The Frisco Peninsula Recreation Area continues to expand its vast network of mountain biking, hiking and running trails. 

Nearly two years after completing the high-speed jump trail — Aftermath — Summit County’s McGill Trails LLC has spent the summer steadily working to open a new directional flow trail on the Frisco Peninsula.

Named Wildhack, the new trail will be approximately one-half mile long and will be a downhill-only mountain bike trail. 

According to McGill Trails LLC co-founder Tyler Mitchell, McGill approached Frisco Nordic Center and Trail Manager Pete Swenson at the beginning of the summer season to see if he had any work for the trail building company to complete. 

Not only did Swenson want McGill to complete maintenance work on Aftermath throughout the summer season, but the group of experienced trail builders were also asked to construct a new, downhill mountain bike trail.

Upon arriving at the proposed trail site located on the backside of the Frisco Peninsula Recreation Area, McGill Trails LLC was able to get an idea of what Swenson envisioned the trail looking like.

“It was cool to see the flags they had put out there and the direction they wanted to go,” Swenson said. “We kind of came in and put our own little twist on things. It was really awesome because they kind of let us be free and trusted us to throw our flavor on it.”

On June 24, McGill officially broke ground on the trail and has been working regularly in the area ever since. Unlike Aftermath, which is targeted towards experienced downhill mountain bikers who can maneuver around large berms and jumps, Wildhack will serve as an approachable trail for mainly intermediate riders.

“The idea was to have something a little bit more approachable for younger and beginner-type riders, but also still be fun for those intermediate and advanced riders,” Mitchell said. “It is kind of really a hard concept to create because you are trying to make a broad spectrum of riders happy.”

Over the last several weeks, Mitchell and his team at McGill has steadily made progress on the downhill mountain bike trail. Twisting and turning its way to the far-south side of the Peninsula’s Perimeter Trail, Wildhack has already been rider-tested several times and has promptly received glowing reviews.

While the majority of the trail building work has been completed on Wildhack, McGill and the Frisco Adventure Park are still working on a wood feature that will fly over Eureka Patch. The wood feature is expected to be placed on the trail in the next few weeks, with the trail opening sometime between Aug. 23-30.

“It is a short little sleeper,” Mitchell said. “It will be a guilty pleasure for advanced and intermediate riders and then a fun progression for the beginner and newer riders.”

The Wildhack Trail can best be accessed by taking Crown Point Road to the junction of the Excelsior and Buzzsaw Trails.

Outside of the working on Wildhack, McGill has also helped complete maintenance work on the widely revered Aftermath Trail. Although McGill completed some maintenance work on the trail last summer, the trail sees enough activity throughout the season that it needs a refresh every year.

This summer specifically, McGill has worked to smooth out the brake bumps while also filling holes caused by the chipmunks that call the Frisco Peninsula home. 

“We kind of have a chipmunk problem out there,” Mitchell said. “They are always digging holes in the berms and stuff. We have had to patch that stuff up and have had to smooth out lips.”

Beyond battling fervent chipmunks, McGill has also been challenged with dry conditions throughout the summer. Similar to constructing a sandcastle, trail building and maintenance becomes extremely difficult when the dirt is bone dry. 

For this reason, McGill prefers to complete all maintenance work and major trail builds in the early summer, when the soil is still moist from melting snow or frequent rainstorms.

“It is definitely hard when it is super dry like it always is out there,” Mitchell said. “Typically early season when the snow is melting and we get those late winter sprinkles — helps a lot in terms of getting things buttered back up. It is a lot of work for sure.”

Both Frisco and McGill Trails LLC are grateful for the strong partnership that they have been able to develop over the past two years. Without the shared vision and hard work of both, trails like Aftermath — and the eventual Wildhack — would not exist.

“It is a real pleasure working out there at the Frisco Peninsula, and it is awesome to be a part of their amazing development,” Mitchell said. “It is such an awesome ride center for the county. It has only gotten better over the years and is one of those places where you can ride so many different trails in one little zone and never get bored.”

“We’re really excited to introduce a new downhill trail that will be appropriate for intermediate riders,” Frisco Nordic and Trails lead Mike Melkonian said. “We were working with McGill on this trail and it looks to be a fun one. Come on out and give it a shot once open.”