Mountain Bike Park Construction begins next week!

Today we had the final walk through of the first downhill mountain bike trails that will be built this spring.  We are hoping that construction will start next week.  Today's group included Tim and Warren from Trail Source along with Perry, Nate, Johnny O, and myself from Welch Village.  It was a really exciting morning to say the least.  We followed the ribbons left behind from the concept designer Scott Linneburger who tied all the ribbons to the trees back in November.  In the photos, ribbons tied to trees DOES NOT mean these trees will be cut down.  It just means that this is the general line of the trail itself.

The first green trail we construct will be unlike any other mountain bike trail in the Midwest.  It will cater to beginners and experts of all ages and weave and turn a significant portion of our property.  There will be berms, rollers, optional jumps, and other features with beautiful views of multiple valleys and bluffs in the Cannon and Belle Creek Valleys.  We also walked some of the blue trails today which will feature the ability to generate more speed if that's what you want and larger jumps and features.

In the coming days and weeks we will be sharing the actual trail maps with all of you which will include our plans to phase in the overall Welch Village Mountain Bike park conceptual plan over the next few years.  By mid-July this summer, we hope to open operations with four downhill, gravity-fed, flow trails (1 green, 2 blue, 1 black) and an uphill switch back trail for those of you who desire the workout of climbing the hill without the aid of the chairlift.

Work will also begin very soon in construction of wooden platforms at the bottom and top of the Lookout Chairlift.  The chairlift bike carriers themselves have also been ordered!  Click Here to see a video that shows the vendor we chose to transport your bikes safely to the top of the hill.  Our staff will help you load the bikes if you need them to and we will have staff unload your bikes before you get off the lift yourself.  The lift will run slower than in the winter to enable bikes to be loaded and for guests to walk off the lift at the top.

We are also fine tuning our MTB rental and retail plans with Valley Bike and Ski as well as the food and beverage options.  Just like the winter, you will be able to enjoy your favorite craft beer, a burger, or even some ice cream after a day of mountain biking.

Here are some pictures of our final walk through hike this morning...stay tuned for many more updates coming soon!