A new mountain bike network in the northwest corner of Massachusetts is now officially open for riding.
Purple Valley Trails in Williamstown, Massachusetts celebrated their grand opening on Sunday, October 12.
Purple Valley is building trails on 800 acres at Berlin Mountain in Williamstown.
The mountain bike network currently features roughly five miles of trails. That includes six trails that range from beginner to advanced.
“Some trails are hand built and technical, others are machine built flow. Our goal is to have a broad variety,” said Purple Valley Trails President Bill MacEwen. “At five miles, the network is small, but the quality of the trails is remarkably high.”
MacEwen said Purple Valley’s mid-mountain traverse “The Cirque” is currently under construction, and the team from Backslope Trail Building that is building the trails will be on site again at the end of the month.
Those trails won’t open this year, but MacEwen said they will be ready to roll when things dry out in the spring.
MacEwen said Purple Valley has had success raising funds for the next five miles, so he expects they’ll open at least that much more trail next year.
Phase 2 of the network plan that begins next year aims to not only complete The Cirque—which will act as an artery for fun descents for a full range of skills—but also begin work on connections that will allow riders to complete a loop from the Bee Hill extension.
The long term plan adds an upper artery to the network, opening up over 1,400 vertical feet of prominence—the most in the state—over 20 miles of trail.
