Giants Ridge

[Ubergiant]

Anyone ever been to Giants Ridge? I checked out their website and the trails look pretty rad. Its the only place in minnesota I haven't skied so I have no idea what that place is like. I wanted to go to Lutsen and ride this summer but I'm thinking Giants Ridge might be a decent alternative seeing how Moose Mountain is closed.
Thanks

[Ubergiant]

How come there isn't a sub forum for Giants Ridge as well?

[shourtt]

I have snowboarded at Giants Ridge a few times and always enjoyed it. Out of curiosity, I have searched their web site but I did not see any photos of the trails. Can you post a link to the images?

[nigel]

Last time i rode there, hrmmmm lets just say when they used to have races they were really fun, but riding the old courses without lots of people around, well the trails have a lot of boredom attatched to em. Its mainly grassy open ski trails with just a "little" singletrack here and there if you know where to find it. However, this was a few years ago since Ive been there, soooo if its changed post up and I'll eat my words and go up and ride!

D

[seberly]

I would say it is definitely a northwoods experience - I also remember some epic races up there they used to do it on labor day weekend if I recall correctly - they had an uphill race, a downhill, and a crit plus the typical cross country - I remember screaming down the Gold (or was it Bronze) trail - wide open bumpy grassy, potholes etc...to the finish....a teeth chattering decent.

[bigwheel]

I have been doing a weekend ski trip there every winter for many years. Usually, I XC ski in the mornings, then downhill in the afternoons. I don't know anything about their mountain biking, but here's a report of the skiing, which I assume uses the same trails:

Downhill: Giants ridge has about 450 ft of vertical, and around 5 or 6 lifts. Their trails are separated by woods, giving it a bit of the "out west" feel. Some of it is marked as expert, but compared to western areas, it is all intermediate. They also have a separate section with snowboard stunts.

XC skiing is tailored for the racers, with wide, safe trails. They re-did the XC trails about 10 years ago, and IMO, they dumbed them down. They used to be fairly narrow and twisty, but now, they are wide, flat dirt roads that they groom both sides for classic skiing, and have lots of room for skate skiing in the middle.

The XC trails go around the ski hill on both sides of the mountain and along the Larentian divide. There are long hills, that will get you huffing and puffing. If you are feeling lazy, they also allow you to take the lift up with your XC skis, and start your run from the top.

There is supposedly a trail that goes from the hill to Biwobic (sp?), but I have never taken it.

There are also a couple of snowshoe trails, which I have never tried. They might make some nice singletrack.

If you are staying there, the lodge is nice. It has a restaurant, pool, hot tub, etc, and is right at the base of the hill.

There is also a golf course there if you are old enough for that kind of activity.

I'd be interested in the mountain biking trails. If you go there, please post a report.

[Magic]

The web site for Giant's Ridge shows a map of the mtb trails. Looks like it is on most of the xc-ski trails plus some singletrack mixed in. Would be interesting to hear what this place has to offer.

[Ubergiant]

http://www.giantsridge.com/events/summer/
Scroll down and there is a link for a pdf version of the trails

[fatbaldpop1]

I rode over there two years ago. It was the ski trails and they weren't mowed. Deep grass (2-3') and wide open. Not the greatest...

[Tetreves]

I'm very familiar with the XC and DH ski trails (or was several years ago). They're great in the winter. I havn't been up there biking, but I think it would have a lot of potential. They have some really great terrain, if they spent some time building some nice singletrack trails, it could be the next destination MTB spot in MN. Especially with the lifts. :p

I'd be interested to hear what it's like, though...

[bigwheel]

Based on the trail map http://www.giantsridge.com/trailmap.pdf it looks like they are just running you around the XC trails. The trail map is almost exactly the same as winter. Even the names are the same. IMO, this won't be very good mountain biking. However, I'm more of a tight singletrack fan. If you like the open, faster runs, it might be okay.

[thebionicman]

There may be actual single track built here in the future. They are hosting an Xterra event later on this summer and at some point would like to have actual single track trail for the mountain bike and trail running sections.

[Crash]

There may be actual single track built here in the future. They are hosting an Xterra event later on this summer and at some point would like to have actual single track trail for the mountain bike and trail running sections.

That would be sweet! Giants Ridge has a lot of potential. The scenery and terain is perfect for mountian biking. Those xc ski trails used to be great for mountain biking back in the day, but now that we have grown to realize the fun of singletrack it would be great if Giants Ridge could catch up.

Like Steve and Doug, I remember the Labor day races up there 6-10 years ago. Fun times for sure.

[Buck]

so has anyone talked to them about helping them out at all with getting some stuff mapped out and built? Why would they dump money and time into something that they see no interest in? Shoot them an e-mail or call them! get things rolling if you see potential. :banana:


L8R
Buck

[thebionicman]

The group involved with the Xterra are the ones getting the singletrack into Giants Ridge. They were going to try to get it going this year, but there wasn't enough time. Next year they are going to look at it sooner and try to figure out a way to get the single track in.

[Buck]

cool!!! I was curious if all this talk was going to lead to something!
L8R

Buck

[[defective]]

The group involved with the Xterra are the ones getting the singletrack into Giants Ridge. They were going to try to get it going this year, but there wasn't enough time. Next year they are going to look at it sooner and try to figure out a way to get the single track in.

Any further updates?

[biking_stickman]

;238258']Any further updates?

Giants Ridge has huge potential...cross country, freeride, downhill. The elevation change and available area both make this a great opportunity. Combine this with the available lodging and golf courses and it becomes a great weekend destination.

Currently, the trails are mainly cross county ski trails with some huge climbs and great descents...unfortunately, the grass does seem to get long (I think due to lack of usage).

I was the one who was looking at adding singletrack trails in for the Xterra event that we held there. Unfortunately, the Xterra race and the idea of building singletrack trails went away due to the lack of local support. Our group from the Twin Cities decided that without more local support from the Giants Ridge area, our time and effort would not be sustainable over a long enough period to make this worthwhile.

If anyone from that area is interested in getting this going again, contact me and I can set you up with some contacts at Giants Ridge. Giants Ridge was supportive of the idea to build singletrack and I assume they still are.