By Charles Pekow
A major mountain bike park is being planned in Bridger Teton National Forest in Wyoming. Snow King Mountain Resort in Jackson is planning a major renovation and is seeking permission from the national forest, which accepted the master plan and is planning to hire an outside consultant to perform an environmental review. The plan includes front-side mountain bike trails and a back-side mountain bike zone, according to the scoping letter from the national forest.
The plan also includes a yurt camp where bikers could stay. The Jackson Town Council approved a recreational plan for the area in 2013 that includes mountain bike trails. The Forest Service hopes to complete the analysis by next July.
The resort in Bridger Teton already features year-round recreation from skiing to biking to paddleboarding to paragliding to hiking, plus scheduled events. Use of the trails is free and bike rentals are available (https://snowkingmountain.com/activities/biking/).
The Forest Services scoping letter states lift-served downhill mountain biking is arguably the fastest growing summer activity at mountain resorts in the U.S. and abroad. Not surprisingly, demand for this activity is particularly high in the Jackson area. So the plan calls for a system of about 6.5 miles of lift-served trails on the front side and more conventional mountain bike trails on the back. The downhill trails would include tracks for beginner, intermediate and advanced riders.
The other side would feature a 110-mile mountain bike zone with a skills park and trails for all abilities. Planners have yet to determine the exact routes.
For details, see https://www.fs.usda.gov/project/?project=54201.
