Pay Dirt

Gordon Young, a lifelong Vermonter, was devoted to mountain biking as a young man, but work and other responsibilities eventually got in the way. During the COVID-19 pandemic, however, he renewed his passion, traveling around the Green Mountain State to seek out new trails. “I’m on my bike every day now,” says the 59-year-old, who lives in the town of Wolcott, a rural community in central Vermont that is trying to attract more commerce and young families. After losing two major businesses in the past decade, Wolcott saw a rise in unemployment; shuttered storefronts and empty commercial buildings have altered its character.

Rural Revitalization

So when Trust for Public Land protected 734 acres of woods just 3 miles from his house, Young couldn’t wait to take his lightweight Transition Spur mountain bike for a spin there. The property—actually two adjoining parcels—had long been in private hands. Last fall, after negotiating the purchase with both landowners, TPL worked with the town and Northern Rivers Land Trust to acquire and permanently conserve the new Wolcott Community Forest. Now under construction is a 5-mile trail network that will connect to trails on the adjacent Wolcott Elementary School property.

Since the town took ownership, Young has explored the forest, navigating paths forged by wildlife. As chair of the community forest’s stewardship committee, he’s eager to introduce the sport and location to others. “The topography is great,” he says. “There is a really nice variety of terrain. A good deal is steep and ledge-y, which makes it fun for advanced mountain biking. The trails that are being constructed are near the school and will be beginner-to-intermediate.” That means more opportunities for outdoor education and recreation for students and more opportunities for social connection among residents who mostly commute outside of town for work. As more people discover the trail system, those vacant storefronts and properties in Wolcott might find new life as shops, restaurants, or other tourism-focused businesses.

Mountain biking is taking the United States by storm. It appeals to seasoned athletes and adventurous teens alike, as well as just about anyone looking for a serious cardio workout. According to a new report from Trust for Public Land on the economic benefits of mountain biking, the sport is helping to fuel the $1.2 trillion outdoor recreation industry.

In researching the report, TPL collaborated with the International Mountain Bicycling Association on the fiscal impacts of the sport and found that mountain biking tourists spend an average of $416 per visit, contributing to local businesses such as lodgings, restaurants, and retail establishments. Spending per visit varies by trail location and type but ranges from just over $100 to more than $1,000 per visit. Mountain bike trails create employment opportunities: across the 13 locations included in the report, trail networks generated up to 1,626 jobs and $54.1 million in labor income each year.

“Mountain biking offers an incredible opportunity for rural communities to harness their natural assets for sustainable economic growth,” says J.T. Horn, director of the national Trails initiative at Trust for Public Land and a lead author of the report. “With thoughtful planning and investment, trails can become powerful engines of prosperity and well-being.”

Urban Conservation

Rural communities with large forested or mountainous landscapes aren’t the only areas that stand to benefit. Some cities are also looking to activate larger parks with mountain bike trails. And from Vermont to Oregon, the excitement around mountain biking is inspiring a new wave of conservation—and ecotourism. Forests at risk of development are becoming publicly accessible open spaces, enjoyed by mountain bikers but also hikers and birders, trail runners and cross-country skiers.

In Chattanooga, Tennessee, only 10 minutes west of downtown, TPL laid the groundwork for a new mountain biking destination at Aetna Mountain. “We had an option to accept the donation of over 1,000 acres for two decades, but finding the right partner and the right timing for the donation was a challenge,” explains Noel Durant, an associate vice president and the Tennessee state director for TPL. “We kept the dream alive.”

In 2021, the partnership and the timing came together, and TPL transferred the option to buy the property to the Tennessee River Gorge Trust, a well-regarded local nonprofit and longtime TPL partner. Two years later, the group opened the first 4-mile stretch of mountain bike trail, which loops through hardwood forests and over mountain streams. More sections of trail are in the works. “We have a lot of mountain bikers and hikers and, as I say all the time, our outdoor assets are really our greatest competitive advantage in Chattanooga, so it’s fantastic to see these trails opening up,” the city’s mayor, Tim Kelly, said at the time the first phase of trails opened.

Durant and his team in Tennessee are now working on a new 650-acre community forest in the scenic northwest corner of Georgia, just over the state line from Chattanooga. The future Dade County Community Forest, which includes prime mountain bike terrain, would link to an existing 75-mile trail network. “The project delivers a lot of wins for outdoor recreation in general and mountain biking in particular,” Durant says.

Big-city mayors see the wisdom of tapping into mountain bike mania too. In Cleveland, Ohio, the parks department is working with Trust for Public Land and a local nonprofit on a new bike trail planned for Kerruish Park. One of the largest parks in the city at 73 acres, Kerruish is nestled in the Lee-Miles neighborhood, where nearly a third of residents live in poverty.

