You’d be forgiven for thinking that downhill mountain biking in New Hampshire begins and ends with the venerable Highland Mountain Bike Park, but Loon Mountain Resort, just an hour to the north, also boasts a burgeoning DH scene.
Located in the rugged White Mountains near the town of Lincoln, Loon boasts steep descents and gnarly terrain. The bike park opened in 2019 with just three trails. Now, Loon Mountain offers 20 trails totaling 14 miles of singletrack and 1,000 vertical feet of descending. And they’ve just ratcheted up the gnar factor by building their first double black diamond descent.
The new Zombie trail features “steep turns, loamy descents, and punchy technical features […] designed to push the most seasoned riders to their limits,” according to Loon Mountain. The trail was entirely hand-built, providing a raw, technical flavor that has become increasingly rare with the massive proliferation of machine-built flow trails. Thankfully, we’re beginning to see the pendulum swing back the other way, as the construction of Zombie and other gnarly trails indicates.
Zombie descends about 600 vertical feet via a series of steep, rooty drops. The loamer currently offers that sweet brown pow feel punctuated by exposed rocks and small cliff bands, which will undoubtedly transform into even gnarlier and more challenging rock features as the trail wears in. A few semi-manmade features have been incorporated, with bridges built up onto and off of boulders providing huck opportunities.
“We’re really excited to offer our first double-black diamond trail—it will definitely be a unique experience for our most advanced riders,” said Bryan Harper, Loon’s Bike Park Manager.
Zombie has just opened, and “the trail crew has also been hard at work on Wheelhouse—a new blue square technical trail that blends natural terrain with machine-crafted flow,” according to Loon Mountain. The new section of Wheelhouse should also be open by the time this article is published.
Another new intermediate trail, Crossbuck, is slated for a mid-September opening.
In addition to the downhill trails, Loon offers several cross-country trails on the property as well. Riders can book a lesson to learn advanced skills and rent downhill bikes or e-bikes on site. A day ticket at Loon Mountain only costs $41 USD, which is radically more affordable than many other bike parks like Highland, which charges $72 on the weekend and $57 midweek.
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