BIG SKY – In the 2014 Riders’ Choice Awards online survey from mtbparks.com, participants voted Big Sky Resort’s bike park as one of the top five in the Northwest region. The results were published on the website in April.
The rider-voted awards crown the top lift-served mountain-bike parks in eight separate regions across North America: Western Canada, Eastern Canada; and the Northeast, Mid-Atlantic/Southeast, Midwest, Southwest, Northwest and Rocky Mountain regions of the U.S.
More than 3,000 riders participated in the online survey and provided ratings in more than 20 categories covering a variety of aspects from “Best Base Area Amenities” to “Best Technical Trails,” to the all-encompassing, “Riders’ Choice Awards.” Big Sky Resort was up against 15 other lift-served mountain bike resorts.
“I think Big Sky is an amazing hidden gem for mountain biking,” said Michelle Good, mtbparks.com founder. “Perhaps the fact that [Big Sky Resort] is pushing hard to put Big Sky on the map with more trails and more variety is what fired up riders to give [them] their vote.”
Last summer’s additions to the resort’s biking terrain included Easy Rider, a new machine-built beginner downhill trail, providing subtle rollers and gentle berms at a low angle; Otter Way, a two-mile, single-track flow trail in the woods connecting the Mountain Village to the Moonlight area terrain; and Soul Hole, an advanced downhill trail completed toward the end of the season.
Improved bike transportation was also installed on the Swift Current chairlift with more efficient and safer bike carrier trays holding up to three bikes for access to 14 downhill trails. Sturdy bike carriers were installed on the Explorer chairlift for the new beginner trail.
Two weekly locals’ youth downhill biking programs will be offered this summer, once a week for four weeks, with the first program beginning on June 29, and the second on August 3. The clinics are recommended for 8-year-olds and older, and riders will need their own bike and gear. Registration will be available through Basecamp or Different Spokes Bike Shop, both located in the Big Sky Resort Mountain Village Plaza.
Visit bigskyresort.com/mountainbiking for mountain bike season passes and bike carrier ticket information.
