Trail Kids Beginner Mountain Bike Clinics

These clinics are designed for participants ages 7-13 who have no experience riding single track trails (for programming for 13 and older, check out LCW Juniors programs). If you are new to the Trail Kids program, these clinics are highly suggested before taking one of the six-week evening sessions. Mountain bike clinics will be held in open grassy areas with some single track riding. During clinic practices, participants will be instructed by Loppet Trail Kids coaches on a variety of mountain bike skills, so they can become safe and confident riders.

All participants must be able to safely ride and operate a bike with gears for shifting and two hand brakes on paved paths prior to attending the Beginner Clinic.

Ages: Ages 7–13, no experience or beginners are welcome; we split into different coaching groups based on ability, fitness, and age (for programming for 13 and older, check out LCW Juniors programs). We do not have programs for kids 6 years of age and under, so please do not register them until they turn seven years old.

Equipment Needed: All participants will need their own mountain bike, helmet, and water carrier. Bikes need to have both front and back wheel brakes on the handle bars (no peddle brakes or kickstands allowed). 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.

Loppet Bike Rentals: Trail Kids has a limited mountain bike rental fleet for those who do not have one for an additional fee of $30. If you need 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!

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.