Hiawatha Mountain Bike Trail — Local services in Wallace

More photos of the Hiawatha Trail. Pro tips: Bring a back pack or bike bag for water and snacks. 2.This ride takes at LEAST four hours for beginners and chubby or older folks not in shape. Those on e-bikes can go up and down in that time. Bring sunscreen. There is some shade in the morning but after 12....zip. Glad I brought ours! This is NOT a paved trail. The only paved part is the parking lot. Trail bikes, dirt bikes, e-bikes 1&2 (no 3's), and mountain bikes all do well here! Mostly pack dirt and gravel with some loose gravel on the sides. If you have children, bring them! If they can't ride, then rent a tandum with the little bike on the back! Or bring a pull behind trailer. This trail is mostly flat with slight downhill. Nothing death defying at all. There are no big hills to worry about (although there are some steep embankments to watch with young children ( unless you want to be rid of them by now....jk). If you don't have an e-bike or if you are in shape, you can turn around and go back up. Again, gradual uphill, but still UPHILL. If you do not fit into category above, then you will be shuttling back to the end of the first tunnel and riding back through it to the start. The wait is LONG for the shuttle, so again, bring water and sunblock. The first tunnel in the LONGEST a mile and a half. Use your bike light and stay in the middle of the tunnel. About 3/4 of the way through, there are little "moguls" or little potholes on the right side. Normally, you would ride through and not be freaked out, but remember, you are in pitch dark so they seem scary. Just stay to the middle and don't overcorrect. You will do fine. If you are pedaling at all in the FIRST tunnel, you will come out with a big stream of mud up your backside. So wear a butt cover or go slow. Also, if you are pulling a kidddo in a trailer, then make sure its zipped up in the first tunnel. Otherwise, they will come out with only their eyes showing. We witnessed this. The whole child was camo in mud. The first tunnel is the same tunnel you are dropped off at to finish. Do not let your mind tell you there is no way you can ride uphill. The tunnel is FLAT. You can do it and it is nice and cool (which you will need by then). You got this! Probably the best protip and they DON'T tell you when you get your pass and bike. THERE ARE ORANGE 10 gallon water coolers at four spots on the way down. They are COLD and fresh water to fill your bottles. Please fill your water bottles. There are no water fountains or places to buy water except at the end. There is a hot dog stand at the end where you wait for your shuttle bus. We didn't eat there but you can. They also have drinks. Prepare for childhood school bus flashbacks as you board and ride the bus. You WILL think you are going to die, as the driver flies around blind corners, but you won't ( they have walkie talkies so they know who is coming and when to pull over). Also. It. Is. Hot. And your thighs will stick to the seats and you will smell everyone's sweat and there is no air conditioner, just windows that are down🤣 Get there EARLY ( don't forget the one hour time difference if you're coming from pacific standard time). You have to check in at the resort, and then drive to the mountain parking lot ( still 10 more miles). You'll want to get a good parking spot because you don't want to walk alllllll the way to the car when you're done and tired and hot. Go to the bathroom at the resort. There are four bathrooms, two at the trailhead and end and two in between the start and finish. Check your bike BEFORE you leave the rental. Get on it, switch gears, check your seat, etc. Do this! My hubby had a wonky chain/gears and once you are gone...that's it. No where to help you.

Remember that you love your spouse/partner/sister etc and you chose this together. The heat may try and trick you into being angry and tired but don't believe...

🕶️LOW DOWN🕶️ now and explanations way below, so you don’t have to read it all-🚴‍♀️ 🛤️7 Things to Know🛤️ #1-bring your own light, whether it’s just a head lamp or a clip on for a bike or your shirt.. Hiawatha’s lights are not reliable. Maybe use yours AND theirs🤞🏻 #2-test your rental bike in the area where they are being distributed. I read so many reviews that there are things wrong with the rental bikes and THERE IS! This way you can see if switching gears works or the tires are flat or the chain falls off. #3-Bring a change of clothes for the car ride home and something to store your gear in—YOU and your backpack WILL BE MUDDY (even if you don’t fall off your bike) #4-1.5 miles thru a tunnel is really long and you WILL NOT see both ends of light at once and see only one end of light for a short time. (Think about how far something is that’s a mile and a half away in daylight). If you get claustrophobic, it could be a problem The use of a good light or 2 mediocre mentioned above could make all the difference, imo #5-You have to ride BACK thru this same tunnel. The shuttle drops you off at the mouth and you ride back to the main entrance where your car is parked. This is really a highlight for most people, but not me. #6- There is water all along the trail, YAY, and supposedly Trail Angels who work for the company riding the trails to help out people, (another) YAY………I didn’t see one Trail Angel. #7-Even the “comfort” seats kill your butt and back

