Bike Trail, Reports

Mountain Bike Trail Report

Dusting of snow on the singletrack Saturday morning, November 2nd, 2019. Hard deck underneath making for a fun ride!

Trails are open. Dusting of snow on the deck. With warmer temps possible in the afternoon, conditions could get a bit greasy on top but with cloudy skies and frozen ground, should hold most of the day. Best riding today will be in the morning. Recommended loops are the new Bootleg loop and Twin Lakes singletrack which are in good late season riding condition.

Creek on Bootleg loop still running strong, October 31st, 2019. Overall Bootleg loop is in excellent riding condition. One wet spot still distance of a bike length.

Trails will be closing on November 4th for the dirt season than open again late November for fat biking/winter riding. Once again we will be grooming the Twin Lakes loop for fat biking and also plan to groom the new Bootleg loop. These trails were recently cleared of leaves and will allow the frost to set up quicker and be groom ready sooner.

We recently completed a new loop called “Moorhead” that branches off the original main loop just past the “Fargo” segment.  This new loop around 1 mile in length.  We also completed the new “Bullhead Bootleg”  earlier this summer. The new trail loop is around around 3.5 miles in length. The trail is slow tech/flow tech. Very smooth but tight turns with fun berms and rollers on the downhills.

Both trails built on Maplelag property.

The Bootleg trail is accessed off county hiway 34 about 1/2 south of end of goat ranch road across from blue adopt a highway sign. Limited parking, best to ride to the trail from Maplelag.  Call or text 218-849-7669 if more information needed.  The new trail will not be part of the Laddies Loppet but hopefully in the spring race we plan for 2020 the end of May.

The trails are closed during rain events but usually an hour or two is all it takes to be back on the trail riding with the nature of the trails at Maplelag being classic old style singletrack.

Click here for trail map. Trail starts at the Skaters Waltz ski trail. (look for white sign with Citizen, Kids Comp, Sport, Comp/Expert) All main intersections are now marked and signs at the key intersections for beginner (citizen) or advanced (sport/comp/expert). Please park in far parking lot next to blue dumpsters.

Summer pass can be purchased online, good for whole season. (There is no charge for Maplelag team members). The Maplelag trails are self supported with no grants or outside assistance. Trail pass revenue helps offset trail maintenance, new trail work and property taxes. Thank you.

Rock garden on “Moorhead” singletrack, October 27th, 2019.
Bridge crossing Bootleg singletrack, October 27th, 2019.
Lakeside Bootleg singletrack, October 27th, 2019.
Beautiful afternoon lakeside Twin Lakes singletrack, October 26th, 2019.
Pump section, Bootleg singletrack, October 26th, 2019.
Sunset ride on Bootleg loop, other than a couple short wet spots, conditions are excellent. October 24th, 2019.
Sunset over Twin Lakes, October 24th, 2019. Gets dark fast!!
Twin Lakes rock garden after clearing, October 23rd, 2019.
Clearing on Twin Lakes singletrack, October 23rd, 2019.
Heading out for a group ride, October 19th, 2019.
Riders on the Bootleg loop, October 19th, 2019. Beautiful weekend of riding.
The return of nice weather welcomed. Great riding on Bootleg loop, October 17th, 2019.

With most leaves off the trail, track drying a bit faster October 17th, 2019.

Bullhead Bootleg singletrack after clearing, October 16th, 2019.
Bullhead Bootleg singletrack after clearing, October 16th, 2019.
Clearing bridge section on Bootleg, October 16th, 2019. Creek running strong with all the recent moisture.
Bootleg singletrack, afternoon October 15th, 2019.
Singletrack segment on main loop. October 15th, 2019. Mostly firm deck under the thin compacted leaf covering.
Twin Lakes ski trail, October 12th, 2019.
Twin Lakes singletrack, October 12th, 2019. Relatively clear segment of trail.
Start of Twin Lakes singletrack, October 12th, 2019. Heavy snow folding over a lot of branches.
Golden scene on starter loop, October 9th, 2019.
Beautiful fall riding, October 9th, 2019.
Bridge crossing on Bootleg trail, October 9th, 2019.
Fargo singletrack, October 9th, 2019.
Twin Lakes lakeside, October 9th, 2019.
High water on bridge segment starter loop, October 9th, 2019.

