16 Jul A Friendly Heads-up RE: TRAIL STATUS
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ATTENTION –
PLEASE CLICK HERE for 2022 Trail Status Update
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Following Post Published July 2021:
Thank you for planning your trip to the Harbor and for your interest in our Mountain Bike Shuttle Service!
We’ve compiled the following “Transparency Report” for your review prior to your arrival and/or purchase of a Shuttle Day Pass. In short, we are indeed up and running and still guaranteeing our usual 10 to 20 minute maximum wait between lifts to the top!
SPECIAL NOTE: It has been AWESOME to encounter compassion and understanding from the majority of folks throughout this rather topsy-turvy period of uncertainty. Our customers’ loyalty never ceases to amaze us, and please be aware all this is “just a hic-up in the evolution of the trail system”… We can assuredly say the future of Copper Harbor mountain biking is bright with many fantastic projects and plans on both the near and far horizon!!
Many thanks for your patience and support!
TRAIL STATUS UPDATE:
As you may or may not already be aware, the Copper Harbor Trails Club has been diligently working to navigate trail access variables, stemming in large part from the transition process of property ownership and insurance/liability concerns. That said, we’re happy to say MORE THAN 32+ MILES of epic singletrack is open!! PLUS, the lower portion of Garden Brook Trail has been rerouted – YAY!!
Do know that the biggest hitters in the State of Michigan and the continental United States are working every possible channel to assist in finding ultimate resolve for the roughly 3 miles of Black/Double-Black Diamond gravity/shuttle trails are yet to be opened. You may refer to CHTC Trails Status for a map and additional details, along with this helpful Trail Forks map showing the ever evolving East Bluff Bike Park (and when you zoom-out the Keweenaw Point Phase II).
ULTIMATELY, THE FOLLOWING IS HOW OUR SHUTTLE SERVICE MAY BE IMPACTED (please note: details on trail status are ever evolving, often changing day-by-day, so do not hesitate to call us for the most up-to-date information, 906.289.4303)
- Best case scenario: All of this will be resolved by the time of your trip! In which case, our Shuttle service will do our usual Mountain Lodge and Brockway drop-offs to access approximately 20 miles of intermediate/advance/expert downhill trails… with the understanding that Overflow will remain closed for reconstruction, that Downtown has been removed from the trail system by a private landowner, and that this same landowner has converted ~3 miles (e.g. Stairway to Heaven, Here We Go and Der We Went) to hiking only.
- Worst case scenario: Those with Day Shuttle Passes will have unlimited drop-off to ~16 miles of intermediate/advance trails, including ALL of the Brockway Trails (Flow/Daisy Duke, Garden Brook, Woopidy Woo, Raptor Ridge and On The Edge) and the Mountain Lodge down-bound trails (e.g. Red Trail, Dancing Bear, Mango, Simeh, Dza Beet, Say Hello, Ma Maki, Paul’s Plunge)
TRUTHS TO KNOW & HELP SPREAD (DON’T FALL VICTIM TO FALSE RUMORS!)
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- 32+ miles of epic, Copper Harbor singletrack trails are OPEN
- Our MTB Shuttle service is providing unlimited drop-off to approximately 16 miles of intermediate/advance trails
- ~3 miles of Double Black Diamond trails are YET TO BE OPEN (i.e. Overflow, Flying Squirrel, Danimal and Downtown)
- ~3 miles of trail are now HIKING ONLY (i.e Here We Go, Der We Went and Stairway to Heaven)
- New gravity trails are actively being built and opened at the East Bluff
- An incredible new cross country trail on State property connecting Summer School and the Keweenaw Point Trail Phase II is under construction and will soon be ready to ride
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VAN UPDATE:
As if trail access issues and social media firestorms resulting in unfounded panic & unfortunate cancellations weren’t enough, in mid-June we received a “notice-of-termination” from our commercial auto insurance carrier. Apparently the 2020 Michigan Auto-Insurance Reform altered commercial coverage availability for 15-passenger vehicles such as our shuttle vans.
We’ve had three insurance agents going above the call-of-duty to solicit potential carriers, and thus far they have not yet found any companies that will provide coverage for our existing vans.
It’s an under-statement to say this was an incredible BLOW and surprise — the MTB Shuttle comprises more than 20% of our revenue and more than a 1/3 of our loyal customer-base.
With that, while the wheels are still in motion to keep searching for a carrier to insure our 15-passenger vans, in the interim we’ve purchased two 7-passenger “mini-shuttle vans” that are insurable! (NOTE: With our new insurance policy, seatbelts are required and we’re no longer able to provide coverage for the equipment/bikes of others).
As a friendly heads-up, we’re able to haul the same amount of shuttlers as we were in 2020 with reduced-capacity – meaning we have our usual 10 to 20 minutes maximum wait between pick-ups!!
COVID-19 PROTOCOL UPDATE:
- STRONGLY recommend advanced online reservations to guarantee availability.
- Driver and customers required to wear facemask when in the van as long as CDC Guidelines dictate such on public transportation (please bring your own mask, otherwise you may purchase one in our shop… we are no longer providing paper masks).
- Customers advised to “Dial Down the Rad Factor” to try anything new or outside their comfort zone so as to avoid contact with first responders and unnecessary use of medical resources.
- Windows opened for optimal ventilation when weather permits.
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