Maine’s mountain bike scene getting big lift from ski resorts
Sugarloaf bike park manager Adam Craig jumps his bike July 23 while testing a jump built by trail crew members at the resort's bike park in Carrabassett Valley. Craig flew his bike off the jump as the park trail crew prepared to relocate to another section of trail. (Rich Abrahamson/Staff Photographer)
CARRABASSETT VALLEY — Mountain biking has been around in Maine for decades, but it’s just now coming of age, as the state becomes a destination for riders from the rest of New England and even Canada.
Ryan Dunfee, president of the Greater Portland chapter of the New England Mountain Bike Association, said they serve a mountain bike community of more than 10,000 riders, which he points out is enough to support four full-time bike shops.
The biggest concentration of trails built specifically for mountain biking can be found in Carrabassett Valley, Bethel and Greenville.
In greater Portland, there is a 55-mile network of trails in Gorham, with more coming to the Falmouth-Windham corridor. In the Augusta area, there are 10 miles of trails in the Bond Brook Recreation Area and a shared 8-mile loop in Summerhaven off Route 3.
“Mountain bikers have traditionally been underserved in Maine when it comes to purpose-built trails,” Dunfee said. “So, the sport was largely limited to folks willing to hack it riding a lot of old, rooty hiking trails. In the past decade the riding scene has changed a lot in parts of Maine, with an incredible potential to become a world-class riding destination.”
In all, Maine has nearly 600 miles of mountain bike trails documented by MTB Project, an online crowd-sourced mountain bike guide.
Advertisement
And as mountain parks have popped up, so have lift-served bike parks. As the name would imply, all three in Maine are at ski resorts — Mt. Abram in Greenwood, Sugarloaf in Carrabassett Valley, and Saddleback in Rangeley.
The state does not build or maintain trails, so it’s up to municipalities, volunteer groups such as the New England Mountain Bike Association, land trusts, and ski resorts or outdoor recreation groups.
Building trails is not cheap. According to Singletracks Mountain Bike News, the cost per mile for basic, professionally built, single-track, cross-country trails is $60,000-$80,000. Advanced bike park trails start at $100,000 per mile and can reach $750,000 per mile. Even with volunteers, trails can cost up to $10,000 a mile to build.
Trail crew member Ella Holden loads tools into a vehicle on July 23 while working with a crew at Sugarloaf Bike Park in Carrabassett Valley. They were building the jump pictured behind Holden. (Rich Abrahamson/Staff Photographer)
THE DRAW OF LIFT-SERVED PARKS
The obvious attraction for lift-served bike parks is the ride up the mountain. At Mt. Abram, which is serviced by two lifts in the summer, that’s just shy of 2,000 feet in elevation, for a little more than a 1,100 foot vertical drop.
At Saddleback, the Rangely Express quad will take you up some 3,000 feet in elevation for a nearly 1,200 foot vertical drop.
And at Sugarloaf, the Whiffletree quad lift reaches a top elevation of 2,700 feet, with a vertical drop of 1,050 feet.
Advertisement
Bikers take the lift on July 23 before riding down trails at Sugarloaf Bike Park in Carrabassett Valley. (Rich Abrahamson/Staff Photographer) Purchase this image
With elevation comes challenge — at all levels of experience — not to mention the scenery. Dunfee, a seasoned mountain biker and skier, believes lift-served mountain bike parks have loads of potential here.
“With a thousand feet of elevation, and typical steep, rocky, and rooty New England terrain, you can build mountain bike trails that deliver an experience that is an order of magnitude more impressive than what the ski experience on the same terrain would look like,” he said.
There are a lot of parallels between the sports and the type of people they attract. Lift-served mountain bike parks grew out of a desire to extend the usefulness of ski resorts, and transition to a profitable year-round season. They also keep staff employed and generate additional revenue.
Dan Bassett, deputy director of the Bicycle Coalition of Maine, said the trails at bike parks — especially lift-served parks — are engineered to be fun on a mountain bike.
“Some places you might be mountain biking down a shared multiuse trail with hikers,” which, he said, can lead to user conflicts. “But using a downhill designed mountain bike trail, it’s gonna be wider, the bed of it is gonna be sturdier — engineered in a way to help keep your speed up, but also have room to move around.”
For riders, it’s an entirely different experience from riding a converted rail trail.
