Over the past few years, we’ve written about wealthy private donors funding mountain bike trail development all across the USA. In fact, this trend is accelerating so quickly that it probably should have been included in our 2024 MTB trail trends article. The Waltons may be largely responsible for kickstarting this virtuous cycle, but now private individuals from Georgia, Colorado, Wisconsin, Maine, and beyond are investing their money in acquiring parcels of land and funding the construction of world-class mountain bike trails.
The latest location for such a privately-funded trail network? The Berkshires in Western Massachusetts.
Funding for Shaker Ridge began with private dollars, and now public grants are helping, too
The new trail system will be known as the “Shaker Ridge Trails,” and Phase 1 of the project will be built on a 570-acre parcel of land that was acquired by an anonymous private donor for $2 million, according to Deanna Smith, Project Director for Shaker Ridge. In addition, this philanthropist has also invested an additional $500,000 to get the Phase 1 trail build off the ground.
At the time of our interview, Deanna estimated that another $1 million would be required to complete the 25-30 miles of singletrack currently planned for Phase 1 of the build. At the time, she said they were already working on securing additional funding. Between our interview and article publication, Shaker Ridge was awarded a $250,000 grant by the newly-created Massachusetts Office of Outdoor Recreation (MOOR). “I believe this is the first grant of its kind for the state of Massachusetts,” said Deanna.
Outdoor recreation is critical to the Masschusetts economy, contributing $13.2 billion annually. “Expanding our mountain biking trail system will create destinations that connect visitors to our rural communities and the mountains and forests that surround them,” said MOOR Director Paul Jahnige. “It is without a doubt that investing in accessible outdoor recreation is beneficial not only for our state’s regional economies but also for our health. Everyone deserves to enjoy the freedom and thrill of mountain biking and playing outside.”
During this grant cycle, MOOR awarded $303,929 to three different mountain bike projects in conjunction with the New England Mountain Bike Association (NEMBA), and the vast majority of those funds went to Shaker Ridge. Shaker’s $250,000 grant will be allocated to the construction of the first five miles of singletrack, which will include “a key bi-directional trail to the summit and an adaptive climbing trail,” according to Deanna.
How did Shaker Ridge secure its critical private funding in the first place?
Deanna and her husband, Kenan Smith, co-founded Pinnacle Trail Design and Construction and have built renowned projects through the Berkshires, Hudson Valley, Southern Adirondacks, Catskills, and beyond. The Smiths are based in the Berkshires and have spent years traveling up and down the East Coast building trails. While the Berkshires are home to plenty of historic singletrack, this mountainous corner of Massachusetts still didn’t have a purpose-built mountain bike trail system to its name.
After years of watching other communities fund major trail projects, it became clear that the drive to create a world-class mountain bike trail system wasn’t going to arise organically in the community. So Deanna and Kenan turned to each other and said, “Well, no one else is going to do it, so why not us?”
The Smiths have made numerous contacts through their years in the industry — including this philanthropist. “He’s a former trail client of ours who wishes to remain anonymous, so we do want to protect his identity,” said Deanna. “He’s also become a good friend.”
After pitching this philanthropist on their vision for Shaker Ridge, he signed on wholeheartedly with the aforementioned $2 million land acquisition and $500,000 in construction seed money.
Phase 1 is just the beginning
The vision for Phase 1 alone is expansive. Once complete, it will total between 25 and 30 miles of singletrack. “We’ll have a better number soon. The master plan is almost done,” said Kenan Smith, Construction Director.
“We’re going to have everything from beginner, from adaptive, all the way up to double diamonds and expert runs. It’s going to be really awesome, because it’s going to offer a lot of progression. You can start off on beginner loops, things like that, and then you’ll have hand-built flowy trails all the way up to, you know, jumps and everything like that,” said Kenan.
Shaker Ridge will provide “the full spectrum of experience,” added Deanna.
But this is just the beginning.
The grand vision calls for 60-100 miles of singletrack
The private donation was intended to be seed money, with the rest of the funding raised from other sources, including government grants — a hope that is now coming to fruition. Similarly, the 570-acre parcel of land that was acquired will also form the kernel of a larger trail system.
“The property happens to be centralized and contiguous with several other land managers who have an outdoor recreational interest,” said Deanna. “We’re adjacent to the Jiminy Peak resort. There’s some conservation land adjacent to us. [There are] some other recreation-oriented properties, which to us really signifies an opportunity, not only to build out a destination on this Phase 1 property, but to potentially expand with these other landowners.”
“It’s not as if that’s a pipe dream,” she continued. “We’re well on our way into solidifying those partnerships with those adjacent landowners.”
“Our hope and dream is that once this Phase 1 is finished, we’ll be able to roll seamlessly into expanding beyond that 25 to 30 miles, but all accessible from a few main locations. So it really helps it become a destination,” Deanna continued.
When will we be able to ride Shaker Ridge?
While Kenan and Deanna have by now finished the master plan and flagged many of the trails, they won’t be able to break ground until spring 2025. The hope is to have a minimum viable product of 10 miles of singletrack finished and open to the public by summer 2026. But as for the full Phase 1 build-out? The timeline will be dependent on funding, but they estimate it will take between three and four years.
While the Smiths will be building the majority of Phase 1 as Pinnacle Trail Design, as more funding is secured, they plan to hire other contractors to help with the build so they can get as much high-quality singletrack on the ground as fast as possible, and also add different flavors to the network.
Deanna and Kenan’s vision for Shaker Ridge may be big and bold, but it’s also strategic. By identifying that a critical seed investment had the potential to knock down additional dominoes — both securing public funding and access to neighboring parcels of public land — they were able to kickstart a trail system that will revolutionize the mountain biking landscape in Massachusetts.
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