Maybe you’ve heard of the Chequamegon Mountain Bike Competition? It’s a 40-mile “drag race” from Hayward to Cable, ripping by way of the Birkebeiner ski path within the sprawling 1.5 million acre Chequamegon-Nicolet Nationwide Forest in northern Wisconsin.
Whereas that annual occasion might have put the world on the map, it’s the huge path community that’s acquired a current enhance in mileage (and enjoyable!) because of the brand new Trek Trails at Mt. Telemark Village that makes it price a go to.
Centered across the Hub, it’s the world’s first purpose-built circulate trails and bike park, but it surely’s merely the icing on the cake right here.
In case you’re searching for a quaint however epic MTB trip spot, you’d be exhausting pressed to seek out one thing as distant but developed as Cable, Wisconsin. Right here’s what it’s essential to know, and why you must go…
The Bike Park & The Hub
Our go to, which, full disclosure, was lined by Journey Wisconsin’s tourism/advertising fund, began at Mt. Telemark, then expanded into surrounding trails developed and maintained by CAMBA. In complete, there are 100s of miles of singletrack unfold all through the higher space, however there’s a lot between Cable and Hayward to maintain any rider entertained for days.
We began at Mt. Telemark Village, a newly constructed middle that serves because the hub for year-round actions.
Impressively, or just because the winter climate and distant location make it much less prone to abuse, the Hub’s loos and showers are stored open and accessible 24/7/365. Wanna night time experience, then clear up, then camp? Bikepacking by way of and simply have to clean up? They make it straightforward and cozy to just do that.
Mt. Telemark was as soon as the native ski hill, however the ghosts of the lifts and decaying elevator shafts from the long-gone resort are the one reminders. Instead is a groomed bike park with gentle climbs resulting in a spiderweb of downhill choices. From tough and rocky to bermed circulate path, there’s one thing for all tastes and skills right here.
And e-bikes are welcome, making brief work of the roughly 300 ft of elevation acquire. What the mountain lacks in top it makes up for in well-built, session-worthy trails that may simply fill a day.
Begin your day at The Hub with espresso and breakfast at Backroads.
And while you’re performed, hit New Moon North bike store for a beer. The Hub additionally has a seasonally-open Trek retailer, and each bike outlets supply leases and all of the gear you want (or forgot).
Talking of Trek, they’re a giant supporter of One Observe Thoughts, the group behind the park’s 17+ miles of “Trek Trails powered by OTM”.
And people trails are actually, actually enjoyable. There are leap traces, circulate traces, and technical, pure traces. And there are “inexperienced” XC loops all through that serve each as straightforward trails and return loops to carry you again to the climbs.
The descents are lengthy sufficient to be difficult, however brief sufficient to session, making it straightforward to follow sections or simply hit all the things in half a day.
As a bonus, there are enjoyable connectors that faucet into the CAMBA trails, too, with two nice loops – Evenflow and Ojibwe – letting you add 9 miles of XC using to a park day. And people hook up with longer trails that head east or south, making Mt. Telemark Village an ideal beginning and stopping level for larger rides, too.
For anybody not into using, there are 5km of paved rollerski paths and plenty of mountain climbing trails, plus out of doors seating if they only wanna chill and skim.
CAMBA Trails
If lengthy, point-to-point singletrack rides are extra your velocity, there’s no scarcity of these. CAMBA boasts 130+ miles of singletrack all through northwestern Wisconsin, and far of it’s related. Cable, WI, is a central level on the path map, however for those who’re searching for a bit larger metropolis, Hayward is about 25 miles south by street (or 40-ish miles by path).
Each cities allow you to leap straight onto the path and experience for so long as you need. Select from lengthy out-and-backs, or experience native “clusters” for loops. Or mix them for actually massive days.
My last day of using was the longest. Kristi dropped me off at Camp 38 trailhead, simply south of Mt. Telemark’s bike park and the encircling trails I’d ridden the 2 prior days.
I mixed Movement Mama –> Seely Cross –> Makwa –> Hatchery Creek for slightly over 30 miles of using. Beginning with an almost-full battery and even handed use of Eco and Path modes, I completely timed a whole draining of the Ari Nebo Peak’s battery rolling into the Hatchery Creek Trailhead.
