News & Stories
Groundbreaking Ceremony Celebrates Construction of The Trailhead
Through a partnership with the Minneapolis Park and Recreation Board (MPRB), the Loppet Foundation officially broke ground on The Trailhead building at Theodore Wirth Park with a celebration on June 6th.
A crowd of supporters – including staff and leaders from the MPRB and the Loppet Foundation, along with volunteers, donors and youth – attended the event at the site of the new building.
Photo: (Left to right) MPRB Superintendent Jayne Miller, Sen. Bobby Joe Champion of Minneapolis; David Dayton, co-chair of the Loppet’s Trailhead Capital Campaign; Loppet Foundation Executive Director, John Munger; Anthony Taylor, Loppet Adventures Director; Youth from The Loppet Foundation.
Located just south west of The Clubhouse (1301 Theodore Wirth Parkway), The Trailhead is part of the Master Plan for Wirth Park, which calls for an area devoted to lifetime activities like cross country skiing, trail running, mountain biking and hiking.
The 14,000-square-foot building is an $11.6 million effort which will serve as a jumping-off point for year-round outdoor activities. It will function as a place for outdoor enthusiasts of all ages, experience levels and backgrounds to come together and enjoy the outdoors in the MPRB’s largest park. The grand opening of The Trailhead is slated for January of 2018.
Inside the building, a large central area and a café will be a place where people can gather with their friends and families as they come to enjoy the park. The large gathering space will also be available for events. A bike and ski shop will offer park users equipment to purchase or rent as well as supplies for their outdoor adventures. With a strength and conditioning room as well as locker rooms and public restrooms, The Trailhead will serve as a health club of sorts where the equipment is the natural world. The building will also house the offices of the Loppet Foundation.
The Loppet Foundation will offer cross-country ski and mountain bike lessons as well as equipment rental. The Trailhead project also includes the creation of a skills learning area that will be used for instruction and a staging area for cross-country ski and mountain bike events. Other site improvements include additional parking and an outdoor patio, and the project will add approximately four miles of mountain bike event trails and increase snowmaking capabilities.
See photos from the groundbreaking here.
