Welcome to October! Leaves are changing, days are getting shorter, and that signature New England fall crispness is creeping into the air. We still have five more weeks of riding on the schedule, so dig those flannels out of the closet and come get your laps while supplies last.
The 2023 Season Pass early bird sale is now open, and 2023 Season Passes will be available at the lowest possible price through closing day (November 13). Season passes are valid for the remainder of 2022 and all of 2023!
Keep reading this park report for more information about fall hours, trail updates, and some fridge-worthy Central Park progress pics.
October marks the end of Thursduro uphill nights, but there are three more weeks of Wednesduro! Freedom Trail opens to uphill access from 3:30pm to 8:30pm on Wednesdays. Keep in mind that none of our trails are artificially lit: as it starts getting darker earlier, please make sure that you’re coming prepared with your own bike lights!
As is tradition, the fine folks of Team Granite will be commemorating the final Wednesduro of the season (October 26th) with a little party in the lodge. They’ll have lots of prizes to raffle off: this year, their proceeds will be donated to our local NEMBA chapter to assist in the ongoing trail construction at Veterans Memorial Recreation Area in Franklin, NH. Be sure to stop by!
OCTOBER LIFT HOURS
Mon-Wed: Closed*
Thu-Fri: 10am-5pm
Sat-Sun: 9am-5pm
*The lift will be open 9am-5pm on Monday, October 10th for the holiday!
Don’t forget that day passes booked online in advance are discounted!
Out on the hill, Trail Crew has been keeping busy with regular late-season maintenance on top of a laundry list of projects. Last month ropes dropped on our latest brand new feature, located on Lower Threshold. It’s been a few years since we introduced a feature of this size and difficulty to the hill, so needless to say we’re pretty stoked about it.
The crew has also been steadily working through a list of wooden features that are due for a rebuild, most recently replacing the wooden bridge on Hellion and spicing it up with a couple of new rollers.
And if all that wasn’t enough…progress in Central Park has been accelerating! The most notable development this week? The actual carpet has been installed on the surface lift. Here’s what it’s looking like over there right now:
Once complete, the new Central Park will feature a green, a blue, and a black downhill trail in addition to an area designed for strider bikes.
Machine work has been completed for the green trail and is almost done on the blue trail, meaning that both will soon be ready for finishing hand work. The black trail is flagged and ready for work to begin in the coming weeks, and work has already begun on the strider area.
Central Park is not projected to reopen to the public until next season, but we’re so excited to share it with you once it’s ready. This has been a dream several years in the making, and we’re thrilled to see it get closer and closer to reality. Shoutout to our trail crew and our ops crew for making it all happen.
That’s all for now! If you haven’t already, be sure to mark your calendars for the annual S’Ender Bash, which will be held on Saturday, November 12th. This year’s event will feature live music from Vinyl Tap, with all proceeds going to support spinal cord injury research at Wings For Life. Costumes are strongly encouraged to match this year’s theme: All of Us in Wonderland.
More details and RSVP options coming soon, but in the meantime we hope you’ll remember…we’re all rad here.
DON’T MISS OUT:
Fall Apparel: The Flagship Store has lots of new designs in stock! Shop for flannels, crewnecks, hoodies, button-downs and more
Bikes for Sale: The Highland Bike Shop is selling off a selection of our rental fleet! Browse available bikes online or call (603) 286-7677 x 112 for more information
2022 Freebird Slopestyle Series: Watch the Stop 3 recap video here
Rampage Viewing Party: Join Mutt Society at Smitty’s Cinema in Tilton for a livestream of the event
