Detroit Mountain Recreation Area — Attraction in Detroit Lakes

I’ve mountain biked hundreds of trails nationwide and I can honestly say that the quality and diversity of trail at Detroit Mountain is some of the best I’ve ever ridden. (I am biased slightly as I truly believe Minnesota has the best single track than any other state in the US.) There is a trail fee associated with riding here which may be a turnoff to some rogue mountain bikers—I too used to not want to pay to ride trail—however I can tell you that the small trail fee pays back in huge dividends. Immaculately maintained singletrack, clearly marked trail signs, a world class lodge to cool down and reload your water PLUS actual bathrooms and changing area. If you are in western Minnesota it is worth a drive to hit them up. XC, downhill, and enduro trails and possibly the most epic kids natural Play area with a giant Woolly Mammoth tree house (!?!?!!!) to keep those kiddos occupied while you SHRED the gnar! Also side note—if you want to diversify your day, world class trails are only minutes away in several directions: right next door is Mountain View Trail Systems for more technical/old school Minnesota singletrack, and of course the world famous Maplelag Resort 30 minutes to the North with the most infamous technical XC race course in the country (Laddies Loppet) that has hosted some of our nations’ top athletes in the XCO cycling...

We went to Detroit Mountain for snow tubing and had amazing time! Absolutely BEST people work there! So nice and kind! The lady working on top of magic carpet between 4 and 6 pm on 12/29 was so great with kids! She is absolutely amazing! She added fun experience for our entire family! There were 3 runs open but with limited number of people allowed we never stayed in line or waiting for anything. The cabin was clean and nice so as restrooms. We had to get tickets ahead of time and it's ok. The system asks you for date of birth and names of all guests (no photos of them!). Once entered, next time you can pull names from the pull down menu without a need to add their names and dates of birth again. Considering this winter was the warmest with least snow for like hundred years, we were concerned with the conditions we will get but we were wrong. They made these runs full of snow for fun. We liked it so much we are returning...

Well organized ski rental system. Pretty new facility with a mountain feel. Usual sized "mountain" for the upper Midwest. Well groomed slopes that are really wide if not long. Gets a little rough when it's windy on the top. Seem overly strict about going into the trees.

Have well maintained cross country ski trails and a short fat bike loop in the winter as well.

Summer mountain bike trails are fun and well designed. My favorite part are the "kickers" on the trail edges and they should keep adding more. Watch out for the bottoms of corners. They get really sandy after rain and can lead to a quick fall. 8 bucks to ride the trail just for a quick loop seems a lot, but when they are fully open you can spend a day riding the trails with some fun machine built berms that you don't find on volunteer managed trails and that...