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.
Rebuilt Upper Butter Gap in the Pisgah National Forest is now open
Brevard, North Carolina
Pisgah Area Sorba has announced that the completely revamped Upper Butter Gap trail and the Searcy Connector trail are now open.
The old Upper Butter Gap “was a drainage ditch trail,” according to Adam Munich, Digital Marketing Coordinator for Rock Solid Trail Contracting. In 2018, the Forest Service identified Butter Gap and a few other nearby trails as presenting sedimentation risks to the protected watershed. Rock Solid was tapped to rebuild this multi-use trail onto a more sustainable alignment. The 2.8 miles of brand-new singletrack follows an entirely new corridor, increasing the total trail mileage available in this area. While sustainable, the new trail maintains a backcountry feel with a fairly steep trail grade and natural corners.
Rock Solid is currently wrapping up construction on Lower Butter Gap. The original Lower Butter Gap had a seasonal closure for mountain bikes in order to reduce conflict with hikers. Rock Solid is essentially constructing two sections of Lower Butter Gap to separate out the user traffic in this heavily-trafficked zone. One section of the trail will be open to bikes all year round, according to Munich.
See Also: “The new Butter Gap trail creates a fantastic 15-mile loop in the Pisgah National Forest — all year long“
Lower extension to Heartbreak Ridge is now open
Old Fort, North Carolina
Heartbreak Ridge is a longtime classic mountain bike ride in the northern reaches of the Pisgah National Forest near the towns of Old Fort and Black Mountain. The G5 Trail Collective announced on Instagram that a new lower extension of this iconic trail, known as “Lower Heartbreak Ridge,” is now open. “The new trail is a key component in the plan to connect Mount Mitchell to Old Fort almost entirely on singletrack trail, linking the western end of Jarrett Creek Road to Mill Creek Road in Old Fort at the Fonta Flora Copper Ridge trailhead,” they wrote.
The Wheel Mill is officially closed
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
We reported that the Wheel Mill indoor bike park in Pittsburgh was likely to close unless an outside investor stepped up to support the business. While at press time in February it seemed like the bike park might be able to pull through, unfortunately, it is now official: the Wheel Mill is closed and has been dismantling and selling off their features.
The closure has continued to be contentious. “To be clear, it was my decision to close The Wheel Mill: not the landlord, not the new tenant,” wrote owner Harry Geyer on Instagram. “To the people who have been posting negative reviews on Google and negative posts on social media about the new tenant, please take them down and stop doing that. You are not helping anything, and your anger is completely misdirected. Thank You. And if you didn’t come out and help clean out the park this past weekend then you definitely need to to stfu and do something productive with your life.”
Impatient riders take matters into their own hands in New Zealand
Porirua, New Zealand
A $32 million project has been in the works since 2016 to build the “Porirua Adventure Park,” one portion of which will include a mountain bike park. While enough money has now been raised to start on the first attractions—which include mountain bike trails—illegal trail construction in the area is now causing problems for the land managers. Local riders were impatient for trail building to start and have taken it upon themselves to build pirate trails in the area—which have proven to be unsustainable and have damaged native plants. (Source)
Angel Fire Bike Park opens for the season and announces new trail
Angel Fire, New Mexico
Angel Fire Bike Park is the first lift-served downhill park in the Rocky Mountains to open for the season, and lifts will be spinning by the time you read this on May 17th. Depending on the weather, they expect to open an all-new trail, named “Slushy,” on opening day or shortly thereafter.
5 new miles of singletrack coming to the RAT trails
Ridgway, Colorado
This summer, the Ridgway Area Trails (RAT) chapter of COPMOBA will be building five miles of brand-new singletrack in the popular RAT trail system. This new mileage will produce an additional nine new segments of singletrack. The new trails have been funded by a CPW non-motorized trail construction grant, according to a post on RAT’s Facebook page. Once complete, the RAT trails will offer nearly 30 miles of singletrack.
Bike park opening dates announced in BC
British Columbia
Mountain Biking BC has shared 2024 bike park opening dates for seven of the most famous bike parks in British Columbia and, by extension, the world:
- Whistler: May 17
- Fernie: June 22
- SilverStar: June 21
- Sun Peaks: June 15
- Big White: June 27
- Kicking Horse: June 21
- Revelstoke: June 24 (May 22 lower mountain)
Learn more about how Whistler manages to open so early every year in this 2022 article.
Jarrod’s Place opens revamped Upper AirSupply
Summerville, Georgia
Jarrod’s Place announced on Instagram that Upper AirSupply has been completely revamped and reopened. Air Supply is “a black diamond trail with massive jumps and features,” which has “become the park’s signature trail,” according to Jeff’s recent article.
All-new 10-mile trail system opening in Miners Memorial Heritage Park
Ironwood, Michigan
A brand-new 10-mile trail system is opening in Miners Memorial Heritage Park in Ironwood, Michigan. Ironwood is renowned for its downhill ski resorts in the winter, but summertime tourism isn’t as well developed. While Ironwood had two small trail systems already, the new Miners Memorial Park will be the largest, bringing the total singletrack mileage in the region up to 21. The primary motivations for constructing these new trails? Mountain bike tourism and talent attraction, according to an article from Your Daily Globe.
9 miles of new trail coming to Crested Butte
Crested Butte, Colorado
The Crested Butte Mountain Bike Association (CBMBA) just announced that their North Valley Trails Project has just been given the green light. This project “means CBMBA can now move forward on a variety of projects that when completed will result in approximately nine miles of new trail, plus one mile of trail decommissioning,” according to the release. This project has been in the works since 2017, and this approval means that CBMBA now has several seasons of trail building lined up.
“Potential new builds for the 2024 season include the Upper Upper Loop-to-Brush Creek Trailhead connection that will allow riders to avoid a busy section of dirt road in the Brush Creek drainage, and the Teocalli Ridge extension, which will lengthen one of the North Valley’s most iconic downhills while also lessening ride time on the road,” said CBMBA.
Lift-served downhill trails with 1,300 feet of vert are coming to Arkansas
Mena, Arkansas
The Trails at Mena project calls for up to 100 miles of new singletrack, including lift-served downhill trails that promise runs with 1,300 feet of vertical drop. There are five different proposed lift lines, but the project is currently working through the USFS NEPA study process. Original timelines called for the NEPA process to be completed by this point, but the coalition of land management agencies is still in the final stages of the draft environmental assessment. Be sure to read our feature article for all the details.
Mulberry Gap for sale for $3.695 million
Ellijay, Georgia
The famed Mulberry Gap mountain bike getaway is for sale for $3.695 million. The 15.6-acre property includes a large community space with a full-service kitchen, cabins, camp store, and a campground surrounded by the Chattahoochee National Forest. Want to live the dream while running a mountain bike retreat? Read our full article for more details.
All-new trail system opening at multimillion-dollar WOKA Whitewater Park
Siloam Springs, Arkansas
10 miles of professionally built hand-cut singletrack are opening at the WOKA whitewater park on May 17th, 2024. Check out our full article for all the details.
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