The B-52s can have their own Private Idaho. A growing number of locals will take private mountain bike trails.

From the expansive trail network of Marabou to the wooden step-downs in the quarter-acre back yard of carpenter Clay Schrader, local landowners are creating mountain bike masterpieces in their back yards.Tools of the Trade: Aryeh Copa wielding a quiver of dirt-sculpting utensils to create a private trail. Photo by Corey Kopischke.

The crown jewel has to be “Sandyland” downtown. Previously riddled with horse trails, the 25-acre parcel nohas 4.5 miles of smooth, windy singletrack, complete with a massive teeter-totter and wooden ramps, which owners Sandy and Sandi Horner and friends ride regularly (teeter-totter excepting).

But the trail didn’t get that way overnight. It took years of off-andon- again work to get it up to singletrack snuff. “Don’t underestimate homuch physical labor it takes,” says Sandy, admitting that Sandi deserves most of the credit.

The Horners hired 30-year Forest Service veteran D.J. Walker to set the main trail’s To Air is divine: "Downhill" Donny Leavitt tasting one of several home-made designs. Photo by Corey Kopischke. elevations with an inclinometer, making sure it wasn’t too steep or too shallow. While they used a front-end loader to push piles of dirt around, the majority was plain elbogrease. For that, they enlisted the back and help of mountain bike aficionado Aryeh Copa, who did most of the work with a Pulaski and rake. The Pulaski’s three-inch blade allowed him to dig an 18-inch-deep ditch, clearing the trail of roots, which he then back-filled as he progressed.

“Aryeh got very creative,” says Sandy. “The trails are packed in there pretty tight.” While maps can help, oftentimes your best data for placing trails comes from good old-fashioned legwork. “Usually, the areas are so small that the features you’re building around don’t shoup on maps,” Aryeh says. “The key is to walk the land and get to knoit before you start building. Floand sustainability are the most important things to consider.”

Flomeans the trail’s natural ability to follothe land’s contours and continue seamlessly. Sustainability refers to a trail’s ability to withstand erosion and to drain correctly. “Grade reversals are super important for this,” says Aryeh, who used timbers on certain corners to create turns that drain. “You don’t want water to collect and run down the trail, creating runnels and carrying dirt away.”

And building the trail, adds Sandy, is only half the battle. “Trails get overgrown quickly, so you need to maintain them,” Sandy says. “You need to either open it to the public or have a lot of friends, but you need to get tires on the ground.” Editor’s note: Sandyland is a private trail and is discussed as an example of effective trail-building techniques. Riding it or other private trails without the express permission of the owners is illegal.

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