Mountain Bike Trail Development Guidelines

Below is a message from GMRPTC Executive Director Renee Mattson. You can reach her at renee.mattson@gmrptcommission.org.

In 2019, GMRPTC issued an RFP for the creation of a Mountain Bike Trail Development Guidelines manual, with the idea that land managers, park managers, and others wanting to design and build mountain bike trails should have a resource to help them through the process from start to finish. A resource that fully describes the process of building sustainable trails for riders of all experience types.

After a COVID delay and a few other timing setbacks, the manual has been written and is in the final design stage! GMRPTC partnered with Rock Solid Trail Contracting for this process, with Jake Carsten as the author and a volunteer committee to review the work and suggest edits. We asked staff at the International Mountain Bicycling Association (IMBA) to review the guide, and they were so impressed with the work they came on board as a partner in the project. After nearly four years, the guide will be complete, and we’re proud to note that this is the first new mountain bike development guide since 2017!

The guide will be available for download at no cost on both the GMRPTC and IMBA websites, and for those wanting a hard copy, IMBA will have print copies available at a nominal charge. Facilities, land, and park managers in Minnesota will be provided with print copies through GMRPTC at no charge upon request. This project is an excellent example of Legacy dollars at work.