🚴‍♀️The story if you care to read-🚴‍♀️ This was a BEAUTIFUL ride. But, I would not do it again. The 1.5 mile tunnel is a highlight for everyone, except me. I found out I am extremely claustrophobic while in the middle of this tunnel. You can’t see either end for a LONG time. I made it out (the first time) with a “whew, I did it” because I was afraid my bike riding skills had totally diminished because I just couldn’t steer in this tunnel. My steering improved 100% when exiting this tunnel and I could see.

🚂Now, every other tunnel along the way were ones you could see each end a the same time except one and it wasn’t too bad.

What was not made clear to me was that the shuttle bus brings you back to the mouth of the 1.5 mile tunnel and you have to ride thru it AGAIN going the opposite direction. . Not at all mentally prepared for this, I did have a panic attack, this time, inside at about 3/4 mile marker. I considered my phone flashlight, but I needed both hands because my steering was so atrocious in the dark) I ended up braking as the bike went for the edge of the ditch, I couldn’t see where I was and fell off in the darkness and muddy wet. My light they gave me to use was useless in this darkness. Two very sweet women helped me get untangled from my bike and pulled me out of the little ditch. They got so muddy helping me (my angels😇 ). They were going to ride with me, but now my legs are jelly and something hurts. I just wanted to walk it out. Speaking of angels, there are supposed to be ‘trail angles’ who actually work for the company riding the trail……I didn’t see one, so thank goodness for the two women🥰. I ended up walking my bike the rest of the tunnel. I do want to shoutout that ALL The employees of Hiawatha company I came into contact with were absolutely wonderful and helpful, and I would hire any of them in a second-except the fantom trail angels-they...

My two kids and I rented bikes for the day. The total cost was $290 for the bikes and the use of the trail. We were told at the start that there would be trail guides along the path if we had any problems. With 5 miles left, one bike tire popped, and there was no one around to help. In fact, we hadn’t seen a single guide or medic on the 8 miles we’d ridden so far. Another rider met us on the path and tried to send help once they reached the bottom, but no one came for some time. We had no cell service to try to reach someone.

Eventually, a medic finally arrived, but had no solutions for getting us another bike. He told us we shouldn't have come so early in the season, since bikes have maintenance issues (which sounded like he was blaming us for riding their poorly maintained bikes). He suggested we could walk back UP the hill a mile or two and look for a replacement bike on the side of the trail. However, we’d passed that area and hadn’t seen any extra bikes.

My teenage son ended up running the last 5 miles to the bottom while my daughter and I rode the two remaining bikes, which weren’t fitted to us. We were nearly out of water by the time we reached the bottom. At the bottom, where we saw around 8 trail guides, a trail guide told us we shouldn’t have left so early (8:30am) because trail guides don’t even start on the path until 9:30. (Then why did they let us begin and tell me there would be guides all along the way?)

I was sent another few miles to speak with the general manager. We were only offered a $45 refund for the broken bike. The general manager told me he got 3 calls about us before we got to the main office, yet no one came to help us. He told me that he couldn't know how my daughter treated the bike; she could have been popping wheelies on it and been the cause of the problem. Sure. She wasn’t. And even his own medic told us we shouldn’t have ridden the bikes so early in the season because of maintenance issues. Plus, how did the rider before us ride the bike?

But even so, they falsely advertised that our trail trip would be secure and assured us we’d have plenty of guides and medics along the way in case we needed help, which we did. Instead, the general manager (Brian) told us we should be thankful that no one was available to help my children and me because it means the trail guides were busy helping others. And wouldn’t we want them to help others? (By the way, we never on the entire 14-mile trail saw any guide helping anyone else).

The experience I had with the various staff members felt demeaning, dismissive, and marked by an utter lack of responsibility. I was repeatedly told we should be grateful… for my son running a trail we planned to bike? For being late to our next activity? For spending money on an experience that was a total flop? For dealing with their gaslighting about how it was our fault that we came early in the season and then dared to start at 8:30am? For the multiple available guides at the bottom of the hill doing nothing (I mean, supposedly helping all the other people? Why did so many people need help if their bikes aren’t the problem?)

The path is beautiful and wonderful, but the customer service...