Harstad Bike Park | the most innovative bike park in Norway
At Harstad Bike Park, where ‘progressivity’ is one of the keywords, you will have the opportunity to try it all – from exciting MTB trails to unique Freestyle and Skills Bike Parks. This year, in 2021, the second phase of the project was completed, where the team of Velosolutions Scandinavia carried out impressive construction work for more than 3 months in the new, modern active recreation area – Harstad Bike Park.
The idea of the Harstad Bike Park was created in 2015 by Harstad Cycling Club (HCK). The goal was to create a safe space for cycling enthusiasts that they can use for both organized and unorganized activities. HCK members worked closely with the local municipality and began more than a two-and-a-half-year process of regulating the area to create a modern bike park of 330,000 m2.
In 2019, HCK partnered with Velosolutions Scandinavia to build the first two asphalt pump tracks – so far the northernmost Velosolutions Pump Tracks in the world above the Arctic Circle. The project was funded by Sparebank 68°Nord, Gjensidigestiftelsen, and Nordenfjelske Bykredittforening together with the Norwegian Lottery system.
Pump Track
The total area of the main Pump Track is ~2000 m2. This special track has two straight rhythmic lines that are great for improving BMX pumping skills and some technical turns to improve coordination and bike control abilities. There are also some unique and hidden transfer lines.
Kids Pump Track
The total area of the small – Kids Pump Track – is ~1260 m2, including a fun children’s loop (37 m long) for the young riders. The main loop is 117 m long. It’s fast and has quite big berms, which are perfect for improving turn technique.
The project was a huge success! Up to a hundred children can be seen on both tracks every day. The tracks are used not only for local training but also for various competitions that are held regularly. Next year, one of the qualifiers for the Red Bull UCI Pump Track World Championships is also planned to happen at the Harstad Pump Track.
In 2020, HCK challenged Velosolutions Scandinavia who created an impressive development vision – Modern Bike Park for the Next Generation. The vision entailed the next project phase of Harstad Bike Park – starting with the creation of new bike trails and ending with innovative Freestyle and Skills Bike Parks. The sponsors were inspired by the idea and supported the concept of the project and its purpose. During the campaign, Sparebanken Nord-Norge allocated 9 million NOK, which creatively involved the whole city. Residents of Harstad raised donations by walking to several specific check-in locations. The campaign was planned to last for 9 weeks, but in just six days the whole city raised the goal of 9 million NOK. With the donated funding, Harstad Cycling Club was able to carry out the planned construction in 2021 with a total value of 23 million NOK.
The long-awaited construction of the second phase began in July 2021 with a focus on 3 main areas – Bike Trails, Freestyle Bike Park, and Skills Bike Parks. The team experienced a variety of weather conditions – strong winds, classic rainy days, and even snow at the end of the project. However, every single day, significant progress was made in the construction process of the Harstad Bike Park.
The most time-consuming part was the construction of bike trails. From the new trail-start location at the very top of the hill, 5 downhill and 2 uphill trails were built, entailing various levels of difficulty – from green trails for families and beginners to black trails for experienced athletes.
Green-Family trail
An easy 2-3 m wide trail with mellow berms and rollers and without steep parts. The total length is ~720 meters. The Green Trail is perfect for mountain bikers of all skill levels and suited for any type of mountain bike. It is a great trail for everyone – beginner or expert, riding with a hardtail XC or a downhill bike. It is built so that it would not cause any problems for younger children, so it is suitable for the whole family.
Light-Blue-Flow and Dark-Blue-Flow trails
Both blue trails are made for flow. They are ~2 m wide trails with berms, some easy-beginner level table jumps, and corners that offer the possibility for the riders to have a more fun ride and to reach a higher speed, compared to the green trail. Both tracks include unique wooden structures (bridge, wooden wallride) designed to encourage riders to progress and develop new skills. The trails are suited for all types of riders – families, and also more advanced riders.
Red-Fun trail
The name says it all – a fun ~1-1,5 m wide, ~370 meters long trail with some natural pavement parts (for example, stones), including berms, banked turns, switch-backs, drops, wooden northshores, bridges, and jumps for a more dynamic ride. It is still suitable for beginners because there are special routes leading the way around these elements. The Red Fun Trail is perfect for riders who want to feel the taste of speed and are seeking more action and adrenaline. The Red Trail is a great place to gain new skills for trail riding.
