Trail Kids Mountain Bike Camps

The Mountain Bike Camps are part of the Loppet’s Trail Kids year-round programming. Trail Kids offers half day (8am – 12pm) mountain bike camps for beginner to advanced riders ages 7-13. While embracing the Loppet values of play, stewardship and well-being, these mountain bike camps focus on having fun, meeting new friends, and building a participant’s confidence in riding singletrack trails. Participants will learn in teams with riders of similar ages and abilities as they engage in skill work, destination rides, games, and progressive challenges that reinforce trail riding competency and stewardship. Participants will explore the single-track trails at Theodore Wirth Park and access an extensive network of paved trails for destination rides all while gaining skills they can use for a lifetime! Trail Kids mountain bike camps are instructed by coaches trained in teaching mountain bike skills, games, orienteering, and singletrack riding.

Equipment Needed: All participants will need their own mountain bike, helmet, and water carrier. Mountain bikes need to have both front and back wheel brakes on the handle bars (no peddle/coaster brakes). Kickstands also need to be removed. Tires must have tread and be wide enough to ride safely on mountain bike trails. For more on mountain bike equipment, view the Trail Kids MTB Equipment Guide. Trail Kids does not have the dedicated facilities for storing participant bikes outside of MTB Camp programming time. 

Loppet Bike Rentals: In need of a bike for camp? Trail Kids has a limited number of rental mountain bikes available for an additional fee of $30. If you choose to rent a bike, make sure to select this add-on when you register (as supplies last).

Friend Requests: For safety and equity reasons, Trail Kids does not offer friend requests as part of registration. The mass quantity of friend requests made it impossible to accommodate them all and greatly impacted safety and group dynamics. We would love to allow everyone to practice with their friends, but if we cannot accommodate all friend requests, we cannot offer them to everyone. We encourage riders to embrace the opportunity to form new friendships through our programs!

Swag: Trail Kids T-shirt and water bottle for all participants available at no additional cost. In an effort to reduce waste, TK Swag is listed as an optional “add-on” during your registration. If you’d like your participant to receive this swag please ensure it is selected.

Camp Registration by Ability/Experience

We offer beginner and intermediate/advanced camps on different weeks so we can keep all participants appropriately challenged based on their riding ability. Beginner camps are designed for participants who have not taken a Trail Kids mountain bike program, are new to mountain biking, or are still working to gain proficiency in the fundamentals. See below for descriptions of camps and make sure to read through the Trail Kids MTB Ability Level Guide before registering your child. If your child is new to Trail Kids programs but has prior experience in mountain biking that fits the intermediate/advanced skill levels then feel free to register them for the intermediate/advanced camps.

1. Beginner Mountain Bike Camp: If your child is a true beginner rider with no experience, they should sign up for the beginner clinic. During the beginner mountain bike camp, the participants will be coached on a variety of fundamental mountain bike skills, so they can become safe and confident riders. Skills include:

• •  Ready/neutral position for descending hills
  • Side/Side bike body separation
  • Pedaling/shifting efficiently
  • Controlling speed and braking safely
  • Cornering confidently
  • Handling obstacles and rocky terrain
  • Riding with vision
  • Ratcheting

1. Intermediate/Advanced Mountain Bike Camps: This camp is for riders who have mastered the green/beginner level skills, and are riding at the blue/intermediate, or black/advanced level based on the Trail Kids MTB Ability Level Guide. This camp will focus on more advanced bike skills along with riding some of the difficult single track trails/sections in and around Theodore Wirth Park.

2. All Girls MTB Camp: This camp welcomes female identifying campers of all skill levels to a week long mountain bike camp experience. Beginners: Participants will be coached on a variety of fundamental mountain bike skills, so they can become safe and confident riders along with riding more of the single track trails around Theodore Wirth Park. Intermediate/Advanced: Participants who have taken a past mountain bike camp, Trail Kids program, and who ride at the blue, or black mountain bike skill levels are also welcome to register and will focus on progressing their bike skills along with riding more of the difficult single track trails around Theodore Wirth Park. For ability level guidance, check out the Trail Kids MTB Ability Level Guide. Non-binary and trans participants are welcome to register for this week of camp!

3. MCA Prep Camp - Get Ready to Race: Looking forward to racing with a MCA (Minnesota Cycling Association) Middle school team in the fall? This camp is intended for rising 6th, 7th, and 8th graders looking to develop racing skills. The MCA Prep/Ready to Race mountain bike camp will focus on race oriented bike skills (starts, cornering, climbing, passing, etc.)  along with riding more of the single track trails around Theodore Wirth Park. Participants in this camp should be riding at the blue bike skill level or above according to the Trail Kids MTB Ability Level Guide.

Weather Cancellations

While Trail Kids embraces the belief that the outdoors can be enjoyed in any weather, there are some weather circumstances, including high temperatures, thunderstorms, etc. that can create unsafe or wildly unpleasant experiences for our coaches and participants. We will occasionally cancel or shorten practices due to extreme weather. We make weather calls the day of, 90 minutes before the start of practice. We will contact you via email and/or Team App about adjustments to practices; please do not ask in advance. Assume practice is always running unless you have received an email or a Team App notification otherwise (be sure that you can receive Team App notifications and do not unsubscribe from RunSignUp). Due to the lack of adequate indoor space and additional programs utilizing it already, Trail Kids is unable to shift practices inside the Trailhead on days where we have inclement weather. In instances where practice is canceled due to inclement weather, we do not offer refunds or make up practices. 

Financial Assistance

The Loppet provides financial assistance for those in need. To apply, please fill out this Financial Assistance form. Our staff will be in touch with you with next steps once your application has been submitted. Limitations apply, please see the application form for rules and restrictions.