New Favorite

[Neckroll]

I've got a new favorite trail, or section of trail. It's #26, on Moose mountain, at Lutsen. A lot of people around here hate on Lutsen because it's not manicured enough for them, but if you'd like to go "Mountain Biking" which is what we're all supposedly doing, then this is the trail for you. I'd been to Lutsen a few times in the past, but had never really explored the Moose Mountain trails because they were either closed, or the tram was too crowded, but now that I've seen what the "cascades" section has to offer, I'm hooked. And there are even a couple of climbs over there to appease all those who seem to think fighting against gravity is somehow more fun than working with it (see various opinions on the new Murphy for examples of these masochistic types)
I know it's a bit of a drive, and it's not free, but I'm always surprised at how few riders there are at Lutsen, you get the whole mountain to yourself, even on the crazy-busiest holiday weekends. There is a lot of potential there, and I wish more people would start making the trek from time to time, because I really think that if they were to see the gold mine they were sitting on up there it could really be made into a great biking destination. I'm usually all about earning your turns and all, but what do people have against 7 hour days of gravity-fed happyfun times?

[bakkeb]

It is a gold mine. I just wish the people that owned it felt the same way. I have skied there since I was 4 and absolutely love to ski it. The potential for awesome trails is there as well as chairlift access. For some reason its not happening.:mad::etard:

[Thewavebb]

I used to make a trip there a few times a year. Just got expensive and they shut down the lift on moose mtn while increasing the lift prices. So I just said F' it and stopped going. Plenty of amazing riding in the Bluff of redwing, winona and La Crosse.

Plus it was so dang wet and muddy that I had to nearly overhaul my bike after every weekend there.

[Specialeded]

I was there last weekend and had a blast. For MN, its tough to beat and well worth the drive. Downhill is sort of the name of the game and it is as technical as your fingers on the brakes make it.

There is definitely room for improvement but until there is more support I do not see it happening. It could easily be a huge gold mine with a little thought out trail planning and maybe another lift running besides mystery and the tram.

Don't let the negative reviews cloud the image of Lutsen.

The scenery is well worth it alone, and if you have never road anything besides the trails around the metro, and never been lift assisted you are missing out. The trails cater to a wide range of riders.

Plan on heading back this summer a couple more times, with a few stops at Spirit as well.

[FarmerBEN]

I think they have resigned themself to the fact that a mtb destination will never be their most profitable venture, there are too many great destination that are free closer to the cities (Camba, Levis) for xc riders. Maybe as the freeride thing takes off where vertical is the name of the game they will see more potential and be willing to focus on their trails.

[slim]

Nick you are right that Lutsen has some fantastic terrain. I think many people's (including mine) objection to Lutsen is NOT that it is lift accessed or that it is not as manicured, that is exactly the appeall of the place, along with the views. My compaint is lack of trail building. Running down from Mystery chair there is a trail built halfway down and then you are just bombing straight down a grass hill. Starting from the Gondola there is a fair bit of gravel road, followed by the awesome cascades, more gravel roads and then a lot of pedaling on gravel roads back up to the gondola. Etc etc.
There is such great terrain that with some actual MTB trail development it could be superb destination, in stead of a so-so expereince riding haphazard ski trails and logging roads.

[dave t]

I think they might be doing a bit more stuff. There is a run right off the Mystery lift through the trees that has a few hits and a nice hip jump.
They have a few snowboard rails and stuff now so maybe they are getting into the right mindset for building.

I guess "you have the trails to yourself on the busiest weekend" says all you need to say about why they aren't already doing more. How far do you think your 26 bucks alone goes toward building and caring for more trails or running the lift?

[decoeric]

It is to bad that MORC or IMBA can't get there hands on it. Or a bike company like Kona or something. It would be really sweet, if they would let someone work the trails a bit.

[RiverRat]

I think they might be doing a bit more stuff. There is a run right off the Mystery lift through the trees that has a few hits and a nice hip jump.
They have a few snowboard rails and stuff now so maybe they are getting into the right mindset for building.

I guess "you have the trails to yourself on the busiest weekend" says all you need to say about why they aren't already doing more. How far do you think your 26 bucks alone goes toward building and caring for more trails or running the lift?

If you build it they will come.

