Loppet Trail Kids

Mountain Bike Programs


The Loppet Foundation :: Programs :: Loppet Trail Kids :: Trail Kids: Mountain Bike Programs

Trail Kids Mountain Bike Programs are part of the Loppet Foundation’s Trail Kids year-round programming. 

Trail Kids offers three sessions of six-week mountain bike programs for novice to advanced riders. Participants ages 7-13 will explore single-track trails while gaining skills they can use for a lifetime (for programming for 13 and older, check out LCW Juniors programs)! The focus of the mountain bike program is to have fun, meet new friends, and build confidence riding the single track trails.

Female-identifying, trans, and nonbinary youth seeking to ride only with others identifying as female, trans, or nonbinary can sign up for our Girls Rock Mountain Bike Program. *Nonbinary and trans participants are welcome to join any offering in which they feel most comfortable. Participants ages 13 – 18 years old can join the Loppet Cycle Works Juniors program.

Those who have no experience mountain biking on singletrack trails should take one of our Beginner Mountain Bike Clinics before taking one of the six-week evening sessions

Registration based on ability: *Participants new to Trail Kids with no mountain bike experience should attend a Trail Kids Beginner Clinic prior to doing a 6-week session.

When registering your child make sure to indicate their ability level as described in the Mountain Bike Ability Registration Guide.

During practice sessions, participants will be coached by trained Loppet coaches on a variety of mountain bike skills so they can become safe and confident riders. Fundamental Skills include:

  • Ready/neutral position for descending hills
  • Side/Side bike body separation
  • Pedaling/shifting efficiently
  • Controlling speed and braking safely
  • Cornering confidently
  • Handling obstacles and rocky terrain
  • Riding with vision
  • Ratcheting

Over the course of the session, coaches observe and evaluate participants ability levels based on the Trail Kids MTB Skill Level Guide.

Registration *New for 2024*

Trail Kids will no longer offer priority registrations for returning Trail Kids families. This change will create opportunities for more youth and families to get involved in Trail Kids programming. We appreciate your understanding as we adapt our registration process and we look forward to continuing to provide you with high quality, fun, and accessible programming. Additionally, the 2024 Trail Kids Mountain bike sessions registration will not be a lottery. We are returning to registration on a first-come, first-served basis.

Registration FAQs: For answers to many common registration questions please visit our Registration FAQ page

Ages/Ability: Ages 7 – 13, beginner to advanced abilities welcome; we split into different coaching groups based on ability, fitness, and age (for programming for 13 and older, check out LCW Juniors programs). We do not have programs for kids 6 years of age and under, so please do not register them until they turn seven years old.

Equipment Needed: Participants will need their own mountain bike, helmet, and water bottle carrier to participate. We do not provide rental bikes for our six week sessions. Bikes need to have front and back wheel brakes on the handle bars (no peddle brakes or kickstands allowed). Tires must have tread and be wide enough to ride safely on mountain bike trails. For more on mountain bike equipment, view the Trail Kids MTB Equipment Guide.

Friend Requests: For safety and equity reasons, Trail Kids does not offer friend requests as part of registration. The mass quantity of friend requests made it impossible to accommodate them all and greatly impacted safety and group dynamics. We would love to allow everyone to practice with their friends, but if we cannot accommodate all friend requests, we cannot offer them to everyone. We encourage riders to embrace the opportunity to form new friendships through our programs!

Mountain Bike Session 1 – Monday/Wednesday

  • Coed or Girls Rock offerings available!
  • Dates: May 6 – June 12 (no practice Memorial Day)
  • Days/Time: Mondays and Wednesdays 6 PM – 7:30 PM
  • Cost: $252
  • Location: The Trailhead (meet at team flags east of the Trailhead)
  • Equipment needed: Mountain bike, helmet, and water bottle carrier *must meet guidelines in the Trail Kids MTB Equipment Guide
Registration Closed

Mountain Bike Session 1 – Tuesday/Thursday

  • Coed or Girls Rock offerings available!
  • Dates: May 7 – June 13
  • Days/Time: Tuesdays and Thursdays 6 PM – 7:30 PM
  • Cost: $275
  • Location: The Trailhead (meet at team flags east of the Trailhead)
  • Equipment needed: Mountain bike, helmet, and water bottle carrier *must meet guidelines in the Trail Kids MTB Equipment Guide
Registration Closed

Mountain Bike Session 2 – Monday/Wednesday

  • Coed or Girls Rock offerings available!
  • Dates: June 24 – August 7 (no practice the week of July 1-5)
  • Days/Time: Mondays and Wednesdays 6 PM – 7:30 PM
  • Cost: $275
  • Location: The Trailhead (meet at team flags east of the Trailhead)
  • Equipment needed: Mountain bike, helmet, and water bottle carrier *must meet guidelines in the Trail Kids MTB Equipment Guide
Registration Closed

