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Adam and Mica Harju of Dirt Candy Designs helped with the trail design of the Lutsen Mountian bike system along with Rock Solid Contractors from Copper Harbor, Michigan. Adam talked about the difficulty in finding just the right path for the course and he expressed his gratitude to the other trail builders. Adam also thanked Tim Kennedy for his dogged pursuit of seeing that the trails got made. Staff photos Brian Larsen
A panorama of fall colors greets mountain bike riders and hikers as they venture onto the trail system at Britton Peak in Tofte. Riders venture up and down through the boreal forest on intricately made trails. They ride to stunning vistas of Lake Superior and the surrounding forest on ridgeline peaks and plunge into the green and gold of the forest below. The scenery and trails are spectacular, but the trails came with a lot of work behind them.
Started in 2005 with the seeds of planning and fundraising, a grand opening for a 16 mile stretch of Mountain bike trails from Tofte to Lutsen was held Friday, September 17. Specifically, two of the trails that help connect to Britton Peak Trailhead and the Caribou Highlands trailhead– Jackpot and High Climber—were noted. Four main speakers, Michael Crotteau, USFS, Adam Harju, Dirt Candy Designs, Jim Plummer, IRRRB, and Linda Jurek, Visit Cook County came forth to praise the lengthy process and dedication of the thousands of hours from volunteers who clear trails and write grants who also made this possible. Additionally, Paul Nordlund, vice president of the SCA, and Jim Vick, marketing director for Lutsen Mountains, added positive comments to the day.
Tim Kennedy was ready for a nice mountain bike ride at the end of the grand opening ceremony.
Superior Cycling Association leader Tim Kennedy kicked off the afternoon celebration. Kennedy noted the necessary partnerships with the county, townships, US Forest Service and Minnesota Department of Natural Resources, Iron Range Rehabilitation Resources (IRRR), plus Lutsen Mountains and Visit Cook County, to name just a few, to create what he called a “world” class mountain bike trail system.
Kennedy provided a timeline for the development of the mountain bike trails in Cook County. Here are some of his remarks from Friday.
“On behalf of the Superior Cycling Association, I would like to Welcome you to the Grand Opening of the Jackpot and High Climber Mountain Bike Trails and to the renovated and rehabbed Britton Peak trails. We have waited a long time to celebrate these incredible trails that many have been riding since the first sections of Jackpot were constructed in 2018. The trails were fully completed and officially opened in August of 2020 but due to COVID the Grand Opening was delayed until now. It has been a long time waiting to celebrate the Jackpot/High Climber Trail, which is getting to be recognized as one of the best in Minnesota.
It took partnering with a lot of groups to get the mountain bike trails made. Here Michael Crotteau, USDA Forest Service District Ranger for the Gunflint Ranger District, explains the process and he thanked all of the volunteers who work to keep the trails maintained, acknowledging that the forest service doesn’t have the funds to maintain mountain bike trails.
Before I talk about the Jackpot and High Climber trails, I would like to give a short history of mountain biking in Cook County and how we arrived at this day.
In 2005, Mark and Melinda Splinler, owners of the bike shop in Grand Marais, received approval from Cook County to build mountain bike trails on 80 acres of County owned land in the middle of the Pincushion Mountain Recreation area near Grand Marais. Working with the County, a grant application was submitted for Federal Recreational Trails Program funds that would build the first two miles of single-track mountain bike trails in Cook County, the Back 80. This trail was an immediate hit with riders.
Following the celebration, a group of riders took to the new trails and ended with a social hour and then held the Superior Cycling Association annual meeting at Caribou Highlands.
Then in 2009, the Boy Scouts of America were looking for a service project and contacted the United States Forest Service about a service project that would involve building mountain bike trails at Pincushion Mountain and at Britton Peak in Tofte. This project was expected to construct 10-15 miles of new trail but only 2-3 miles of trail was built (trail building is not as easy or fast as we all quickly learned). At the time that all this early trail development activity was occurring, the Superior Cycling Association did not exist, but the new trail development did generate interest in forming an organization to advocate for biking interests in Cook County, which included building more mountain bike trails.
So, in 2010, the Superior Cycling Association was organized and the effort to complete the planned trails at Pincushion Mountain and Britton Peak intensified. Grants were written, funding secured, a relationship with the US Forest Service was established. And after a lot of hard work, more mountain bike trails were built. The first trail at Pincushion Mountain, the Back 80, was built using a rake and ride construction practice, then hand built trails were constructed by the Boy Scouts, followed by machine-built trails to finish out the loops at Pincushion and Britton Peak (trail building techniques were quickly changing). But the Superior Cycling Association had the beginnings of a trail system in Cook County with 10 miles of trail at Pincushion Mountain and 7 miles of trail at Britton Peak.