It’s exhausting to say which I favored higher, the bike park or the CAMBA trails. Every of the 4 trails I rode had their very own persona, providing completely different terrain, completely different construct kinds, and completely different surroundings each 5-8 miles.
The sheer quantity of trails and distances between trailheads imply it’s unlikely you’ll run into crowds. I additional mitigated this by using late within the season. In case your dream using journey is considered one of solitude, Wisconsin’s a great spot for that outdoors of race weekends…the Chequamegon 40 and its MTB fest are a part of the Lifetime collection, so it attracts a giant crowd.
Tucked in the course of woods are treats like bermed sequences with fast return routes so you are able to do them once more…
…and the occasional characteristic to spice issues up.
All trails are properly marked, too, each contained in the park and alongside the CAMBA trails, making it straightforward to navigate. Lots of them criss cross the Birkie path, too, supplying you with slightly style of the place people cross nation ski through the winter (and the place the Chequamegon 40 takes place…it’s not on the singletrack!).
After three days of using, I felt I had an excellent sense of the world, but additionally like I’ve solely scratched the floor. Regardless of visiting weeks after many of the leaves had fallen, the paths remained principally clear and quick…little or no leaf browsing available, which was good. Extra on that beneath.
One other refreshing shock had been the buildings alongside the path. These public services have loos, seating and tables, and typically even quick, free WiFi, and so they’re simply plopped alongside the path at varied trailheads. It doesn’t matter what time you’re rolling by, chances are high they’re open and clear, which is an unimaginable useful resource. Some even have impediment course-style playgrounds for off-the-bike expertise coaching (or simply entertaining non-riding household and mates).
Earlier than this journey, Wisconsin wasn’t actually on my radar. Now, I wish to come again and discover extra. I’ve bought at the least 80 extra miles of path to experience, and I can’t wait to do it. Extremely advocate placing this in your listing of locations to experience.
The place to Keep, What to Eat
We stayed in two completely different spots throughout our go to. The primary was Dwelling Base, a small constructing with adventure-minded design completely positioned within the woods at Mt. Telemark Village.
Outdoors is a communal fireplace pit, bike wash, and restore station with lights and Park Device stands. There’s additionally a screened in picnic space giant sufficient for a number of teams to share.
Cabins are easy, however thoughtfully designed. Concrete flooring are good for all-season use, and there’s a drain and heater proper contained in the entrance door. Slushy fats bike? No drawback, simply roll it in and the snow will soften off and drain away by the point you get up. A kitchenette allows you to warmth meals and water, and bunk beds hold everybody cozy. Simply be sure you order the sheets-and-towels bundle, or carry your individual…they’re not included within the base worth.
The following spot was ROAM Base Camp, positioned in the course of the woods midway between Hayward and Cable. If you wish to hop on the CAMBA trails and experience all day in a single course then attempt the opposite means the following, that is the spot for you.
Tiny off-grid cabins face into the forest and pack in quite a lot of sleeping…as much as six or seven folks can slot in every. However after I say “off grid”, I imply it’s fully off the grid. They’ve their very own energy generator and wood-burning water heater. So, there are lights, however there aren’t any shops within the cabins to cost issues up (they’ve choices for these with CPAP or different medical units that want energy, however you’ll wanna cost your telephones in your automotive). Sadly, meaning there’s no e-bike charging on website.
That mentioned, for those who actually wish to disconnect, that is the spot. The coin operated showers (carry a couple of bucks for the quarter machine) have nice water strain, and there’s a wood-fired sauna you possibly can gentle up, too. In addition they have tent campsites out there, and their very own personal entry trails to the Birkie, so it’s straightforward sufficient to experience (or ski) immediately from camp.
In fact, for those who’re right here, you’re in the course of Nationwide Forest and might be able to discover a spot to boondock, too. There aren’t a ton of spots (at the least not proven on onX), however there are quite a lot of forest service roads to discover for those who’re into overlanding. For the much less adventurous, Hayward has loads of customary chain inns (and a hospital…with it’s personal public, beginner-friendly singletrack loop!).
