The Frisco Peninsula Recreation Area has a lot to offer. From BMX bike jumps, mountain bike trails, Nordic skiing trails, miles of biking and hiking trails, a disc golf course, a skate park, a snow tubing hill and a beginner ski hill in the winter, the peninsula offers an activity that satisfies everyone’s interests.

The recreation area’s offerings just got a little better thanks to a brand new mountain bike jump trail that was officially added to the peninsula on Sept. 21. 

Summit County’s McGill Trail Fabrication has displayed its trail handiwork several times over the last several years, but the new mountain bike jump trail — Aftermath — may be their best work yet.

Building trails across the U.S. for the past eight years, McGill has worked on builds in Summit County such as the Frisco Peninsula’s Perimeter Trail, the Frisco Adventure Park’s Bike Park, Breckenridge’s Wellington Bike Park and a trail system within Silverthorne’s Summit Sky Ranch.

Beyond Summit County, McGill Trail Fabrication has worked on trail projects in Vail, Alabama, Minnesota, Arizona, Iowa, Montana, Arkansas, California and North Carolina.

With Summit County residents Jeff Lehmann, Eric Hitchell and Tyler Mitchell firmly establishing McGill as one of the premiere trail makers in the Rocky Mountain Region over the last 10 years, the town of Frisco once again hired the company for the unique bike jump trail on the Peninsula.

“First, the real credit goes to the Forest Service for being receptive to a progressive downhill trail,” Frisco Nordic center and trail manager Pete Swenson said. “They have been an amazing partner for the last six years now. McGill is one of the contractors that we have worked with in the past and they did a great job.”

With the Frisco Trails Master Plan in mind, McGill, the Forest Service and the town of Frisco worked together to design a second directional bike jump trail within the footprint of the Frisco Peninsula Recreation Area. 

“When we did the master plan four years ago, a big component of that was three directional trails that would pull cyclists that wanted that downhill experience onto those trails,” Swenson said. “A directional downhill mountain bike trail is really the best thing for runners and hikers because it pulls cyclists who want to go faster onto other trails. We wanted to give that segment of the mountain bike community what they were looking for.”

The Frisco Peninsula welcomed Sky Pilot as its first directional bike jump trail, and this summer McGill spent close to four months — alongside the Forest Service and town of Frisco employees — shaping, smoothing and constructing the Aftermath bike jump trail.

“It was pretty much a three-and-a-half, four-month build with everyone involved,” Lehmann said. “You had us with machines and handwork, the town of Frisco helped with a bunch of handwork and the Forest Service was involved with keeping us all on board with their specs. At least 500 man hours. It was a huge project, and we definitely put a lot more in than we normally do because it was for our community.”

Once fully constructed, Aftermath is full of stomach-churning twists, fast descents and jumps that send cyclists flying high into the sky. 

“It is definitely a more progressive trail, more advanced,” Lehmann said. “High speed and eclectic. I would call it an intermediate to advanced jump line with gap features in it. Lots of fun berms and flow.”

Since the half mile trail officially opened on Sept. 21, riders from across Summit County and the surrounding area have relished in the pristine handiwork of McGill and the town of Frisco. Local athletes such as two-time Olympian Taylor Gold and Salomon-sponsored skier Kyle DeLong have both posted videos or photos on their social media of them riding the new downhill trail.

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“The trail has been incredible so far,” DeLong said. “I absolutely love riding it, and was honestly very shocked by the quality of it. I did not expect it to be as good as it was. I was really happy to see something like that built in Summit County.”

Beyond enjoying the trail’s features, DeLong also enjoys the trail because of the accessibility the trail allows. With most mountain bike jump trails being located at ski resorts that have operating hours, Aftermath allows cyclists to access a bike jump line before or after work.

“This is something that I can ride after work,” DeLong said. “At sunset, at sunrise, really anytime you want to. It just makes it even more accessible to everyone in the county. Especially for advanced mountain biking in Summit County, there are not a ton of trails that you can just go out and simply ride after work. It is awesome to have something like that.” 

McGill says they have received the most amount of feedback than they ever had on any trail build they have completed with the feedback being 100% positive and riders consistently sharing their own experience after spinning their wheels down the trail.

Ultimately, the town of Frisco and McGill hope that Aftermath will tie the Peninsula fully together and give everyone an option in terms of difficulty and thrill.

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“It is next level for people, and it is going to continue to progress the younger riders,” Lehmann said. “It is definitely a trail that shows what you can do with big jumps and provide for everybody.”

The construction of the third, and final, downhill-only bike jump trail is expected to take place during the summer of 2025 with other trail projects and maintenance taking place next summer season. 

Riders can best access Aftermath by pedaling up Crown Point Road from any of the Peninsula’s parking lots and then heading down Aftermath towards the Peninsula’s easternmost side. Eventually, the trail exits on the Perimeter trail where riders can turn toward the Summit County recpath and head back up Crown Point Road.  

The Frisco Peninsula Recreation Area is free and open to the public. Guests are asked to follow trail etiquette. The Frisco Peninsula Recreation Area is located at 621 Recreation Way.