In 2015, the Superior Cycling Association recognized the need to have a Plan that would help focus trail development efforts and hired the Arrowhead Regional Development Commission to help prepare that plan. After a year of public meetings, community input, and working through various drafts, a Master Plan was completed in 2016. One of the first priorities was to begin pursing the construction of a Connector Trail that would link the two existing trails clusters at Pincushion and Britton Peak. Recognizing that tackling a 50+ mile trail was unrealistic for our small but enthusiastic bike club, it was decided to focus initial efforts on a trail linking Britton Peak to Lutsen Mountains-a 16-mile point to point trail. An application was made and approved by the Greater Minnesota Regional Parks and Trails Commission to have the Cook County Mountain Bike Trail System be designated as a regional trail within their system of nearly 70 parks and trails in Greater Minnesota. The Cook County Mountain Bike Trails were now a part of a much larger system of parks and trails throughout Greater Minnesota. All while mountain bike trail development in Northeast Minnesota was growing rapidly.
In 2017, a grant application was submitted and awarded for Federal Recreational Trails Program funding to begin construction of what we were calling the “Connector” trail. Additionally, a grant was received from the Greater Minnesota Regional Parks and Trails Commission for another segment of this “Connector” trail. The momentum was growing but these two grants were still less than 50% of what would be needed to complete this trail. In 2018, another grant was awarded from the Legislative-Citizen’s Commission on Minnesota Resources. And the final funding was provided by the Iron Range Resources Board. We were finally ready to begin construction. Rock Solid Trail Contracting, LLC from Copper Harbor Michigan (one of the best trail builders in the country) was hired to design and construct the Jackpot and High Climber trails. It was immediately clear in the first mile of trail construction that we had something special in this trail and the more trail that was built the better it became.
We now have completed this 16-mile trail connecting the Britton Peak trails to Lutsen Mountains and see riders every day experiencing some of the most incredible riding in Minnesota. The Jackpot and High Climber trails are a 16-mile wilderness ride through the maple ridges of the North Shore with only one minor US Forest Service road crossing. Riders need to be prepared for this trail.
The Superior Cycling Association would like to acknowledge and thank the partners that helped make this trail possible.
First, our most important partner, the United States Forest Service. The Jackpot/High Climber Trail and the Britton Peak trail cluster is located entirely on land managed by the USFS. The Superior Cycling Association has developed a strong relationship with the USFS over the last 10 years and I hope that relationship will stay strong into the future.
Another major partner is Cook County. They have been the fiscal agent for all of the grant funds that have been received and that has taken a huge burden off a small bike club that has no paid staff. We have relied on County staff to help with contractor bids, contracts, mapping, and many other tasks. Thanks to the Cook County Board of Commissioners for their support from day one.
Our grantors have made this project financially possible.
The Federal Recreational Trails Program, administered by the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources;
The Greater Minnesota Regional Parks and Trails Commission with funding from the Minnesota Parks and Trails Legacy Fund;
The Legislative-Citizen’s Commission on Minnesota Resources with funding provided by the Minnesota Environment and Natural Resources Trust Fund; and,
The Iron Range Resources & Rehabilitation Board through the taconite tax.
The Superior Cycling Association thanks each of these grantors.
Our trail designers and builders have talents that are obvious to riders; Rock Solid Trail Contracting, Copper Harbor Michigan and Dirt Candy Designs, Grand Marais, Minnesota. They are the best. The trail crews working on the ground have designed and built what many are calling the best trail in the state.
I’ll read a few reviews that have been posted on trail aps that riders use to give an idea of riders impression of the Jackpot/ High Climber Trails.
“Absolutely incredible trail. It’s like riding a 28-mile pump track. I want to shake the hands of the builders. Best trail I’ve ever ridden and I’m from Nor Cal (which has some pretty epic stuff)”
“This trail is everything we could have wanted in an intermediate rated trail! It’s blisteringly fast in part, intense rock gardens that are MONSTEROUS in size and rock slabs that are like riding a roller coaster in parts! This is a must do for intermediate riders and for riders that like to push themselves. I look forward to the future of this trail and pray there will be more like this in the future. This trail sets the bar insanely high. Here’s hoping they can beat it.”
“Easily the best trail in Minnesota. Has a great combination of technical and all the flow you could want. It is a wilderness setting and the scenery is amazing.”
“I can second the opinion that this is the best trail in Minnesota if not the Midwest. This has everything. I’ve never been on a trail more well-built, with so many juicy berms, rock gardens, and elevation. We did an out and back on a blue bird day and it’s the North Shore at its finest. Highly recommend getting up here and riding it both ways, but maybe on separate days. Loved it!!!”
And finally, thanks to all our members and Business Sponsors that have provided the financial means to maintain all of our mountain bike trails in the county. And the volunteers that have contributed thousands of hours writing grants, managing contractors, clearing downed trees, brushing trails, blowing leaves off the trail, clearing drainages, building, and repairing boardwalks, and all the dozens of other tasks large and small that keep these trails open and safe to ride.
As I stand here today, I am in awe at the mountain bike trails that we have to ride in Cook County. The Superior Cycling Association has a slogan; Dream, Build, Ride.
We had big Dreams that resulted in a Master Plan.
We hired the best trail builders in the country to create these incredible mountain bike trails.
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