Bridge crossing on Bootleg loop. October 6th, 2019. Water running strongest has been all year. Last year at this time was bone dry!
Great fall scenes on the trail, October 6th, 2019.

Rolling through rock garden on new “Moorhead” trail segment, October 6th, 2019.
Great fall scenes on the trail, October 6th, 2019.
Bridge crossing on Bootleg loop. October 6th, 2019. Water running strongest has been all year. Last year at this time was bone dry!
Rolling through rock garden on Moorhead singletrack, October 6th, 2019.
Fargo singletrack segment, October 6th, 2019. Best riding after wet weather is the hillier segments that are hardpack and shed water better.
Start of Fargo singletrack after clearing, October 3rd, 2019.
Fargo singletrack, October 3rd, 2019.
Clearing out rock garden on new Moorhead singletrack, October 3rd, 2019.
Late afternoon ride under fall scene, October 2nd, 2019.
Clearing on Hudson’s Hula. Entire Twin Lakes loop cleared Tuesday and Wednesday.
Lakeside singletrack Twin Lakes, September 30th, 2019.
New singletrack segment “Moorhead”. September 30th, 2019.
Fall scene along the bike trail, September 30th, 2019.
Ski trail segment, September 30th, 2019.
Beautiful fall riding, September 28th, 2019.
Bridge section on Bullhead bootleg, September 28th, 2019.
Rock garden on new trail segment “Moorhead”. September 28th, 2019.
Fall scene on north side of Bullhead Lake, September 28th, 2019.
Great fall riding, September 27th, 2019. Get out before the leaves cover up the track!
Clearing singletrack on the main loop, September 27th, 2019.
Clearing leaves on bridge segment singletrack, September 26th, 2019. It has been a busy week clearing leaves off the trail. Leaves continue to fall and will be a another 2-3 weeks of leafy conditions. Enjoy!
Golden hour riding on Bootleg loop, September 25th, 2019.

Golden hour riding on Bootleg loop, September 25th, 2019.
Start of Bootleg singletrack after leaf clearing, September 24th, 2019. Still many leaves on trees yet to come down.
Rock garden on Moorhead singletrack, September 23rd, 2019.
Bike track on the ski trail cleared, September 23rd, 2019.
Riding on new singletrack “Moorhead”. Cleared on September 23rd, 2019.
Beautiful fall riding, September 20th, 2019.
Cruising on Bootleg loop, September 20th, 2019.

Berming on Bootleg loop, September 20th, 2019.
Bridge crossing on Bootleg, creek running as strong as ever. Usually a trickle this time of year. September 18th, 2019.
Beautiful evening ride, September 18th, 2019. The colors have exploded this week!
Beautiful evening ride, September 18th, 2019.
Singletrack after fresh clearing. Leaves are falling down fast this year. September 18th, 2019.
Berms on Bootleg trail, September 11th, 2019.
Rock garden on new “Moorhead” trail, September 6th, 2019.
Start of Elite short track race Laddies Loppet, September 1st, 2019. Skinnyski.com photo.
Staz Bednardski previewing the course, August 30th, 2019. (Bruce Martens photo)
Area high school cycling team on course practicing Thursday evening. August 29th, 2019.
Bootleg trail, August 29th, 2019.
John Wessling checking out the course, August 29th, 2019. Ride the berms high! Course has dried out nicely after rain earlier in the week. Couple damp spots but should be completely dry by Saturday morning!
Beautiful evening for Wednesday night time trial, August 28th, 2019.
Hudson’s Hula, Twin Lakes singletrack. August 27th, 2019.
Clearing out Twin Lakes singletrack, August 27th, 2019.
After morning rain, beautiful evening for riding. August 26th, 2019.
Hints of Fall on the mountain bike course, August 25th, 2019.
Rolling on the ski trail, August 25th, 2019.
Beautiful evening ride, August 23rd, 2019.
Beautiful evening ride, August 23rd, 2019.
Maplelag team members enjoying the beautiful evening on the Laddies Loppet course, August 23rd, 2019.
Trail tuning, August 21st, 2019.
Evening ride on new Bootleg trail, August 20th, 2019.
Bridge crossing over Bootleg creek on new trail. Flowing strong after morning rain. August 20th, 2019.
Trail tuning, August 19th, 2019. We will be tuning on the course for Laddies Loppet mountain bike race over Labor Day weekend daily until race weekend.
Evening ride on Twin Lakes singletrack, August 13th, 2019. Bit damp from rain earlier in the day but overall nice riding.
Crossing at end of Lakeside drop segment. With the high water tables this summer, bridge has been useful. August 13th, 2019.
High side of lakeside drop segment. Most of the segment brushed out again today. August 14th, 2019.
Beautiful evening ride, new Bootleg loop. August 8th, 2019.
Evening ride on new “Bootleg” loop, August 1st, 2019.
Evening ride on new “Bootleg” loop, August 1st, 2019.

