Steeplechase Mountain Biking Closing On Sept 30th

[Matthew]

Steeplechase will be closed to mountain biking after Sept 30th. We are planning group rides and BBQ's the weekend of the 29-30 to celebrate a successfull season. Steeplechase is currently for sale and the ski hill will not operate over the winter. Hopefully if all goes well we will reopen in the spring under new ownership. Hope to see everyone out there these last few weeks. The trail is in great riding shape right now.

[AndrewMay]

Anybody know how much its going for? :etard:
I've been in the market for a multi-million dollar ski operation as of late...

Anybody want to split it?

[V2Neal]

MORC has fat cash like that. :cool:

[Lezgo Cycling]

I supposed I could throw in a couple mil...but I am going to want to be a silent partner, dont want to hear complaints, problems, etc. I just want to ride :D

[martini]

closed during the fall season? augh! that's when I was planning on getting up there. How 'closed' is closed anyways? And why is it up for sale? Seems like its a really new venue to me.

[Lezgo Cycling]

closed during the fall season? augh! that's when I was planning on getting up there. How 'closed' is closed anyways? And why is it up for sale? Seems like its a really new venue to me.

Probably becasue of the LACK of snow we have gotten int he last couple yrs

[Matthew]

How 'closed' is closed anyways

Closed means just like it reads. Closed!! There will be no insurance on the property starting oct 1st unless a new owner is in place and they renew the insurance before then. Steeplechase has been around for 7 years but mountain biking started there two summers ago. Since then we have been working to expand the trail every year and in fact we have a new expansion started already. But no one can use the property once the insurance runs out as a pending lawsuit on the land would really hurt the places marketability. There have been interested parties already after only a couple weeks on the market and we are hoping that we will be able to open back up for riding next spring as planned. So try to get your steeplechase riding in before the end of sept. That last weekend we will be doing group rides, maybe a bbq and hopefully we will be able to announce new ownership by then. If someone comes in before the 1st of oct we should be able to continue riding through the fall.

[Matthew]

Lack of snow, lack of modern snow making equipment, rising insurance rates, raising minimum wage, and absolutely no summer programs at all sort of all contributed to the owner deciding to sell. I sort of think that place would be a gold mine for weddings and corporate events during the summer.

[FarmerBEN]

speaking as someone that has observed steeplechase from the beginning I would state their problems are as follows.
A) Topography has not blessed there locale for adequate slopes. They have a grand total of I would guesstimate 250 vertical feet, which is small even for around here.
B)They are in the boonies, while the veiw is beautiful, directing people to a place that is two turns off the paved road, without inhouse catering and is a twenty minute drive from any decent hotels makes it pretty weak compared to most local competition.
C) Insurance kills all fun activities, including ski hills, insurance is an enormous expense that you have to pay before you turn the open sign on, talk about starting out in the hole.
D) God hates Steeplechase, proven by the last seven winters slush mud and 30-40 degree temps. I think perhaps it is punishment for driving Mt frontenac out of the ski biz.

All that being said hopefully they can find a buyer that will be as open to Mtb as kevin (?) was. Lets get some riders down there and show any new ownership groups how profitable mtb can be.

[AndrewMay]

I wish the city would buy it. A municipal ski area isn't such a bad idea... Plus we'd never have to worry about all of the trailwork thats been done going down the tubes.
Then we could ride for free. It always sucks to drive all the way out there and then have to pay to ride.
The guys in the cities get to ride for free...

[ryno lite]

That is one huge advantage we have in public parks over private ski areas. First off, once we have the permission to build in the parks, we usually can count on the trails being there a long time (hopefully, things can change) since the park will always be there. We don't have to worry about ownership changes ruining all we have done (although new parks leadership could affect us, although less likely than new ownership on private land). We also generally get to ride for free also. Lots of advantages. There also are disadvantages. Sometimes you can push the limit more on trails on private land. Plus, some of these private ski resorts have some of the best land out there as far as MN elevation. Overall, I do like the stability of getting park access for trails. I hope the new ownership is on board with mtn biking. I've always wanted to get down there to ride those trails and haven't had a chance yet and won't have till after it's closed. I hope it is open again next year.

[AndrewMay]

If thats all that you can come up with for disadvantages then make steeplechase a park. At least its ownership will be stable.
Steeplechase is all I've got! Dont take that from me!:hit:

[Matthew]

We had talked about how great it would be for the city or more likely the county to buy the land, since it's been parceled for reacreation use it would make sense for it to become a park. Unfortunately Steeplechase isn't in olmstead county, its just across the county line in wabasha. Unfortunately the amount steeplechase is worth is about equal to the sum of wabasha's tax income so that won't happen. Also not all the trails on public land allow mountain biking for free. I know Hillside in elk river charges a daily fee.

[Buck]

We had talked about how great it would be for the city or more likely the county to buy the land, since it's been parceled for reacreation use it would make sense for it to become a park. Unfortunately Steeplechase isn't in olmstead county, its just across the county line in wabasha. Unfortunately the amount steeplechase is worth is about equal to the sum of wabasha's tax income so that won't happen. Also not all the trails on public land allow mountain biking for free. I know Hillside in elk river charges a daily fee.

Matt,
Is there any way I can see the listing? I know that it is on the industry listings but I can't seem to find those any where! Is he using a real estate company to sell it?
Thanks
Buck

[Matthew]

Is there any way I can see the listing? I know that it is on the industry listings but I can't seem to find those any where! Is he using a real estate company to sell it?


