Best known for its cross country ski trails, the Timberland Hills trail system has been a year-round multi-use area for years, but new mountain biking trails now expand its offerings for outdoors enthusiasts.
The Timberland Hills Foundation partnered with One Track Mind Foundation to create professionally built single-track bike trails at the Timberland Hills Recreation Area northwest of Cumberland near the intersection of Barron, Burnett and Washburn counties. On July 1 the bike trails opened to the public.
“It’s been multi-use for a long time, but it’s exciting to be able to offer something new and something we think is going to be a very big draw for the area,” said Louis Muench, president of the Timberland Hills Foundation.
One Track Mind was also involved with the Trek Trails project at Mount Telemark Village in Cable.
Timberland Hills Foundation is an organization that grew out of the Cumberland Area Ski Touring Association. CASTA was founded in 1987 and has maintained both cross country ski and hiking trails, a portion of which is a part of the Ice Age National Scenic Trail.
Last summer One Track Mind worked with Pathfinder Builders and Dirt Candy Design to build the trails. Timberland Hills is located within Burnett County Forest land and the cutting of trees and trail building isn’t allowed until after July 15 each summer because of oak wilt precautions, Muench said.
Nine miles of trails were completed by November, but the trails couldn’t open to the public until proper signage was installed and infrastructure improvements were made.
“We improved the parking lot, we put a new vault toilet in and we’ve got a lot more things coming,” Muench said.
Additional trail building will continue this summer and a total of 18 miles is expected to be completed by late September. A grand opening event is schedule for Sept. 28.
“It’s been a couple of years in the works to the point we’re at, and there’s a long ways to go because the plan is to have 25 miles done in the next 2-4 years,” Muench said.
On the current 9-mile system there are all-abilities trails and exploration trails. A map of the bike trails can be found at timberlandhills.com. Green trails are best for beginner to intermediate riders, and are situated well to be used by families and mixed-riding groups. The green trails are also build wider to allow use by adaptive bikes.
The blue Exploration Trails range from light touch narrow single-track and longer distance back country loops for intermediate riders. The next phase of the project will include adventure trails for high-level riders. Gravity zones and bike playground are added features of the trail system.
“We don’t often get to support the development an entire mountain bike trail system from scratch on a canvas as extraordinary as Timberland Hills, with its rolling topography, hardwood expanses and natural lake-country beauty,” said Tracy Paradise, CEO and president of OTM. “This trail system will be a true destination for all riders, abilities and anyone who just loves to be on their two wheels.”
Coming off a winter without hardly any snow, it was Timberland Hills’ worst ski season ever, Muench said. The addition of bike trails looks to create an additional economic boost for the area. A high percentage of those who use the ski trails come from out of the area, Muench said, and he expects the same for the bike trails.
“Once it’s complete it will be a long enough trail system that we anticipate people will want to come and stay for 2-3 days,” Muench said, “which is when you start to see the economic benefits — people are staying in the area and lodging, shopping and eating.”
More information on the bike and ski trails at Timberland Hills can be found by visiting timberlandhills.com .
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