Compared to mountain bike technology trends, mountain bike trail trends move at a glacial pace. It usually takes years, sometimes decades, for a trail to go from ideation through approval and funding until it finally gets built. Consequently, new trends in trail construction and development can take many years — even decades — to gain momentum.
Even though the pace of change may be slower, that doesn’t keep us from tracking trends in trail construction, design, and access as they unfold. Here are five of the most important trail trends and three trail building hot spots that we’ve observed in 2024.
Trail Trends
1. E-bikes are gaining legal trail access across the USA
Out of all the trends discussed here, this one feels like it’s moving the fastest in 2024. However, e-bike proponents are quick to note that the USA was caught on the back foot in managing e-bike access compared with the rest of the world, and that it only feels fast right now because government agencies are playing catch up. And, well, they’re right.
Even still, in 2024 we’ve published countless articles about e-bikes gaining legal access to trails on public land all across the USA, along with a few notable examples in other countries. Unfortunately, there is no coordinated nationwide legislation making this happen. Instead, individual Bureau of Land Management (BLM) and US Forest Service (USFS) districts have to initiate the various environmental assessment and public comment processes individually.
That said, we’re seeing the BLM propose e-bike tests in critical areas, like Moab. In this case, the Utah BLM has indicated that if the process goes well in Moab, the BLM may quickly open trails on BLM lands across the rest of the state to e-bikes.
2. Shuttle-served bike parks on private land
A new mountain biking trend is sweeping the planet and may even be changing the sport as we know it: the privately-owned, shuttle-served bike park.
These bike parks all share a few key similarities: they are operated on privately-owned land, and to keep infrastructure costs to a minimum, vehicles are used to transport riders up the mountain instead of chairlifts. These parks are generally also open to riders who want to pedal to the top, whether under their own power or through the assistance of an e-bike motor.
While the concept isn’t new, we’ve seen more of these parks open in 2024 than ever before. For more information, catch the full article here: “Are shuttle-served bike parks on private land the future of mountain biking?“
3. More downhill jump trails on USFS land
As I highlighted in the full article about private bike parks, part of the reason these parks are being started is due to the difficulty of getting jump lines approved and built on public land. However, we’re seeing that resistance slowly erode across the nation. The USFS in Arizona, in particular, has become much more receptive to the idea of jump-filled flow trails, and in 2024, some of the first such trails were opened on USFS land in the state: the Bean Peaks trail system in Prescott and the Full Sail flow trail in Flagstaff.
Local advocates will note that the Hawes trail system in Mesa was already home to purpose-built jumps on USFS land. This is true, and it just goes to show that these trends don’t happen overnight — they take time to develop.
4. More trails close to home
In 2019, IMBA created a goal of building “new trails close to home in 250 communities by 2025,” according to Eleanor Blick, Director of Communications for IMBA. As of spring 2024, IMBA was engaged with 530 communities, had 89 communities committed, and had already realized trails in 84 different towns. Recently, IMBA launched a new map on their home page to visually track all of these amazing projects.
In 2024, we reported on trails built close to home in communities across the USA. From the East Coast to the Midwest, the Rockies, and the West Coast, this vision is gradually but consistently becoming a reality.
Full Article: “More Mountain Bike Trails Close to Home: 10 Exciting Projects that IMBA Is Working On in 2024“
5. The professionalization of trail building
The trail building profession is transforming from a ragtag group of DIY builders who learned their lessons the hard way to a true career path. This new career path includes the opportunity to take college courses and get certified in trail building. According to Greg Mazu, founder of Singletrack Trails, “there’s about 15 different community colleges out there that are developing some sort of certificate program for trail building.” We covered one of these programs in Arkansas.
The trail building profession also now offers more codified means of career advancement and skills development, especially at some of the biggest companies. Stay tuned for a deeper dive on this topic soon.
Trail building hot spots
Well-known trail meccas like British Columbia, Washington, Colorado, Utah, Arkansas, Vermont, and North Carolina continue to build trails at a typical pace — which is to say, rapidly. However, in 2024, we spotted several destinations bursting onto the trail building scene in force.
1. The Upper Midwest
Choosing the entire Upper Midwest as a “hot spot” might be cheating, but we’ve seen multiple trail systems open across Iowa, Wisconsin, Michigan, and Ohio in particular. Iowa is particularly interesting, as we’ve spotted at least three substantial trail system openings in a state that’s not been known for riding up to now.
While several networks of trails close to home have opened in Michigan, 2024 also saw the completion of a continuous 45-mile loop in the state known as “The Dragon,” which was prominent enough to earn it an award as the best backcountry-style trail opened in the USA in 2024.
2. Nevada
Communities across Nevada have been investing heavily in mountain bike trail development. The trend may have begun with Beatty almost a decade ago, but in recent years the towns of Caliente, Pioche, and Ely have all doubled down on mountain biking as an economic driver. Even Las Vegas is expanding its substantial trail system, even though surely the area already receives plenty tourism dollars by other means.
3. West Virginia
West Virginia is investing millions of dollars in a dramatic mountain bike trail expansion. This investment is a concerted bid to inject tourism money into a stagnating economy by capitalizing on the incredible beauty of the Appalachian Mountains. We’ve covered three major projects in West Virginia this year, with future phases of development planned in some areas. We’ve also heard rumors of more projects in the pipeline for 2025 and beyond. Watch this space: we aren’t done talking about West Virginia.
Full article: “West Virginia is investing in trails — big time. Next up, a brand-new 27-mile trail system”
Did you spot a trail building trend or hot spot that we missed? Let us know about it in the comments below 👇
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