By now most of us are familiar with the mountain bike parks located at ski resorts with lift serviced terrain, jumps, and freeride obstacles but these days a new breed of purpose-built MTB resorts is popping up. Just last week we talked about ParkVida, a “six-star” mountain bike resort under construction in the Dominican Republic and now we’re hearing about a smaller scale project in Louisiana.
Cypress Bend Resort is located on Toledo Bend Lake in northwest Louisiana and offers five loops for all MTB skill levels. The press release we read boasted about the “up to 190 feet” of elevation change which we suppose is pretty impressive for one of the lowest states in the country (average elevation: 100 feet above sea level). The real attraction here should be the year-round riding weather (though I think I’ll plan my trip sometime other than July or August).
The new bike trails will be open for free through August 31, 2010. After that, resort guests can ride the trails for free and non-guests can purchase a day pass for $10. The better value seems to be the $20 day pass that includes access to the trails PLUS pool / sauna / hot tub / shower privileges.
The Cypress Bend project goes to show that mountain bike attractions may work just about anywhere (including old warehouses ala Ray’s Indoor). We’ve asked it before and we’ll ask it again: Is mountain biking becoming the new golf? Worse things could happen…
