMBA Trail Solutions is working on a high alpine trail at Colorado’s Arapahoe Basin ski area. The project is thought to be the highest elevation for a machine-built, bike-specific trail build. Click here to learn more about the Timberline trail construction.

New 5.5-mile trail on Whirlpool’s global headquarters

A new mountain trail at Whirlpool’s global headquarters in Michigan will open today with a ribbon cutting from the appliance company”s CEO. After an introduction, the trail will be open to the public and anyone can take it for a spin. The trail will later be connected to other bike trails in the area.

“The next phase will include building a tunnel to go under Michigan 63 to our property westward on the bluff where additional trails will be built, as well as extending the trail down M-63,“ Whirlpool spokesman Cean Burgeson told the South Bend Tribune. The trail will be built at a beginner and intermediate level by Flowtrack Mountain Bike Trails. See a map of the projects and existing trails here.

Gem Lake Bike Park is open and underway

Gem Lake Bike Park in Idaho Falls, Idaho will open to the public this weekend. Excitement began around the one-mile perimeter trail and trail advocates are planning to build more. The park should open opportunities for riders in the area who typically have to travel out of town to ride.

“A young person will save up all their hard-earned money and buy a mountain bike and then say ‘well where do I go to go mountain biking,’” Davin Napier of the Gem Lake Bike Park project told the Post Register. “I usually tell them you have to drive a minimum of 35 minutes to get to some awesome areas but then I realize they don’t have a driver’s license.”

The bike park sits on city property and the perimeter trail is beginner friendly. There is another 3/4-mile of interior trails for more experienced riders, with more trails in the works.

New Brunswick gets $400k in trail funding

New Brunswick, Canada is getting a big boost of government funding for trails to the tune of $400,000. About $137,000 will go to 4km of trail in Minto, and $303,000 will to 10km of new trails in Wollastook Park. The trail club is already in the process of hiring trail planners. The trails club hopes the project will be complete by 2024. See the full story in CBC.

🧭 Find more mountain bike trails near you! Singletracks has thousands of free trail maps, photos, and reviews from around the world. Do you know about a new trail that opened this month, or a trail that isn’t in the Singletracks database yet? Tell us about it here.