Why make the trip for marginal routes? Plus you have to pay $26 for those marginal routes? It sounds like a once in a while thing to me (I still haven't gone, but would like to at some point). Make it more mountain bike friendly with more trails, bumps, jumps, features, etc... and more people will be willing to make the drive and pay the $26 lift fee.

How many people used Lebanon hills before it was converted from a dirt rode with a little bit of single track to some pretty sweet single track with a lot of features? Not many compared to how many use it now.

You need a product that people are willing to pay for to get people to pay. It's going to take some serious up front investment to get it set up, but has a good chance of being profitable in the future.

[destrago]

You need a product that people are willing to pay for to get people to pay. It's going to take some serious up front investment to get it set up, but has a good chance of being profitable in the future.

I'm curious, not being sarcastic here: Are there examples of ski-hills which have built mtb trails which are profitable enough to run the lifts on them all summer? (even if just on weekends). Here I'm thinking of local little places like Welch, Afton etc - not Whistler. I know Buck has done a lot of work at Spirit in regards to working on MTB trails there, and I've not yet been to steeplechase yet nor do I know much about their financial status. My guess is if one ski hill did it and started making money hand over fist everyone would start, and if they don't everyone will point to that as an example and say "see: it's not worth the effort." I wonder if a lot of the local ski hills don't point at lutsen and say "See: not worth the effort."

-Tony

[berrywise]

I'm curious, not being sarcastic here: Are there examples of ski-hills which have built mtb trails which are profitable enough to run the lifts on them all summer? (even if just on weekends). Here I'm thinking of local little places like Welch, Afton etc - not Whistler. I know Buck has done a lot of work at Spirit in regards to working on MTB trails there, and I've not yet been to steeplechase yet nor do I know much about their financial status. My guess is if one ski hill did it and started making money hand over fist everyone would start, and if they don't everyone will point to that as an example and say "see: it's not worth the effort." I wonder if a lot of the local ski hills don't point at lutsen and say "See: not worth the effort."

-Tony

I heard (and don't know for fact) it costs about 500 bucks a day to run a lift. Not sure how many DH/Freeriders there are out there but at that cost it would probably be cheaper to fill up a pickup truck with gas and drive it up and down the hill all day.

[RiverRat]

I haven't done any market research to determine the market base and profitability of running some MTB action on a ski hill. I was thinking merely of lutsen. They have advantages and disadvantages over some of the local hills though. Main advatage is terrain, main disadvantage is distance from a large population base. I doubt that there are enough people willing to regularly pay for lift access in the metro area to keep more than 1 hill profitable locally.

[FarmerBEN]

Lutsen is what? 4 hours from the MSP? How many other solid riding options are there within four hours from the cities. Camba, Levis, 9 mile, Red wing, Winona, LaCrosse, Decorah etc.... all of which I believe are free. Not to say that Lutsen doesn't have some advantages over these other areas, but to draw the numbers required to justify focusing on mtb trails would require pretty epic trails.

[RiverRat]

would require pretty epic trails.

Exactly! Substantial up front investment.

[OldSkool]

I just emailed Lutsen with the following response. It probably won't make a difference, but I always seem to have a great ride and great weather...
_____________________________

Dear Lutsen Management,

I recently discovered (per your website) that Mountain Biking will no longer be an option. I have visited Lutsen on numerous occasions for both winter and summer activities which have primarily consisted of mountain biking and hiking. Last year, I made a trip to Marquette Mountain in Michigan and was unimpressed with the overall experience compared to that which I have had at Lutsen. As result, I have been planning 3 additional mountain biking trips this summer to Lutsen as there are few, if any, Minnesota trails systems that offer the fun, challenging and diverse terrain as your trail network. Furthermore, I have traveled throughout the upper midwest searching for the challenging trails which Lutsen offers and I have yet to find any that are as rewarding. I am deeply disappointed that Lutsen management has decided to eliminate this feature from summer activities. I hope that this email as well as those from other riders will persuade management to keep the mountain open to bikers this summer.

Perhaps a happy compromise would be to keep the mountain open on a reduced schedule. An alternate option would also be to increase lift fees to cover maintenance and liability costs? These are costs I would definitely pay in order to have the ability to ride the mountain.

Ultimately, many riders that share my sentiments and will unfortunately will lose the ability to ride the resort should this option be eliminated. Please take this into consideration before finalizing the decision.