The Central Idaho Mountain Bike Association is working on a project in conjunction with the Idaho Department of Parks and Recreation to bring three new mountain biking trails to one of the most popular state parks in Idaho.
Ponderosa State Park is a gem that sits on a peninsula just outside of McCall. It features biking and hiking trails, access to Payette Lake, and scenic vistas in an old-growth forest.
The biking trails here are some of the most beautiful around, but plans are in the works to add beginner, intermediate, and expert trails to the state park.
WATCH| Check out the video to see what riding in Ponderosa State Park is all about
"We want to encourage biking on all ends of the spectrum that keeps people coming back, and that progression wheel keeps turning," said Mason Kennedy, the trails coordinator for CIMBA. "Another one of our goals is traffic flow and creating more loop options for people."
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The intermediate trail will be a flow trail that CIMBA plans to start building in July, with hopes of it being ready for next year after signing a memorandum of understanding with Idaho Parks and Recreation. The flow trail will also be built for adaptive athletes.
"They want to be mountain bikers, and they want to be out there having fun with everyone else," said Kennedy. "To be able to provide that opportunity for people to get out and have fun in a safe environment and progress their skills is super rewarding."
CIMBA is currently working on fundraising for this project, and executive director Tom Helmer says donations are the best way to contribute.
However, they will also be at numerous events this year, including the Boise Mountain Bike Festival, and they have their kickoff party this Saturday in McCall at the Broken Horn Brewery.
"We will be giving away prizes and doing a raffle, so if you're in town, stop in and say hi," said Helmer. "Right now, CIMBA has 400 members, and we are looking for more. If you become a CIMBA member, you get two free day passes in the summer at Brundage and Tamarack, so it is definitely worth your while to become a CIMBA member."
McCall features so many different options when it comes to mountain biking, with differing styles of terrain and difficulty. Three new trails at Ponderosa State Park will add more to the scene and provide another place for the McCall Composite Mountain Bike team to train.
"The mountain biking in McCall or the Payette Lakes region, as we call it, is strong," said Helmer. "There are a lot of folks here who ride every single day."
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