Dodge Ridge is opening one of its lifts to mountain bikers, an industry trend aimed at increasing off-season visits.
It will start at 9am on Saturday 13th August on the Motherlode 3 chairlift and run on weekends until at least October. Cyclists will pedal to about 6,600 feet, descend to about 7,400 feet, and descend again.
Dodge already allows hikers, picnickers and disc golfers to ride the lift in the summer with permission from the Stanislaus National Forest. They and the bikers will make way as early as November for the main business of skiing and snowboarding.
Several ski areas around the country offer assisted bicycle with chair liftsome of them in Sierra Nevada.
Single-day tickets for Dodge’s opening season will cost $49 for riders 13 and older and $39 for younger riders. Season passes are $199 and $139 respectively, with discounts for people who also have winter passes.
Dodge Ridge Mountain Bike Park has beginner to lower intermediate trails to get you started, totaling about five miles. He plans to add intermediate to advanced trails later this summer and into the fall, nine miles in total.
Dodge will also rent mountain bikes, with fat tires and sport-appropriate shocks, along with helmets, knee and elbow pads.
Both days of the opening weekend will feature stands by bike dealers, yoga classes and bounce houses. Every Saturday and Sunday will feature live music, food and drink at the Base Camp Bar + Grill, plus games of cornhole, ping pong, foosball, shuffleboard, horseshoes, giant Jenga and other games.
More information at www.dodgeridge.com.
Dodge is the closest ski area to Modesto, on Highway 108 about 30 miles east of Sonora. It was family-owned until its sale a year ago to Chicago-based Invision Capital.
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John Holland covers news on farming, transport and general tasks. He has been with The Modesto Bee since 2000 and previously worked at newspapers in Sonora and Visalia. He was born and raised in San Francisco and has a journalism degree from UC Berkeley.
