August 2019 was a huge month for mountain bike trail openings. From new connector trails within larger, established trail systems, to full-on, brand new bike parks, there’s more singletrack for mountain bikers to ride than ever before. Here are the trail openings we tracked last month.
Prairie Woods (Spicer, Minnesota): This 4.5mi mountain bike trail network opened on August 2 thanks to the efforts of the PWELC and the Kandi Trail Riders. Judging by the photos, the trail system includes several bridges and wooden features.
Early reviewer Fini91 says, “Considering there are basically no trails in this area, these 4 trails are super fun. They just opened a few days before I rode them and I enjoyed the easy trails going through the prairie, watching the deer and other critters running around, and the intermediate trails have a few features including a seesaw.”
Recluse and Tarantula trails (Burnet, Texas): Spider Mountain, the first and still only lift-served mountain bike park in Texas, opened earlier this year and since then it’s been getting rave reviews. On August 3, the park opened two new trails called Recluse and Tarantula, both names in keeping with the Spider theme.
Yanahli Park (Columbia, Tennessee): Phase 1 of the Yanahli Park trail system opened on August 3 with a 1.5 mile loop.
Winsport (Calgary, Alberta): Winsport is the Winter Sport Institute at Canada Olympic Park, and recently opened new XC and flow trails to the public, in addition to the DH trails that were previously established. The new trails are designed to be ridden in nearly all weather thanks to a “hard surface” design.
City Lake Park (Siloam Springs, Arkansas): Another month, and another new trail system is open for business in the state of Arkansas. The network of beginner- and intermediate-level trails opened August 10. Trail work in the 163-acre park was spearheaded by the Ozark off Road Cyclists with support from the Walton Family Foundation.
Colville MTB Skills Park (Port Angeles, Washington): Phase 1 of the park opened August 10, featuring a progressive trail riding area suitable for families and new riders, but also riders working on skills like drops and jumps. Plans for phase 2 include DH and jump lines.
Redline @ Mt. Bachelor (Bend, Oregon): The popular mountain bike park near Bend, OR just added a new 1-mile, advanced jump trail on August 10.
Timberline Bike Park (Government Camp, Oregon): On August 12, Timberline opened its slopes to mountain bikers for the first time, serving up 10 miles of trails graded from beginner to advanced. The longest run is a 4.5-mile green trail.
Fox Fire (Williams Lake, British Columbia): The Fox Fire trail is 2km one way, paralleling Fox Mountain Rd. It’s essentially an all new trail, completely re-built and improved.
Pinnacle Trail (Brevard, North Carolina): Bracken Nature Preserve at the edge of the Pisgah National Forest just added a new 1.5 mile trail that’s open to hikers and bikers. The trail climbs 500 feet over its relatively short length, so bring your lungs!
The Sluice (Evergreen, Colorado): COMBA says the Sluice Trail, located in the Floyd Hill Open Space, is the first purpose-built, bike-only, downhill trail in the Front Range of Colorado.
The Sluice adds 1.3 miles and 700-feet of downhill trail for advanced riders and makes for a total of six-miles in the Floyd Hill Open Space system. The downhill trail is a first of its kind on the Front Range of Colorado and incorporates a variety of features like jumps, berms, drops, tabletop jumps, and technical rock lines. The system is expected to total 12-miles upon completion.
Colorado mountain bikers showed up to county meetings over the past two years to show support for the directional trail, and individual contributions exceeded $38,000.
COMBA has other projects slated for the future, including additional, one-way mountain bike trails in the Virginia Canyon Mountain Park in Idaho Springs.
Tioga (Cohasset, Minnesota) The 25-mile Tioga trail system officially opened to bikes on August 24. The project, spearheaded by GRIMBA, includes trails for all abilities.
Atwood Silent Sports Trails (New Milford, Illinois): This 5-mile trail network, opened August 24 and located near Rockford, IL is said to feature multiple flowy, singletrack trail loops.
Standing Boy (Columbus, Georgia): This Wildlife Management area is owned by the Georgia Dept. of Natural Resources and riders will need to purchase a hunting or fishing pass from the DNR. Initially, 8 miles of trails will be available to bikers, and up to 25 miles of trails planned, with work continuing this fall.
Do you know of a new mountain bike trail that opened recently? Tell us about it in the comments, and be sure to share details with the Singletracks community using this form.
