Sasha Yakovleff checks in after a trip to Colorado’s Trestle Bike Park.
Trestle Bike Park is a tractor beam that continues to draw me back year after year. After moving away from Highland Mountain Bike Park just over a year ago, I have been going through severe bike park jump withdrawal here in Utah. Don’t get me wrong—there is amazing riding to be found anywhere you go here in Utah, but for those of us looking for high speed, large jumps and slopestyle features, our options are fairly limited: Highland, Whistler, build it yourself, and Trestle Bike Park.
Trestle sits at a 10,000-foot-plus elevation in beautiful Winter Park, Colorado. This means that it rains nearly every day, which keeps the dirt in pristine condition. Not many people care for the rain as much as dirt jumpers and trail crews looking to build jump and slopestyle lines, which is definitely something the good folks at Trestle prioritize.
We showed up Saturday morning, and started our day on Rainmaker, a machine-built trail consisting of over 80 jumps. Yep, 80+. Just when you think you are starting to remember each jump on the trail and the random transfer lines that continually pop up, you are hit with even more jumps and berms that just appear and melt together perfectly at trail speed.
We then hopped on No Quarter, another high-speed jump line that also includes some really fun wooden features. No Quarter starts with a few berms into a wood drop, leading into a long dirt double with a wallride on the left side. Wallrides are pretty stock, right? Not this one- this guy comes at you quick, and can be ridden high or low, gap-on/gap-off style. This feature rules, turns out it was a local favorite as well.
After a few jump laps we headed down to the Slopestyle course build for Colorado Freeride Festival. Gary McGrarry (Kelly McGarry) and Tom Hey came across the pond and built a flawless course (as usual), which I was chomping at the bit to ride, but Mother Nature had other ideas and unfortunately delayed the build’s completion until after our visit. Trestle brings in the best riders and builders in the business for events like the Freeride Festival, which helps highlight their commitment and dedication to mountain biking. This can be rare to see at a major ski resort that has other summer attractions and corporate boards to answer to, but helps position Trestle as one of the premier US bike parks.
After some lunch and a few more runs on Rainmaker, No Quarter, and Trestle DH we headed down to Banana Peel. Banana Peel is a full-size slopestyle course open to the public. This is one of the only US slopestyle courses in a lift-accessed bike park that is always open. Most competitive slopestyle courses are built exclusively for events and then torn down immediately. Banana Peel rules! You drop into a few elevated wood wallrides into drops, cruise into a few large jumps including a 40’+ hip over some rocks, and finish with an on/off box into a trick jump. Then repeat and session all day; the lift time is about 4 minutes for this run.
While Trestle is a popular place, and Winter Park is a huge resort, the park still retains a local vibe. We rode all day Sunday with the Trail Crew, who are all welcoming shredders and take pride in their work. No trail crew enduro bikes were seen during our visit- these guys are dedicated to jumps and flow and it is evident in their riding and terrain. We swung into Pizza Pedaler for some apres-riding grub and beverages on the patio, also a perfect spot for tourist-watching in the busy resort village.
Trestle is amazing, and easily accessible for anyone planning a trip- I can’t recommend it enough. Huge thank you to Bob and Steve at the resort, and Kelly and Tom for the hospitality and endless Kiwi banter. I’m counting the days until my return!
