North Channel Bike Park new for 2026
by Margery Frisch
As if Manitoulin Island Cycling Advocates (MICA) hasn’t already done enough for cycling and tourism on Manitoulin Island, they’ve gone and done it again. The North Channel Bike Park, MICA’s latest project, in the works since early 2024, is soon to be a reality, with a grand opening scheduled for June 13, 2026.
“The trails are like Euro-style trails that are short and sweet,” explained Maja Mielonen, president of MICA. “There’s a mountain bike trail that’s called ‘Drop In.’ Our slogan is ‘Drop-in - Ride - Repeat,’” she said, laughing. “All volunteers got to name at least one trail and one of the volunteers named the pump track – the Perfector – because it is where you learn how to jump and how to pump and all of that, I’m not a mountain biker, my lingo is not that great,” she said and she laughed again. “We had dozens of volunteers and a builder who really knew what he was doing. There are technical trails, float trails and cross-country trails. There’s green, for beginners, then there’s blue, which is intermediate, there’s the black diamond, for the experts and there’s the double black diamond for the crazies. Our builder’s name is Zane, with a ‘Z’ and one of our volunteers called the double black diamond track ‘Inzane.’” If that doesn’t bring the crazies out to try this park, what will?
The North Channel Bike Park was made possible with both federal and provincial funding, grants totalling $250,000. Once funding was secured, MICA was able to bring Zane Davies on board. Mr. Davies owns Treadscape, in South Bruce Peninsula, specializing in trail development. Stephen Martin, from Kagawong, was hired as their project coordinator and when the snow finally disappeared, they got busy.
Plans being made for the North Channel Bike Park before shovels hit the ground. The location once served as a community ski hill.
This project would not have been possible if not for the support of the Manitoulin Nordic Ski Club, another not-for-profit organization upon whose land the bike park sits. A memorandum of understanding was drawn up, with a 10-year lease agreement. “We worked in collaboration with them, always ensuring they agree with what we’re doing with the land,” Ms. Mielonen said. “We gifted the Nordic Ski Club with a brand-new entrance, with flagstones and we built an entrance roof, with the timber from there,” Ms. Mielonen added. The area is known to islanders as the location of Café in the Woods.
This bike park will offer something for everyone, with the Euro-style short gravity tracks, each graded to various experience levels. The pump track is at the base – the Perfector - where kids can endlessly practice riding the track without pedaling, while adults perfect their skills and beginners can gain confidence and get hooked.
Rebecca Laurenti, an avid cyclist, mountain biker and former member of MICA’s Board, explains how it all came about, “I first approached MICA in 2023 with a vision for a Mountain Bike Park,” she said. “This idea grew out of a larger question I was asking at the time: how can the Island create another space where youth can fully engage with and belong to? I imagined a place that fosters a close-knit group of people coming together simply for the love of riding and the freedom it brings. With the Island already home to a strong youth mountain biking team, (at Manitoulin Secondary School, (MSS), it became clear that there is a real need for publicly accessible trails with decent elevation—something that is currently rare to find. Well, not anymore!”
And let’s talk about the view from the top. The North Channel Bike Park boasts some spectacular sights.
Before the tracks and trails could be set, a lot of preparation work was required in the spring of 2025. The Nordic Ski Club, at one time, had a downhill ski area and the infrastructure was still standing. It was necessary to take down the towers and the cables and the wheelhouses, to safely build the park.
“We’re incredibly pleased with how these trails developed,” said Ms. Mielonen. “We have the park ready to roll. The signs are done and as soon as the snow is gone, we will install them. Everything is in place. We applied to the Northern Ontario Heritage Corporation and received funding for an intern and two summer students for the 2026 season. All the administrative work is in place,” she said. There’s a hope that the Manitoulin Secondary School Cycling Team might test out the park before its opening, for a little bit of that feedback before the public takes to the trails, but nothing has been confirmed.
Though there’s potential to grow and expand, because the property is large, MICA is taking a wait and see approach. They’ll wait to get feedback this summer, before moving forward. “Rome wasn’t built in one day,” Ms. Mielonen said.
MICA has been providing cycle maps of the island since 2012. They are into their 6th edition and Ms. Mielonen said, “With the most current map, which includes the bike park, we’ve been able to partner with Escarpment Biosphere Conservancy—they became a business advertiser. Now our map also features, in addition to the 850 kilometres of road cycling and the bike park, 14 of the EBC signed hiking trails. And one of them, the Bingaman Trail, is on the same location as the mountain bike park. So, you can come and the cyclists can cycle and you can hike, if you’re not a cyclist. And of course, there’s the chalet where you can sit and have your snacks. Maybe later, we will offer food, but for now, we just want to feel it out and grow organically into what will become an incredible facility, with a lot of opportunities.”
Maja Mielonen is an unstoppable force when it comes to cycling tourism.
Since 2010, MICA has worked tirelessly to enhance the cycling experience on Manitoulin Island. “We’re the reason there are paved shoulders for the safety of all road users on Highways 6, 540 and 551,” Ms. Mielonen said. With their Alvar Cycle Tours, their two-day Manitoulin Passage Ride, as well as the MODEM Tours (all of which can be found on their website), MICA has provided their business partners with about 20% of their annual income through cycle tourism. The organization has received numerous awards in both cycling and tourism. They were the recipient of the 2019 Wheels of Change Organization of the Year award at the two- day Share the Road Bike Summit in Toronto. Also in 2019, MICA received the Industry Leader Product Development Award in recognition of the outstanding efforts towards the growth and development of the Northern Ontario tourism industry. And in November 2024, in North Bay, they were given the Tourism Innovator of the Year Award, for creating an innovative product to “promote and enhance tourism in their local community, region or the province of Ontario.” This award recognized MODEM—Manitoulin Outdoor Digital Experience Museum—a tour guide of story driven tours with well over 100 points of interest on the Island, written and produced by MICA, partnering with APP Developer Driftscape. “We engaged seven Indigenous and non-Indigenous story writers to create stories, focussing on such things as flora, fauna, history and myths,” said Ms. Mielonen. This outdoor digital tour can be experienced either by cycling the island or taking the tour in your vehicle. More information about MODEM is available on the MICA website, where you will also learn about E-bike rentals and cycling maps can be purchased at the Information Centre in Little Current, the Manitoulin Hotel and Conference Centre, the Boutique on the Chi-Cheemaun Ferry and the Sheguiandah Museum.
June is a busy month for MICA, in addition to the Grand Opening of the North Channel Bike Park on the 13th, their Passage Ride is on the 6th and 7th of June (passage from Tobermory to South Baymouth on the Chi-Cheemaun) and the Alvar Tour starts on the 14 to the 19th of June, which is an all-inclusive cycle vacation. The Alvar Tour can be booked on the MICA website: https://www.manitoulincycling.com/
“We have cycling jerseys featuring the artwork of local artist Duncan Pheasant. They can be purchased on our website, or you can get them at Breakaway Sports in Little Current,” Ms. Mielonen said.
Look for MICA at the Outdoor Show in Toronto February 20th to the 22nd, they will be there to further promote the North Channel Bike Park. Check them out at Booth #542. And, once the snow…and the black flies leave the island, get ready to roll, or pump, or try the ‘Inzane’ track; come to the Grand Opening of the one and only dedicated bike park on Manitoulin Island, June 13.
