A Whole New Animal
BY JAN LASAR P H OTO S B Y PAT H F I N D E R T R A I L B U I L D I N G
Beginning in the late 1980s, the newly formed Ely Nordic Ski Club began the process of building cross-country ski trails at Hidden Valley Recreation Area on the edge of Ely, MN. This 15-mile network of ski trails has become a central part of the community, but not just during the cold months. When the snow is gone these wide, mowed trails also see hikers and mountain bikers who enjoy the rugged scenery close to the Boundary Waters. Last year, the addition of about eight miles of purpose-built singletrack has been well received by locals and visitors alike and sparked a mountain bike boom that led the local ski club to change its name and logo. Brett Ross, chair of the renamed Ely Nordic Ski and Bike Club, has seen the sport of mountain biking become an overnight success in Ely. “These trails are a whole new animal,” he said. Inspired by Dr. Scott Anderson, a retired dentist, a local group formed to raise money to hire Dirt Candy Designs, a mountain bike trail designer and builder from Grand Marais, MN to rough in a potential trail and make a design plan for a 10-mile system of interconnected, purpose-built singletrack at Hidden Valley. In 2020 Dirt Candy built a skills area near the club chalet. This mile-long practice run with boardwalks, rock gardens, drops, berms and two small gravity runs served as an introduction to riding singletrack while the group raised more funds to build the rest of the trail system. After the city of Ely signed a long-term lease with the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources Forestry Division (MDNR) and received a substantial grant from the Iron Range Resources and Rehabilitation Board (IRRRB) Trails Grant, the project was ready for the next phase. Between May and October of 2021, Pathfinder Trail Building, an Eagan based trail design and build firm, finished the initial four loops, totaling about eight miles. Owner Adam Buck calls the resulting system a Choose Your Own Adventure Trail. The easier sections are geared toward the novice mountain biker while the other loops get progressively more challenging. “The loop closest to the trail head is a good beginner trail with some fun, challenging climbs and a couple of fun downhill sections, kind of like flow trails with jumps and rollers,” he said. As you get further back into the park, the look and feel turns more natural to blend with the landscape on the edge of the Boundary Waters. Here, Buck said, riders will have to navigate roots and rocks on a narrower, low impact singletrack. “It’s going to feel more like a backcountry trail,” he said. Working around the existing ski trails without negatively impacting them was a key element in the
All photos by Pathfinder Trail Builders
construction of the trails and Buck’s crew put a lot of extra effort into removing brush, yet keeping the natural look of the area. “One of the things with singletrack is, you don’t necessarily want people to realize that someone even built a trail,” he said. The resulting system, he said, is as unique as the landscape around Ely and will provide a good experience that’s fun for any level of rider. “The challenge will be that it’s not a perfectly groomed trail. It’s meant to be a real, raw cross-country trail experience.” He added that because the soil is made of glacial deposits, meaning rocks and gravel, trails should hold up very well to wet weather. Buck and his crew will be back in May of this year to finish the final loop and bring the total length up to about ten miles. While details on the 2022 construction are still pending, Buck said it will be an intermediate level jump trail with ridearounds, to allow inexperienced riders to take a look before attempting a jump. “We’ll make sure both routes are fun and flowy and give you a chance for some air time,” he said. “We went into the whole mountain bike thing head first,” said Harold Langowski, Clerk, Treasurer and Operations Director, city of Ely, who saw the new loops being used as soon as they opened to the public. “Every day there were cars in the parking lot
N E W S I N GLETR AC K TR A I LS I N E LY 30 Spring 2022
Minnesota Trails
