This summer’s flooding caused logs, debris, and sand to pile up on large sections of cross-country mountain biking trails in Traverse des Sioux Park near St. Peter and Kiwanis Park in Mankato.

Several Gustavus administrators and staff, including Director for Leadership and Community-Based Service Dave Newell, Associate Director of Core Services Dan Oachs, and Unix Systems Administrator Paul Hanson help manage the Traverse des Sioux. Along with the Chaplain’s Office, these staff members helped organize and direct a day of trail blazing on Sunday, Sept. 7. This event was part of the ELCA service opportunity called “God’s Work: Our Hands.”

“The City of St. Peter was looking to find ways to better utilize the Traverse des Sioux Park land, and when we came along with a proposal to build trails, it was a good fit between what we wanted to do and a way for the city to use the land.”—Dave Newell

Before the continuation of trail blazing projects this fall, volunteers had to clear large sections of trails in both areas.

“Some sections of trail were barely damaged at all, and others were buried under a few feet of new sand. Most of the reconstruction work was in moving large piles of sticks and logs that floated into a bunch and landed on the trail,” Oachs said of the trails located near St. Peter.

Kiwanis Park was hit harder.

“This year’s flooding put us back about two months. Prior to the flood, we were close to having both loops open and ready to ride. The flood created a lot of additional work for us. There was a large amount of mud, sand, and debris left on the trail. In addition to the clean-up work, large areas were so saturated they remained muddy until very recently,” President of Mankato Area Mountain Bikers (MAMB) Lucas Raatz said.

Such volunteer cleanup efforts are rather new, as both the Kiwanis and Traverse des Sioux trails were built beginning in the fall of 2013. As of now, there are five miles of useable trail in Kiwanis and six miles in Traverse des Sioux.

In recent years, the Mankato area has seen a surge in popularity of mountain biking.

“MAMB was formed in 2011. Our initial and current goal was to bring local Mankato area cyclists together to advocate for, build, and maintain mountain bike trails in the area. Prior to the formation of MAMB there were few choices for quality riding in the area,” Raatz said.

The development of both trail systems was the product of demand and a partnership between locals and their respective public agencies which didn’t know what to do with unused park space. While MAMB largely works with Blue Earth County, “The City of St. Peter was looking to find ways to better utilize the Traverse des Sioux Park land, and when we came along with a proposal to build trails, it was a good fit between what we wanted to do and a way for the city to use the land,” Newell said.

With a relationship between mountain bikers and local government now established, the potential for the mountain biking community’s growth is looking good.

“We have plans for at least four more miles of trails to be built in the near future to give us somewhere around ten miles of trails. If that all goes well, I can imagine us seeking permission to construct even more trails in the St. Peter area,” Oachs stated.

Even in Mankato, MAMB is expanding its trail management duties to Mount Kato trails, according to Raatz. He also stated that the Kiwanis trails need some touching up. Following their completion, a new trail could be on the way.

But the plans don’t stop there. MAMB is looking to become a chapter of the International Mountain

Bikers’ Association (IMBA), according to Raatz.

“This is a very exciting step towards the future, as IMBA is a widely-known organization which fights for mountain bike advocacy across the nation, as well as internationally,” Raatz said.

Now is a better time than ever to check out the mountain biking trails in the area. While the loops are open to year-round to riders with fat bikes (using four-to-five inch-wide tires for better handling in the snow), pleasant fall weather will be gone quickly.

“The more people we have using the trails, the better,” Newell urges.

If you’d like to volunteer, MAMB hosts trail work days every Thursday.

“Anyone is welcome to join a trail work session: no experience is necessary. MAMB will provide the tools and direction. We have had several people who do not even ride bike show up for trail work,” Raatz said.

Newell also maintains a mailing list for those who’d like updates on the Traverse des Sioux trails. More information is available on the Traverse des Sioux and MAMB Facebook pages, as well as the MAMB website.

-William Metcalf