Advertisement
Related
With new Kingfield area trails, Franklin County builds on reputation as mountain bike destination
Adam Craig, a professional mountain biker and former Olympian, is Sugarloaf’s bike park manager. Together with Spencer Lee, the resort’s lead trail crew supervisor, they have helped develop the bike park and grow the sport.
Both have years of national experience from Alaska to Vermont and are native Mainers. Their enthusiasm for mountain biking is infectious.
Sugarloaf bike park manager Adam Craig, right, and lead trail crew supervisor Spencer Lee, have been part of the growth of mountain biking in the area for years and say trail development is increasing at a huge pace. (Rich Abrahamson/Staff Photographer) Purchase this image
“Mountain biking has strong roots here,” Lee said. “Modern trail development maybe lagged behind here compared to other regions in the country … (but) now trail development has caught up here, and is really increasing at a huge pace.”
‘WILLING TO DRIVE THE DISTANCE’
Maine’s mountain bike parks need to attract more than locals if they are to thrive, and they are already attracting riders from the region, as evidenced by license plates in the parking lot at Sugarloaf recently.
“You need to deliver enough of an experience, with distinct enough trails, that folks will be willing to drive the distance,” Dunfee said, adding, “I’ll drive five hours to Quebec City just to ride because the trails are so incredible there — some of the best I’ve ridden anywhere in the world.”
Riders share a trail at Sugarloaf Bike Park in Carrabassett Valley on July 23. (Rich Abrahamson/Staff Photographer) Purchase this image
View 11 photos
Lee points to Bromont in Quebec — about an hour from Montreal — considered a massive mountain bike scene that runs multiple chairlifts to service the demand.
Advertisement
“We’re really just at the cusp of this kind of activity here in Maine,” he said.
It can take 30 minutes in the lift line at Highland Mountain in New Hampshire, because the trails are such an attraction, Dunfee pointed out, with people driving from as far as New Jersey and Pennsylvania.
There’s no doubt the riders will come, so Maine’s ski resorts, mountain bike clubs and organizations are working hard to bulk up the infrastructure by adding trails and amenities.
Mt. Abram, Saddleback and Sugarloaf all offer rentals, lessons and have bike shops at the mountain. Food, lodging, music and food trucks are also part of the package. Local businesses also benefit from the summer traffic.
A biker zooms through a curve at Sugarloaf Bike Park in Carrabassett Valley on July 23. (Rich Abrahamson/Staff Photographer) Purchase this image
Craig, a three-time national champion racer, said it’s not only the machined trails that attract people to Sugarloaf, it’s also enduro races, pitting riders against each other in timed stages on technical terrain.
In 2022, Sugarloaf hosted an Enduro World Series (now UCI Enduro World Cup), which drew riders from all over the world. The six courses built for it remain intact, which attracts the more discerning guests from Quebec and New England.
Advertisement
“They really like riding those rugged, raw, technical trails that sometimes newer bike parks don’t have,” Craig added.
Mt. Abram, Sugarloaf and Camden Snow Bowl have teamed up to host the Maine Gravity race series Aug. 15-16 at Sugarloaf, Aug. 29-30 at Camden Snow Bowl, and Sept. 19-20 at Mt. Abram.
The races give younger, less experienced riders the opportunity to try it out as well as the full enduro race experience for more experienced riders. Craig said it’s all part of developing the mountain bike scene in Maine.
Only in its second year, the Sugarloaf Bike Park is holding its own, drawing 300-400 riders on the weekend. Craig said management has made a long-term commitment to develop the park and cater to beginners and families, as well as the 20-year-olds who want to fly down the mountain.
While Maine may seem to be the last stop of so many trends — including mountain biking and Sprinter vans — Dunfee said he is excited about the growing mountain bike community in Maine.
Getting started in mountain biking will set you back around $3,000 at the entry level, although specialty bikes can run up to $20,000. There are helmets, special pedals and bike racks for the car or truck to consider.
But that’s not dissuading more and more families and young kids from getting out and heading down.
Copy the Story Link
Tagged: biking, outdoors in maine, recreation, saddleback mountain, sugarloaf
Christopher WheelockStaff Writer
A long-time journalist, Christopher got his start with Armed Forces Radio & Television after college. Seventeen years at CNN International brought exposure to major national and international stories. More by Christopher Wheelock
