A dirt road to economic gold?

Burke, just north of St. Johnsbury and home of Burke Mountain Resort, has always been a ski town, locals say. But in the last decade, the sport of mountain biking has taken hold, helping to drive the local economy.

“We’re more busy in the summer now than we are in the winter,” says Ann LaChance, who has owned the River Garden Café since the mid-1990s. “People keep coming out. We’ve seen children who started out visiting here in their parents’ backpacks who are now 13, 14 years old, coming out here to bike.”

Spurred on by the efforts of Kingdom Trails, a nonprofit group formed in 1994, Burke now has more than 100 miles of multi-level trails. What was once a quiet mountain town for occasional summer visitors has been transformed into a much-talked-about destination for hard-core mountain bikers and novices alike — and a model for the rest of Vermont.

“The mountain bikers are more profitable now than the skiers and snowboarders,” says Stephanie Zimmerman, who works at the East Burke general store.

Mountain biking — with its various skill levels, plethora of shiny, high-tech gear, and endless challenge — has captured the imagination of outdoor enthusiasts in much the way skiing did in the mid-20th century. It’s been good business in states such as Wyoming, Utah and, now, Vermont.

Stowe hopes to cash in on the action. Through the efforts of the Stowe Mountain Bike Club and others, the Ski Capital of the East is banking on the next big thing: the Vermont Ride Center.

The ride center is a 50-mile trail network envisioned by the Vermont Mountain Bike Association and Stowe Mountain Bike Club. When completed, the ride center will connect Cotton Brook, Trapp Family Lodge, Adams Camp and the Sterling Forest with Little River State Park in Waterbury. Last month, the Stowe Land Trust bought 258 acres of forest on Cady Hill, between Main Street and Mountain Road; mountain biking will be one of the primary uses for the land.

With a season running from April to late fall, mountain biking is a sport that could help Stowe build its summer business.

“Mountain biking is huge,” says Ed Stahl, executive director of the Stowe Area Association. “We think, from a business standpoint, this is probably the fastest-growing new summer activity in the next decade.”

Popular sport

About 40 million Americans mountain bike each year, according to the Outdoor Industry Association.

As trail networks spread throughout the country, studies have tried to quantify what the sport means for local economies.

A report by the University of Wyoming estimated that the trail system in the Jackson Hole area adds $18 million to the economy per year, including 114 jobs.

Patrick Kell, southwest director for the International Mountain Bike Association and former executive director of the Vermont Mountain Bike Association, points to examples around the country where a well-built trail system has been a boon for rural towns.

For example, a 30-mile trail network in Rayston Lake, Pa., brought 8,000 visits in its first year.

“There are definitely really significant economic benefits to a little village or a town when they really embrace the sport,” he says.

Growing interest in the sport has a multiplier effect, boosting businesses in a town, he says.

“It’s people paying to camp, or paying to stay in a hotel, or getting gas in town,” Kell says.

Demographically, mountain bikers are “very appealing for tourism,” says Laura Parette of the Waterbury Tourism Council. They are “fit and have a disposable income as they invest in quality bikes, and that often translates to bikers enjoying tourism amenities” such as restaurants and brewpubs.

Like skiing and snowboarding, mountain biking draws a hardcore, affluent clientele willing to shell out upward of $2,000 for a bike, and hundreds of dollars on gear.

“The demographics are not that much different” from skiing and snowboarding, Stahl says. “Both of those sports have an extreme audience and market. It’s actually more upscale than golf — some of these bikes cost more than a set of clubs. You get people who become just as passionate about it as skiing.”

Ardent, gear-clad riders from Quebec, Massachusetts and New York are often seen in Vermont, but the sport is also increasingly popular for families.

Tim Tierney, a former Stowe resident and executive director of Kingdom Trails, points to his organization’s diverse trail system, which includes beginner and advanced terrain for both families and for experienced riders, and even trails that people can ride down after they and their bikes ride the lifts up Burke Mountain.

“There are trails for all levels of ability,” he says. “It’s built with the tourist in mind.”

Like ski trails, the terrain in Burke is divided into green circle (beginner), blue square (intermediate) and black diamond (advanced) trails. To help fund the trail staff’s payroll and a growing marketing budget, the organization charges adult riders $15 for a day’s pass; $75 for a season.

Tierney said the average rider is in his or her 30s, with a 65-35 percentage split between men and women.

Stowe potential

Stahl thinks Stowe, with its network of hotels and its proximity to Interstate 89, has potential to become a base for mountain bikers trying out trails around the state.

So far, Stowe is still in the “evolving” stages of becoming a destination for bikers, he says.

“East Burke has done a great job, and I think the Stowe Mountain Bike Club has done an outstanding job,” he says.

Stahl says the key to building the sport in Stowe will be to cater to both new and experienced bikers and to families, to get hotels to book multi-night stays, and to build amenities, such as stations where bikers can wash their equipment and store it safely.

Marketing Stowe’s existing attractions will also be important.

“They may decide to go zipline over at Smuggs if they come here to mountain bike,” he says. “They might even play golf.”

Tierney said his organization’s success stems from supportive landowners who granted access to trails, dedicated volunteers and enthusiasts, high-quality trail building, and a town that embraces and encourages the sport to grow.

“It takes a whole community,” he says. “The reason for our success is, if you build it right, they will come.”