Soldier Mountain opens new mountain bike park Aug. 7-9
FAIRFIELD, Idaho (KIFI/KIDK) - Soldier Mountain will celebrate the grand opening of its new mountain bike park Saturday, Aug. 8 at 11 a.m., although it officially opens to the general public the afternoon beforehand at 1:30 p.m. Friday, Aug. 7.
The resort will open for mountain biking Fridays through Sundays until the end of October, weather permitting. Lift service is scheduled for 1:30-7 p.m. Fridays, 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. Saturdays, and 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Sundays.
Soldier's mountain bike park will be open Labor Day, too. Lift service over the holiday weekend is slated for 1:30-7 p.m. Sept. 4, 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. Sept. 5-6, and 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Sept. 7.
Soldier Mountain is offering guests a 50 percent discount off the regular price of admission to the bike park during its grand opening weekend, Aug. 7-9. Tickets normally cost $39 for adults (ages 18-69) and $29 for youth (ages 9-17). The resort extends seniors (ages 70+), veterans, and military personnel a $10 discount.
Guests who purchase ski passes online for the 2020-2021 season now at soldiermountainseasonpass.com can ride the bike park for free for the rest of the 2020 season. Season ski passes cost $309 for adults (ages 18-69) and $159 for youth (ages 6-17).
Now one of 11 Ski Idaho resorts offering lift-service mountain biking, Soldier Mountain boasts 7.7 miles of gravity mountain biking on four new trails. The bike park was designed and built by Hailey-based Titus Trails and Apex Trail Construction from Park City, Utah, with generous help from Southwest Idaho Mountain Bike Association, Wood River Trails Coalition, and other volunteers.
The trails are made for all skill levels and consist of easy, intermediate, advanced hand-cut, and extreme machine-cut jump trails. Soldier Mountain plans to add a skills park and a longer, hand-cut intermediate trail.
"Having had the opportunity to preview Soldier Mountain's new trails, I am thrilled with the addition of a new lift-accessed bike park in our region," Julian Tyo, a Wood River Trails Coalition board member, said. "The progression built within the network is pitch perfect, with a playful, family friendly green trail and a black jump trail that is the real deal. With a blue jump trail currently in the works by Titus Trails, I'm confident the offering the Soldier Mountain team is creating will appeal to bikers of all abilities."
Guests who buy a lift ticket during the grand opening Aug. 8 get a free dessert. The resort will open its restaurant and bar from noon to 7 p.m. during the event, too. Entrees will include hand-formed half-pound burgers and pork carnitas street tacos, and Hailey-based Sawtooth Brewery will stage a tap takeover in the bar and provide samples of seasonal favorites. DJ Locomotive will spin some vinyl and guests can enter to win raffle prizes for season passes and swag from Giant Bicycles, Idaho Cycles, and Soldier Mountain.
Ketchum-based Idaho Cycles will have its mobile bike studio on hand for guests who have bike repair or tune-up needs.
"We're excited to be opening our bike park," Soldier Mountain's incoming general manager, Paul Alden, said. "These trails are built to world-class standards, and we look forward to being the preferred local mountain-biking destination for riders of all ages and abilities."
Pending U.S. Forest Service approval, Ascent Ventures, a Lehi, Utah, company, will soon complete the purchase of Soldier Mountain.