When it’s time to eat, we discovered a number of native gems. Seize stone-oven pizza from The Rivers Eatery, whose entrance is tucked away behind a ebook retailer.
It’s a preferred spot, so count on a wait throughout excessive season, however no worries…there’s an incredible number of beer on faucet and the partitions and ceiling are lined in bike stuff to entertain you. An enormous out of doors patio offers you area to roam and hang around whilst you wait, and the pizzas are definitely worth the wait.
Save room for a special sort of pie, as a result of immediately behind Rivers Eatery is Tilly’s Pies.
Based by Trudi Rebsamen, spouse of late professional bicycle owner Steve Tilford, to honor the mountain bike nationwide champion’s reminiscence (he liked pie).
Tilly’s sells unimaginable home made pies, however solely on sure days. Test her web site prematurely and get there early for the very best choice…we walked over whereas ready on our pizzas and grabbed the final couple of items earlier than she closed for the night time!
Gasoline up for the following day’s experience at Cable Cafe, and be sure you ask what the day by day particular is. We lucked out with pumpkin spice pancakes, accompanied by a giant veggie omelet simply to be secure. Strike up a dialog with the locals and chances are high they’re concerned within the native path constructing efforts or Chequamegon MTB Fest.
Down in Hayward, end a experience at Important Road Tacos. It’s not fancy, however the very best Mexican meals often isn’t, and this was fairly good. Head over to Offended Minnow Brewing for the one brewery within the space, which reportedly has strong meals choices, too. There’s additionally a Backroads Espresso right here for the following morning’s reboot.
In case you’re staying at ROAM Base Camp, the Sawmill Saloon is an area watering gap with respectable meals and a cool ambiance. Locals additionally really helpful Velo Cafe and The Portage in Cable, and Angler’s Bar & Grill for brewpub fare (and a bowling alley) in Hayward.
Gravel, Seasons, & Different Issues You Must Know
Need to make per week of it? Deliver your gravel bike, too. These a whole lot of miles of Nationwide Forest service roads make for nice gravel using, with nearly no vehicular site visitors on them. You could possibly experience for days and barely contact pavement.
We visited from October 18-21, which is just about the top of mountain bike season right here. Nights had been chilly, and we might have lucked out on the climate through the day. It was a little bit of a bet that we thankfully gained.
Summer time is nice if college schedules dictate your journey plans. That mentioned, locals say September is right. Climate is cooler, the black flies and mosquitoes are principally gone, ticks are going dormant. If the point out of bugs scares you off, sorry, it’s only a actuality of many states all through the northern midwest and central areas. Deliver repellent with DEET or Picaridin and also you’ll be high quality. That, and keep on the path and out of the comb.
The opposite gamble with coming late in October is restaurant availability. A number of in Cable, which already has a really restricted provide, had already closed or had restricted hours and days. Hayward is greater and has extra choices, although.
The profit to coming in early fall is you’ll probably get the very best of the leaves altering colour. We had a beautiful palette of yellow from the poplars, but it surely’s positively peak leaf peepin’ season in late September to early October.
What’s the Greatest Bike for the Space?
I rode the Ari Nebo Peak, a light-weight e-mountian bike with 150mm fork and 140mm rear journey. It turned out to be the right possibility for combining bike park rips with all-day pedals. I subbed in a carbon PNW handlebar and F&B carbon wheels to save lots of a little bit of weight, ending up at ~42lbs for an XL. Not dangerous, and with the mid-powered help, it made the climbing straightforward and helped me discover extra miles of path.
In case you’re sticking to the CAMBA trails, their analog Sign Peak (120/120) is a light-weight XC ripper. And for those who’re solely there for the bike park, the La Sal Peak (analog, 170/170) or Timp Peak (eMTB, 170/170) could be a bit extra playful on the descents. However for those who’re there for all of the issues, the Nebo Peak is a goldilocks bike for giant days with a number of selection.
Able to go?
Hit the hyperlinks all through this story for extra assets, and observe @birkiebike @mttelemarkvillage @OTM_foundation and @cambatrails for the most recent from the world. Large because of Journey Wisconsin for bringing us to the world, we’ll be again!