After a two-year public comment period, the U.S. Forest Service has cleared the way for construction of a lift assisted mountain bike park at the Timberline Lodge and Ski Area Complex.
The ruling came in a public notice approving an amendment to the special use permit held by RLK & Co., which submitted a proposal for the Timberline Mountain Bike Trails and Skills Park to the Forest Service in 2010. RLK’s proposal calls for using the resorts lifts to carry riders to the top of a 17-mile mountain bike trail system crossing ski trails and forested areas with the Timberland Ski Area.
The project generated more than 1,200 comments from the public, including letters and e-mails from environmentalists opposed to it and mountain biking enthusiasts who supported it. The Forest Service said it addressed many opponents concerns in its Environmental Assessment, which requires project design elements that would prevent erosion and damage to vegetation, as well as watershed restoration projects to correct pre-existing sedimentation issues that would be implemented concurrently with the bike park and trails.
RLK has already contracted Gravity Logic to design and develop the mountain bike trail plans. Gravity Logic created the Whistler Mountain Bike Park, which is widely regarded as the gold-standard by which other mountain bike areas are measured.
Forest Supervisor Christopher Worth ruled that the project is consistent with the Mt. Hood Forest Plan and the Timberline Master Development Plan and will help the Mt. Hood National Forest continue to provide an array of recreation opportunities to various age groups, skill levels, and interests, the Forest Service said in a press release announcing its decision.
“Timberline Lodge and Ski Area were envisioned by its founders as a place where Oregonians would enjoy the benefits of four season active recreation, in the world-class alpine setting represented by Mt. Hood,” Worth said in a statement released by the Forest Service. “FDR (Franklin Delano Roosevelt) amazingly foresaw this potential opportunity when he dedicated the lodge 75 years ago.”
RLK, which has operated Timberline ski are for more than 50 years, plans to build out Phase 1 of the bike park early next summer and open it in the last summer. Full operation is slated for Summer 2014.
A handful of ski area operators have announced plans for similar projects since 2011, when Congress passed the Ski Area Recreation Opportunity Enhancement Act, which expanded permitting rules for ski areas on U.S. Forest Service land to allow summertime recreation in a bid to generate year-round tourism.