The icing on the cake – Black Jumpline!
This year, 1/2 of the first downhill trail has already been built. It will be completed next year, together with new black enduro lines. The Black offers an awesome blast of jumps and massive berms with steep descents. Be ready to try out the show-off jump at the end of the black jump line in season 2022!
Green-Blue Uphill
This year, the construction of two uphill trails has been completed, so that riders can easily reach the trail-start of all downhill tracks. It is ~680 m long and surrounded by a forest oasis on the backside of the park. It is a great adventure for everyone. There are also various technical segments on the trail. It is possible to choose an easier or more challenging route, for example, with unique natural rock formations or narrow parts.
E-bike Uphill
The second uphill trail is ~300 m long and winds through the epicenter of downhill tracks. During the uphill trip, it is possible to see almost all the downhill trails, which allows you to see the details of the tracks, learn from others, as well as cheer up friends from the side.
Harstad Freestyle Bike Park – full of creative Velo Features!
The Freestyle Bike Park consists of 20+ unique elements from beginner to expert level – drops, kickers, wallrides, lips, whale-tail, cannon, some dirt features, and pumps on one side of the park, and twists and turns on the other. All features are designed to offer progressively complex challenges and opportunities for everyone. The variety and difficulty of elements are divided into 3 levels – kids, intermediate, and professional, providing everyone with the opportunity to become a skilled rider.
Skills Bike Park area
Located right next to the kids pump track. Skills Park is an environment for children, teens, or adults who want to learn essential bicycle riding skills in safe and fun conditions. The skills park is divided into two difficulty zones, providing a place for young children and beginners to learn cycling skills, as well as a place for slightly more advanced riders who want to develop their skills at a higher level and prepare for the freestyle park. In total, there are ~30 different purposely designed, unique, technical, and challenging wooden / metal and gravel elements in the territory of the new Skills Bike Park. Drop, wallride, lips, berms, turns, swings, rollers, stones, logs – you name it, the Harstad Bike Park has it all! It also includes a modern and exciting addition – a 40-meter-long wooden North shore adventure.
The final woodwork is still in process and being continued by carpenters who arrived at the end of September to create various wooden elements in several areas around the territory – Freestyle Bike Park, Skills Bike Park, and others. Although it has been snowing a few times already, the carpenters have managed to complete the construction of an impressive 300 m2 terrace. It has a wonderful view of the Bergselva River and is a perfect place to relax.
“Velosolutions Scandinavia is a truly amazing team of workers, carpenters, designers, engineers, and marketing specialists. We are amazed at their skills, efficiency, creativity, and how flexible and adaptable they are to collaborate with. It has been an adventure from the very beginning,” Stian Kristoffer Evensen, Harstad Bike Park project manager & Harstad Cycling Club board member.
Next year, the final touches will be added to the existing areas, complemented by various infrastructure elements. On top of that, some new areas will be created, such as a small coffee house. HCK is also working on finding funds for the service house. Next year, woodworks will be actively continued at the trail-start and trail-end points, where innovative gates and surrounding infrastructure objects will be built and installed. The construction will not stop on the mountain trails either – they will continue to spread. Get ready for endless adventures in 2022, when the snow has melted!
More about Harstad
Located on Hinnøya, Norway’s largest island, you’ll find Harstad – a region with an unforgettable nature, local food restaurants with great chefs, original shops, music festivals, an untouched archipelago, and much more. Harstad is home to Norway’s most romantic place to watch the midnight sun and the Northern Lights belt. The city and its region are ready to surprise you at any time! With 24/7 hours of sunshine in summer and mysterious green and purple northern lights in winter, natural phenomena in the Harstad area can be experienced all year round. In addition to the Harstad Bike Park in the Harstad city area, there are also other options for mountain biking enthusiasts. With trails in Folkeparken, bike paths at Storhornet, and off-road and off-track opportunities, full-suspension mountain bikers will have plenty of fun! Check out the Trailforks map to find out more about our Harstad trails.
