There’s a new lift-served downhill mountain bike park in the White Mountains. Loon Mountain in Lincoln, N.H., unveiled the first phase of its new park in early September.
Three beginner trails showcasing myriad features, like banked turns and switchbacks, had helmeted and padded riders on mountain bikes with suspension flying down the dirt off the fixed grip Seven Brothers Triple chairlift, located next to the gondola outside the Octagon Lodge.
“It’s been quite the endeavor,” said Loon’s president and general manager, Jay Scambio, before a gathering of industry types, media and gravity-defying enthusiasts given a sneak peek of the new machine-built freeride and technical trails on Sept. 6.
Loon broke ground on the multi-phase project in May that, when complete, will have more than 15 miles of downhill mountain bike trails. Interestingly, the trails were designed and built by what some might consider a competitor: Highland Trails LLC of the well-known Highland Mountain Bike Park in Northfield, N.H.
Scambio said they’re helping to grow the sport of mountain biking in general. The goal is to turn Loon’s winter customers into summer customers, with the first phase of the park targeting novice riders.
“Our mountain is our best feature,” said vice president of marketing Kevin Bell, adding that the resort’s goal is to be a biking destination.
Loon already has several miles of cross country biking trails. They’ve also got three pump tracks by their Adventure Center. When the park is completed, there will be roughly 27 miles of dirt biking. Plus, Loon’s got access to the J.E. Henry Trail along the Pemigewasset River and a shuttle allowing cyclists to ride back to Lincoln from the paved bike path in nearby Franconia Notch State Park.
Northern New England ski areas are giving birth to mountain bike parks. Cranmore and Mount Abram in Greenwood, Maine, near Sunday River, are planning to open their parks next June, while Vermont’s Stratton opened its first-phase lift-served park last month.
Bell said there are some 23 mountain bike parks within a 3½-hour drive of Loon.
For now, Loon has opened a trio of trails, all green circles, for some 3 miles of riding — Mainline, Spur and Bandit. Mainline’s a hoot, a 1.6-mile-long freeride trail with drops, banks and berms. The trail is decently wide and flows nicely through the forest, with occasional breaks for views ending with a spectacular flourish of S-turns.
Spur, a 0.4-mile freeride pathway, is a connector trail, while Bandit is a mile-long technical trail with a more traditional New England feel in parts, as it follows the natural contour of the mountain with some tight turns and by boulders.
Intermediate Steam Punk, a technical trail planned to be close to 1.2 miles, is about halfway done and could come online with rollers and berms by September’s end.
According to Scambio, phase two will target more advanced riders with about five or six trails. The plan is to have trails that would use the Kancamagus Express Quad outside the Governor Adams Lodge, a much faster way to access the mountain as compared to the slow-moving Seven Brothers.
This isn’t Loon’s first attempt at downhill lift-served mountain biking. They tried it briefly about 17 years ago, when loose-gravel maintenance roads and such were the rage. But the sport has evolved since then, with full-suspension bikes and protective gear. Flowing machine-built trails have become the norm. Cars with full ski racks in winter are replaced with full bike racks in summer and fall.
Loon requires riders to use helmets and mountain bikes with at least front suspension. Full-suspension bikes, pads and other protective equipment are recommended.
Fat-tired bikers have a dilemma. Fat bikes are allowed on the trails but not the lifts, because they don’t fit on the bike carriers. So they have to ride up with a valid ticket or pass.
The mountain bike park is open weekends and holidays through Oct. 14, with the exception of Sept. 21-22.
This season there are no rentals available, so riders must bring their own bikes. But there will be some demo days on select weekends where riders can try out bikes. For next season, plans call for a bike shop, bike rentals and lessons.
So if you’ve got the gear, go with the downhill flow through the forest.
Marty Basch can be reached at marty.basch@gmail.com.