Evening ride on new “Bootleg” loop, August 1st, 2019.
Many Point Scout Camp mountain bike program after a riding session. The scouts are out at least once a week. Many first time riders as well! July 30th, 2019.
Signage at start of new “Bullhead Bootleg” loop.
“Fern Gully” segment on new Bootleg trail, July 28th, 2019.
Berm action on new “Bootleg” trail, July 28th, 2019.
Twin Lakes rock garden, July 28th, 2019. A “B” line option will be added in the next few weeks to avoid the technical section.
Testing out newest addition to new trail “Bootleg”. July 23rd, 2019.
New berm work on final trail segment of new trail. July 23rd, 2019.
Beautiful morning ride, July 20th, 2019.
Switchback climb on Twin Lakes singletrack, July 20th, 2019.
Deck setting up nicely on new trail “Bootleg”, July 20th, 2019.
Rock garden on main loop, July 20th, 2019.

Twin Lakes singletrack, July 20th, 2019.
Nice riding Friday evening on new trail “Bootleg”. July 19th, 2019.
Great riding on the new trail Tuesday evening, July 16th, 2019.

Beautiful evening ride after a wet few days, July 11th, 2019.
Bridge crossing on additional new singletrack segment added to new “Bullhead Bootleg” singletrack loop. July 11th, 2019.
Hand building another section of singletrack to be added to new “Bootleg” loop, July 10th, 2019.
Berm action on new trail, July 7th, 2019.
Rolling on the ski trail, July 7th, 2019.
Rolling through on the new trail, July 7th, 2019.
Sunny Saturday ride, July 6th, 2019.
Lakeside singletrack, July 6th, 2019.
Checking out the new trail “Bullhead Bootleg”. July 6th, 2019.
Rolling on the ski trail, July 6th, 2019.
One of the bridges on new trail, July 4th, 2019.
Summer scene along the bike trail, July 4th, 2019.
“Fern Gully” singletrack segment on new mountain bike trail near Bullhead lake, July 3rd, 2019.
Riding through a berm on new trail. July 3rd, 2019.
Bridge crossing on new trail, July 3rd, 2019.
Fun on the new trail, July 3rd, 2019.
Berm tuning on new trail, June 30th, 2019.
Lush singletrack in the deep woods. June 28th, 2019.
Testing trail tuning on new trail, June 25th, 2019. Planning to have “officially” open by the weekend!
Building and tuning last major berm on phase 1 Bullhead Bootleg loop, June 26th, 2019.
Building and tuning last major berm on phase 1 Bullhead Bootleg loop, June 26th, 2019.
Great riding Sunday afternoon, Twin Lakes singletrack June 23rd, 2019.
Great riding Sunday afternoon, June 23rd, 2019.
Testing out new trail, June 23rd, 2019. Getting closer to be officially opened!
Testing out new trail, June 23rd, 2019. Getting closer to be officially opened!
Testing out new trail, June 23rd, 2019. Getting closer to be officially opened!
Berm work on new trail, June 22nd, 2019.
Another gorgeous June evening for riding. June 18th, 2019.
Berm tuning on new trail near Bullhead lake. June 21st, 2019.
Great dirt to work with on new trail “Bootleg” near Bullhead lake on Maplelag property, June 20th, 2019.

