Concordia Language Villages

We feel very fortunate to be the host of "El Lago del Basque", one of Concordia College's Spanish Language Villages, for eleven weeks in the summer. It is exciting to be part of an atmosphere where students are totally immersed in the culture of the various Spanish-speaking countries. If you have been to Maplelag with your children or grandchildren, then this would be a great place to send a first time camper. They will have the advantage of being in familiar surroundings where they will have the Richards families near by. And, once they have been here, don't be surprised if they want to come back again the next year! For more information about any of the various language villages, call 1-800-222-4750.

Concordia Language Villages - Spanish

Laddies Loppet: Mountain Bike Stage Race

Laddies Loppet is a mountain bike race we hold every Labor Day weekend at Maplelag. Once again we are part of the Minnesota State Championships (MNSCS) for 2008. Laddies Loppet will be race #8 in the series this year. The Laddies Loppet is also designated as an AMBC event and is part of the USA Cycling National Calendar series. We are also part of the Alison Dunlap JR Olympic Mountain Bike Series. The race is named after our former, friendly dog, Laddie. This is a great event for the whole family with races and age categories for every type of rider. Trophys to the top three boys and girls in 8 and under, 9-10 and 11-12. Stage race returns for the third year! We will have a open class for male and female riders in the Citizen, Sport, Comp (male only) and Expert classes. General classification will be scored on cumulative time with the rider with the lowest time taking the overall win. Awards for the top three overall stage winners in each class with cash to Experts.

Note: You do not need to race in the time trial and short track to be counted (point wise) in the MNSCS. The Sunday cross country race is the race that counts in the point standings for the series.

Racing action begins on Saturday with a time trial at 10:00 am. The course will be approximately 3 miles in length running mainly on cross country ski trails with a few short sections of singletrack. All classes will be riding the same course. (This a a great event for the first time racer as well as the distance is short and is a good introduction to mountain bike racing). Cost of this event is $10. Saturday afternoon is the short track criterium. The laps are 1-2 minutes in length and run in between the cabins and lodge making for a great spectator event. Total race time is around 20 minutes. Citizen short track starts at 4:00pm, Sport at 4:30 pm, Comp and Expert Women at 5:00 pm and Experts at 5:30 pm. Cost of this event is $20. On Sunday the main event will be the cross-country mountain bike race. We will have kids comp, citizen, sport, comp and expert race categories. The citizen and kids comp race runs on the cross-country ski trails at Maplelag and includes a few small sections of singletrack. The kids comp race is one lap of the citizen course. Citizen riders will do three laps. Laps are around 3 miles. The sport and expert races run on the ski trails and also include sections of the famous singletrack at Maplelag. Laps are around 6.2 miles. Citizen (3 laps) and Kids Comp (1lap) race starts at 9:30am, Sport (2 laps) is at 11:00am, Comp (3 laps) and Experts (4 laps) at 1:00pm. Kids race at 1:05pm. (The kids race will be a short spectator friendly loop near the start finish area and will include a small section of ski trail). T-shirts are given to all registrants and awards are given in the different age classes. We also have a great kids race that is suitable for ages 3-11 with prizes for all who participate. Our great sponsors provide us with several door prizes to give away. What a great chance to experience Maplelag, other than during the winter season, at a very reasonable rate! For those of you not interested in racing, please consider hiking, canoeing, fishing, or bird watching as other activities to enjoy during the weekend. Bonfire and bbq Sunday night.

Call 1-800-654-7711 or e-mail us for more information on lodging. The special rate of $69 per adult per night remains the same for 2008. The rate includes at least two meals and use of Maplelag amenities. The rate for children ages 10-15 is $29, ages 6-9 is $19. Children ages 5 and under are free. We will also have a limited number of camping spots available. Cost of camping is $29 per person but includes meals. We will also reduce the cost on the Tier 1 units for this weekend at a rate of $49 per person. Call 1-800-654-7711 or e-mail maplelag@tvutel.com to make reservations. A two night minimum. With Labor Day on Monday, why not stay Sunday night and relax at Maplelag before heading back home!!

Current trail/course conditions on the Trails page.

Results from 2004 Laddies Loppet Scroll down to the bottom

Results from Laddies Loppet 2002

Photos and video clips from Laddies Loppet 2004 can be found on skinnyski.com .