Trail Flow is a roundup of all the mountain bike trail related news of the week including new trail builds, advocacy, and planning. Do you have trail news? Email [email protected] for possible inclusion.
Free tickets to Soldier Mountain bike park for the rest of the summer
Fairfield, Idaho
The Soldier Mountain bike park in Idaho will spin the lifts five more times this summer, and riders can take advantage of free tickets. Visitors will need to “purchase” $0 tickets and sign a waiver to ride, and the park will be open September 2-3, 17, and 23-24. In addition, the resort will host NICA races on September 16 and spectators can uses the lifts to access the course. Full details will be available at soldiermountain.com.
Smith Park Mountain Bike Trail
Brentwood, Tennessee
Supporters of the Smith Park mountain bike trail project have built three quarters of a mile of trail and are in the process of raising funds to build another 1.75 miles. The city of Brentwood plans to use a contractor to build another 4.5 miles of trails at Smith Park, with a ribbon cutting that could come as soon as the first quarter of 2024.
Flow trail build approved in Michigan
Midland, Michigan
The Midland City Council recently approved plans for mountain bike trails and a skills park proposed by the Central Michigan Mountain Bike Association. Based on the plans, the cost to construct the trails and skills area is estimated to be $150,000-$200,000.
Iowa officials break ground on trail system
Sioux City, Iowa
The Sioux City (Iowa) Parks and Recreation Department broke ground on a new mountain bike trail system. The estimated project cost is $3 million and is scheduled to open in May of 2024.
Tennessee trails park opens soon
Chattanooga, Tennessee
Walden Ridge Park, a 200-acre park with mountain bike trails and climbing opportunities is scheduled to open at the end of September near Chattanooga, Tennessee. Plans for the trail network include several directional, mountain bike only trails.
Lachlan Morton seeking Great Divide Route FKT
Montana
Lachlan Morton surprised fans this week, announcing just the day before that he would be attempting to set a new FKT on the Great Divide route. The current record for biking the 2,700-mile+ route from Banff, Alberta to Antelope Wells, New Mexico is held by Mike Hall at 13 days, 22 hours and 51 minutes. Morton is currently ahead of pace, though the conditions along the route are notoriously hard to predict. As of press time Morton was in Montana, and a race tracker is available to chart his progress in real time.