Deep woods singletrack, June 18th, 2019.
Brothers on the trail! June 17th, 2019.
Beautiful evening ride, June 13th, 2019.

Twin Lakes singletrack, June 13th, 2019.

Yellow slippers along the side of the singletrack, June 12th, 2019.
Clearing overgrown area, June 12th, 2019.
Singletrack on the doubletrack! Signature Maplelag trails. June 12th, 2019.
Suicide hill mowed today, part of all bike courses. June 12th, 2019.
Evening ride, June 11th, 2019. Even with rain earlier in the day, track absorbs and dries out quickly enough hour or two after.
Rolling down the ski trail, June 5th, 2019.
Deep woods singletrack riding, June 5th, 2019.
Deep woods singletrack riding, June 5th, 2019.
Berm work on new trail, May 31st, 2019.
Pat checking out new trail. May 30th, 2019. We are slowly making progress on new trail. Hope to officially open most of the loop late next month.
Forest road riding on Sugarbush trail, May 30th, 2019.
Working on new trail, May 30th, 2019.
Fun times on the trail! May 28th, 2019.
Riding the berm high. May 28th, 2019.
Pat rolling through the Twin Lakes rock garden, May 28th, 2019.
Pat rolling through the Twin Lakes rock garden, May 28th, 2019.
Checking out new mountain bike trail segment near Bullhead lake, May 20th, 2019. We still have 4-6 weeks of tuning and bridge building before we officially open the trail.
Checking out new mountain bike trail segment near Bullhead lake, May 20th, 2019.
Damp but good riding on the weekend. May 19th, 2019.
Testing out a segment on new trail, May 19th, 2019.
Twin Lakes singletrack, May 18th, 2019.
Weaving along lakeside singletrack, May 18th, 2019.
Hudson’s Hula singletrack, May 17th, 2019.
Trail work on new singletrack. Thanks Denny and Peder for your help! May 17th, 2019.

Tuning on new trail build new Bullhead lake, May 15th, 2019.
Twin Lakes lakeside singletrack, May 14th, 2019.
Woods slowly starting to green up. May 14th, 2019.
New trail work near Bullhead lake. May 13th, 2019.
Rolling along Lakeside singletrack, May 10th, 2019.
Lakeside singletrack Twin Lakes, May 7th, 2019.
Rolling on the singletrack, May 7th, 2019.
Lakeside singletrack Twin Lakes, May 7th, 2019.
Technical section on the singletrack, May 7th, 2019.
Twin Lakes singletrack, May 4th, 2019.
Trail work on new singletrack, May 3rd, 2019.
Keith rolling through the “Fargo” singletrack, May 1st, 2019. This segment has been closed the past few years but now it is cleared and open for riding! Segment branches off near the end of the east side loop.
Trail work on new trail near Bullhead lake. May 2nd, 2019.
Twin Lakes lakeside on “Pete’s Porkie” segment. April 28th, 2019.
Rolling through Twin Lakes rock garden, April 28th, 2019.
Great riding Saturday April 27th, 2019.
Great riding Saturday April 27th, 2019.
Lance S rolling along lakeside, April 25th, 2019.
Trail feature on the singletrack, April 25th, 2019.
Twin Lakes rock garden, April 25th, 2019. Twin Lakes needs a few more days to dry out. Couple low areas holding water.

Ski trail segment on bike course, April 25th, 2019.
Riding into sunset, April 25th, 2019.
Keith dropping in for the first dirt ride of the year, April 23rd, 2019.
Singletrack, April 23rd, 2019.
Clearing singletrack, April 22nd, 2019.