Mountain Bike Trail REport

Trails are open. Excellent riding conditions. Warm weather in place but the thick forest canopy providing nice shade.

A great Memorial day weekend of riding. Good seeing the new and familiar faces. Nice job to all the riders competing the LagChilada challenge this past weekend!

The woods have really filled out the past week making for lush green deep woods forest scenes. We have started brushing out the thicker areas this week, in particular the lakeside drop segment. We also have been clearing out singletrack segments as needed after the entire course was cleared out earlier this year. This spring we also widened bridges on the Bootleg loop, added a few wooden features on the new trails, dirt work on select areas and planted a couple hundred trees along the course. We will continue tuning the trail throughout the spring and summer.

Great seeing new folks and the locals alike out this season. Rider traffic helps compress the deck and ride in the lines!

Trail head is at flagpole near main lodge. Look for white signs that have “Beginner/Sport/Comp/Expert” or named singletrack segments. There are also red signs at key intersections and pink signs for the LagChilada loop challenge. We have also taped off most intersections. The two way “North Loup Gnar” trail can be accessed of county road 110 just to the east of Maplelag driveway. Bootleg loop accessed from county road 26 via the gravel road 110. Please park in the first parking lot where the recycling bins are located. The main lodge is closed, no services available. Park and ride! Any questions on riding etc., contact Jay at 218-849-7669.

The Maplelag trails are classic “old school” trails, first built in 1990, mirrored off the courses used for racing to provide training opportunities for local racers. and feature some of the more technical areas of cross country riding in the Midwest.

For first timers to Maplelag, best trails first to start on would be Sukkerwest at end of driveway and Feeling Lucky near main start area. Also the Citizen loop which provides options to try the more advanced singletracks segments.

Trails listed on TrailForks. (Please note some routes were added by riders not associated with Maplelag, in particular the lakeside areas but all trails and intersections are marked)

We have set a new course for the LagChilada mountain bike challenge, riding all the trails in one ride! Click here for more detail The course is marked at key intersections with pink “LagChilada” signs.

We will be hosting the Laddies Loppet this Labor day weekend. More details available here.

New season passes will be available in a few weeks. Trail fees are appreciated to help offset trail work, signage and hopefully a new map. These are major expenses and we receive no grants outside funding for the privately maintained trails at Maplelag. Click here for most recent map. (Note: There are a few reroutes on the map but everything will be tapped off. No riding allowed on AMA land and please stay on designated trails at all time. Assume all risk and take responsibility for your actions) We are working on a new trail map that will feature many new trails built last summer and fall.

Rolling down the ski trail segment on the bike trail, June 2nd, 2021.
Brushing out a overgrown area, June 2nd, 2021. We are working on the few areas that overgrown. Overall ,majority of course with good sight lines.
Bridge crossing on new “North Loup Gnar” loup, May 30th, 2021.
Group ride taking on the LagChilada challenge! May 30th, 2021.
Chad on Bootleg loop, May 30th, 2021.
Weaving through, May 30th, 2021.
North Loup Gnar, May 30th, 2021.
Steve on Bootleg, May 30th, 2021.
Dropping into North Loup Gnar, May 30th, 2021.
Twin Lakes rock garden, May 30th, 2021.
Wood feature on “Bjorp’s” singletrack, May 30th, 2021.
Chad berming on Bootleg, May 30th, 2021. (Wenzel photo)
Sunday Funday! Great riding conditions in place for Memorial Day weekend, May 30th, 2021.
Ski trail segment, May 30th, 2021.
Twin Lakes rock garden, May 30th, 2021. Twin lakes loop is rougher with roots and rock segments.
Twin Lakes, May 30th, 2021.
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“Bente’s Bump” singletrack, May 26th, 2021.
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Fargo singletrack after clearing, May 26th, 2021. Twin Lakes singletrack loop, most of the inner system cleared so far this week. As always, be heads up for any deadfall!
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Ferns popping up along Bootleg singletrack, May 25th, 2021.
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Beautiful morning scene across Bullhead lake, May 25th, 2021.
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Dirt work on the Twin lakes return singletrack, May 25th, 2021.