A group of mountain bikers got a sneak peek of the OZ Trails Bike Park on Friday.
The park, with its nearly 20 miles of trails, will open to the public June 12.
But in the meantime, the park’s general manager, Gary Vernon, wants to create opportunities for riders to test-drive the trails.
He said the goal is to “be able to understand what our customers are looking for.”
The most notable feature of the park is the high-speed chairlift, which takes riders up about 300 feet in elevation so they can ride down the “gravity trails.” The trip to the top takes about three minutes from start to finish.
The lift is from manufacturer Leitner-Poma, a brand that’s well established in the ski industry. Ski resorts around the country have built mountain bike trails to generate business during off-seasons.
Each chair seats up to four people, with space (of course) for their bikes.
One benefit of these test runs is figuring out how many people the lift can carry to the top.
Vernon said it looks like the lift can currently accommodate about 1,000 people an hour, but “you really don’t know how many people you can get up the hill until you put them all there.”
To make loading and unloading easier, the chairs detach from the cable at the top and bottom. That allows the chairs in the loading area to slow down while the ones going up and down the hill keep moving at a faster pace.
Vernon said pricing for lift access, memberships and day passes is still being finalized, but he said riding the lift and trails will be “affordable.”
Despite the name “OZ Trails Bike Park,” Vernon said the park is not just for mountain bikers.
The park’s 20,000-square-foot headquarters building will include Ozzy’s Ride and Dine, a new concept from Luke Wetzel and Mollie Mullis, the pair behind Oven & Tap, Superfine Sweets Shoppe and Townie Burgers and Bevvies.
There will also be hiking trails and event rental space.
“People will get married here. There'll be birthday parties, corporate events, and just riding the lift is fun,” Vernon said. “My 86-year-old mother came today and we rode the lift. My wife and her tennis friends are here riding the lift.”
