A bicycle on a ski lift? Dodge Ridge adds to its summer offerings near Pinecrest
Dodge Ridge is opening one of its ski lifts to mountain bikers, an industry trend aimed at boosting off-season visits.
It will kick off at 9 a.m. Saturday, Aug. 13, on Motherlode Chairlift 3 and operate on weekends through at least October. Bikers will step on at about 6,600 feet, get off at about 7,400 feet, and ride back down.
Dodge already allows hikers, picnickers and disc golf players to ride the lift in summer under its permit from the Stanislaus National Forest. They and the bikers will make way as soon as November for the main business of skiing and snowboarding.
Several ski areas around the nation offer chairlift-assisted biking, some of them in the Sierra Nevada.
Single-day lift tickets for Dodge’s kickoff season will be $49 for bikers 13 and older and $39 for younger ones. Season passes are $199 and $139 respectively, with discounts for people who also have winter passes.
The Dodge Ridge Mountain Bike Park has beginner to lower-intermediate trails to start, totaling about five miles. It plans to add intermediate to advanced trails later this summer and in the fall, nine miles in all.
Dodge also will rent mountain bikes, with the fat tires and shock absorbers suited to the sport, along with helmets, knee pads and elbow pads.
Both days of the opening weekend will feature booths staffed by bicycle retailers, yoga classes and bounce houses. Every Saturday and Sunday will offer live music, food and drink at the Base Camp Bar + Grill, plus cornhole, ping-pong, foosball, shuffleboard, horseshoes, giant Jenga and other games.
More information is at www.dodgeridge.com.
Dodge is the closest ski area to Modesto, off Highway 108 about 30 miles east of Sonora. It was family-owned until its sale a year ago to Invision Capital, based in Chicago.