Mountain Bike Session 2 – Tuesday/Thursday

  • Coed or Girls Rock offerings available!
  • Dates: June 25 – August 8 (no practice the week of July 1-5)
  • Days/Time: Tuesdays and Thursdays 6 PM – 7:30 PM
  • Cost: $275
  • Location: The Trailhead (meet at team flags east of the Trailhead)
  • Equipment needed: Mountain bike, helmet, and water bottle carrier *must meet guidelines in the Trail Kids MTB Equipment Guide
Registration Closed

Mountain Bike Session 3 Offerings

Registration for 2024 Trail Kids Session 3 offerings will open on Thursday June 20th at 9am

**New for Session 3**

Trail Kids 6-week program offerings for Session 3 will meet ONCE a week. While it is preferred that riders with no single track experience take a Beginner Mountain Bike Clinic before participating in the 6-Week Sessions, we are accommodating new to mountain biking riders in the 2024 Session 3 offering.

Mondays

  • Dates: August 19, August 26, September 9, September 6, September 23, September 30 (NO PRACTICE LABOR DAY)
  • Days/Time: Mondays 5:30-7pm
  • Cost: $140
  • Location: The Trailhead (meet at team flags east of the Trailhead)
  • Equipment needed: Mountain bike, helmet, and water bottle carrier *must meet guidelines in the Trail Kids MTB Equipment Guide

Wednesdays

  • Dates: August 21, August 28, September 4, September 11, September 18, September 25
  • Days/Time: Wednesdays 5:30-7pm
  • Cost: $140
  • Location: The Trailhead (meet at team flags east of the Trailhead)
  • Equipment needed: Mountain bike, helmet, and water bottle carrier *must meet guidelines in the Trail Kids MTB Equipment Guide
Registration Closed

Mountain Bike Session 1 – Monday/Wednesday

  • Dates: May 6 – June 12 (no practice Memorial Day)
  • Days/Time: Mondays and Wednesdays 6 PM – 7:30 PM
  • Cost: $252
  • Location: Elm Creek Singletrack Trailhead (meet at team flags)
  • Equipment needed: Mountain bike, helmet, and water bottle carrier *must meet guidelines in the Trail Kids MTB Equipment Guide
Registration Closed

Mountain Bike Session 1 – Monday/Wednesday

  • Dates: May 6 – June 12 (no practice Memorial Day)
  • Days/Time: Mondays and Wednesdays 6 PM – 7:30 PM
  • Cost: $252
  • Location: Ridge Cliff Park (meet at team flags)
  • Equipment needed: Mountain bike, helmet, and water bottle carrier *must meet guidelines in the Trail Kids MTB Equipment Guide
Registration Closed

Financial Assistance and Sibling Discounts

Financial Assistance: Trail Kids provides financial assistance for those in need, up to 100% of the registration cost. To apply, please fill out our Trail Kids Financial Assistance Application. We will follow up with you with instructions on how to register at a price that is manageable for your family. Applications for programs that start two weeks or less from the date of submission will not be approved.

Sibling Discount: For those families who have three or more participants in the Trail Kids program we will given a fifteen percent discount code. Please email trailkids@loppet.org for more information.

Refund Policy

The Loppet will issue a full refund of the program fee (or rental fee) minus the original processing fee up until 6 weeks before the program starts. Between 6 weeks and 4 weeks from the program start date, a 50% refund will be issued. Between 4 and 3 weeks from the program start date, a 25% refund will be issued. There are no refunds for any cancellations within less than 3 weeks of the start of a program. During the program, if your child has a medical issue that makes it impossible to participate, we will issue a prorated refund minus the processing fee. If the Loppet cancels a program, a full refund will be issued. For instructions on how to request a refund, click here.

A Note About the Data We Collect

The Trail Kids Adventure Mountain Bike Race is part of the Loppet Foundation’s Trail Kids year-round programming. The race series is included in the program registration fee for the Wirth location only.

Our Trail Adults program was developed around our Trail Kids program, but it is for adults only. This program is offered at the same time and location as our Trail Kids programs, so you can drop off your child then go and join your Trail Adults team. We will teach you the same skills and games your kids are learning in Trail Kids. This program is not limited to those of you with kids in Trail Kids.

All registered Trail Kids families will receive a 15 percent discount code to be used for the adult mountain bike skills session. A code will be emailed to all families following the session registration. Click here for more information on these Trail Adult Programs!

For more information or questions about our summer programs contact the program director at trailkids@loppet.org.