I will ask kevin again when I see him, cause I am dying to see it as well, but I don't know even the name of the publication it was listed in.

[RichZilla]

Also not all the trails on public land allow mountain biking for free. I know Hillside in elk river charges a daily fee.

Hillside is an Elk River city park. The trail fee only applies to non-residents (of Elk River). If you live in Elk River, your city taxes pay your fee.:)

[FarmerBEN]

I haven't known many municipalities to actually purchase park land, I think it is usually donated. maybe kevin wants one heck of a tax write off. also it terms of government expenditures I can think of a few other things that the money could go towards fixing other than a loss of a mtb trail.

[ryno lite]

I haven't known many municipalities to actually purchase park land, I think it is usually donated. maybe kevin wants one heck of a tax write off. also it terms of government expenditures I can think of a few other things that the money could go towards fixing other than a loss of a mtb trail.

Actually, a lot of counties in and around the metro area are continously buying park land. It's the only way they can insure that as the population grows they have enough land put aside for recreation. The donation route is also used, but it seems the vaste majority of park land acquired is actually purchased. Expensive, but if you have the population base, it is worth it. Dakota County had a referendum a few years back that cost an owner of a 300k house about $30 extra a year in taxes that went to buy park land so as the county grows there would be plenty of park land to go around. I know this doesn't always work well in counties with low populations though!

[FarmerBEN]

I guess I am more familiar with slower growth situations. which would be the case with Mazeppa :)

[ryno lite]

I guess I am more familiar with slower growth situations. which would be the case with Mazeppa :)

Yep, I'm sure it's different down there. We have to put as much aside because we don't have all the open areas you guys have! I come from a small town originally and although my county wasn't rich, they slowly but surely were acquiring land for county parks. One park outside my hometown has grown and grown for the past 25 or more years and it will be one heck of a regional park one day. Every time a chunk of land goes up for sale adjacent to the park, they do their best to buy it. Most of it is woods and not good farmland, so they keep buying it. It would make for a great mtn bike area, but that will never happen out that way. Oh well.

[FarmerBEN]

Yep, I'm sure it's different down there. We have to put as much aside because we don't have all the open areas you guys have! I come from a small town originally and although my county wasn't rich, they slowly but surely were acquiring land for county parks. One park outside my hometown has grown and grown for the past 25 or more years and it will be one heck of a regional park one day. Every time a chunk of land goes up for sale adjacent to the park, they do their best to buy it. Most of it is woods and not good farmland, so they keep buying it. It would make for a great mtn bike area, but that will never happen out that way. Oh well.


Why do you say that? lack of open mindedness from parkboard members? or just general disinterest in the sport in the area?

[ryno lite]

Why do you say that? lack of open mindedness from parkboard members? or just general disinterest in the sport in the area?

Disinterest in the area. If the sport doesn't involve a motor, they don't do it. There are a few bikers out there though, so who knows, things can change!

[AndrewMay]

Any news on the sale of Steeplechase?

[Matthew]

There are two interested parties last I checked with the current owner. No idea if the situation has changed at all as that was over a week ago. Conditions out there have been good for riding though.

[AndrewMay]

Right on. It was a little muddy last night, but other than that it was good.

[Dhallaway]

Hey Matt, are you still planning a bar-b-q for Steeplechase this coming weekend? I could bring a large gas grill.

Terri just bought a new Epic and is dying to ride it at least once at Steeplechase before the season ends.

[Matthew]

Yes I believe we are planning on riding steeplechase saturday afternoon for the last ride of the season there and then I think the plan is to head to maynard johnson's house (which is just a couple of minutes from there) for the bbq/post ride refreshments :) I will post up definate times and plan tomorrow some time.

[woodchuck]

Hey Matt, are you still planning a bar-b-q for Steeplechase this coming weekend? I could bring a large gas grill.

Terri just bought a new Epic and is dying to ride it at least once at Steeplechase before the season ends.

Dave - Send my congrats to Terri on the new Epic. I guess seeing as she got the Epic she will be racing next year :)

[Dhallaway]

Thanks Matt! Hopefully the rains will stay away and we can ride.

Dave - Send my congrats to Terri on the new Epic. I guess seeing as she got the Epic she will be racing next year :)

Racing? In the DIRT?? Terri?? You never know, I never thought she would get a new mountain bike.

[zaskar]

Any updates on the ride time?

[Jeff R]

I'll be out there ready to ride by 2:00 and will hangout/ride until 5:00 or 6:00. I also plan on going back Sunday around 3:00 and will have the grill fired up about 6:00. Bring something to grill and maybe something to share and join in a season ending ride/BBQ at Steeplechase!

[ctommyrun]

Wish I could, but....I GOTTA WORK!

[kennyhough]

I will be around my house on Saturday, if anyone wants to stop by and check out my DH trails, after the Steeple Chase ride. I wish I could use the clip pedals, but platforms are recommended, since you have to hike back up the hill in some areas. Check out my profile to see a very small section of the trails. I also have a couple easy tabletops in working order, that are really easy and fun. Contact my if anyone is up for some downhill.

[Matthew]

I will be out there early in the afternoon tomorrow. Like 1 or 2.

[FarmerBEN]

I will be out either tomorrow or sunday, I was thinking winona tomorrow, but maybe I can push that off till sometime next week...