Trust for Public Land is also collaborating with the International Mountain Biking Association on the Kerruish Park trail, the first in a Cleveland city park. A concept plan shows the trail traversing a heavily wooded section of the park that is currently little used. “There is not a lot of commercial investment in that community, and we see this as a catalytic project that could spark other types of investment,” says Sean Terry, TPL’s Ohio state director.

Equity on Wheels

TPL’s partner, the nonprofit Syatt, believes young people in the community, which is 95 percent African American, deserve access to mountain biking. “Biking is huge here in Cleveland, but folks of color are generally not affiliated with the sport,” explains Ebony Hood who, with her sister, Erika, and their mother, Marcia, founded the group in 2009. “One of our goals is to introduce our community to sports underrepresented in Black and brown neighborhoods. Mountain biking is one of those.” She pointed to a lack of access to trails and to mountain bikes. (TPL is now in talks with a leading bicycle manufacturer about donating bicycles to the park for youth to use.)

This preliminary rendering shows the proposed trail and bike amenities within Kerruish Park. The plan, which is subject to change, could build momentum for further investments and economic activity in the area.

The sisters, too, hope that a new mountain bike trail prompts additional investment in Kerruish Park. Syatt cites splintered benches and bleachers, as well as the absence of bathrooms and concessions. “We don’t want to do a mountain bike trail without addressing other needs,” Erika says.

On the other side of the country, in Oregon, TPL recently completed one mountain bike–inspired conservation project and has another on the way.

Public and Protected

In 2022, TPL acquired a 7,500-acre property on Spence Mountain, 10 miles outside the city of Klamath Falls. The land already had a dedicated mountain bike constituency. That’s because the Klamath Trails Alliance, a local nonprofit, had built an extensive trail network with permission from the timber company that previously owned it. Because the land was privately owned, however, public access wasn’t guaranteed. Moreover, local zoning would have permitted development on the property. Permanent protection of Spence Mountain ensures the region continues to prosper through ecotourism.

After acquiring it, TPL transferred ownership of the land to Klamath County, which operates it as a regional park; the Trails Alliance, for its part, continues to maintain 47 miles of trails. Even before the county took ownership of the land, the mountain bike trails were lifting up the local economy. In 2022, Discover Klamath, a nonprofit that promotes tourism in the county, used cell phone data to estimate that total visits to Spence Mountain numbered 29,800 per year, based on a three-year average. Out-of-area visitors, defined as those coming from more than 50 miles away, represented more than a third of that visitation, with an annual economic impact of $1.8 million.

Next on the horizon: Tualatin Mountain Forest. The 3,110-acre property sits a half hour outside Portland, the state’s largest city. Kristin Kovalik, TPL’s Oregon conservation program director, pulled together several public grants for the purchase and this spring negotiated the $27.5 million acquisition with the timber company that owned it.

In early May, TPL acquired the property and transferred ownership to Oregon State University, which will conduct scientific research there while allowing public access. The Northwest Trail Alliance, which had built more than 30 miles of trails when the land was privately held, signed an agreement with the university and is working with partners to develop a recreation plan.

“Before, only members of the trail alliance could legally use the trail network,” Kovalik points out. “But now the trails will be fully open to the public. This property is also just north of the very iconic Forest Park in the city of Portland. While not adjacent, it’s a natural extension.” At 5,200 acres, Forest Park is one of the largest green spaces within a city’s limits in the United States, offering 25 miles of roads, fire lanes, and trails.

Back in Wolcott, Vermont, Kate Wanner, the Vermont and New Hampshire conservation director at TPL, looks forward to completion of the trail network at the community forest. She secured a $200,000 Vermont Outdoor Recreation Economic Collaborative Community Grant to help fund the trail, as well as two parking lots and signage. The community forest lies next to the Lamoille Valley Rail Trail, which is itself part of the planned Velomont Trail. At 250 miles, the Velomont Trail will eventually connect mountain bike networks across the state and be dotted with 30 huts for overnight stays. An economic analysis recently estimated that the Velomont trail and associated huts would generate between $2.8 million and $5 million in economic activity while supporting 40 to 70 jobs.

A Vermont-based trail-building firm, Sinuosity, is overseeing the community forest’s new mountain bike trail. The company is known for its ecologically sensitive designs, as well as trails that need little maintenance, Wanner notes. “For us in New England,” she adds, “this was the first time we stayed with a project to build a whole trail network after creating a town forest. That’s pretty exciting.”

Lisa W. Foderaro is a senior writer and researcher for Trust for Public Land. Previously, she was a reporter for The New York Times, where she covered parks and the environment.