Greater Portland NEMBA is helping with all kinds of efforts to improve the mountain bike scene in Greater Portland. Greg O’Connor photo.
GPNEMBA is on a decade-long mission to develop the Greater Portland region into a world-class mountain biking hub, up to par with the nation’s best. We have incredible resources to work with: varied and glaciated terrain that offers everything from the buff-smooth to highly technical, trails that start at the seashore or within the city of Portland and connect to 500 miles of public trails deep in rural nature preserves, and willing partners at the town and land trust level across the region.
GPNEMBA is working with land managers across Greater Portland to enhance the regional mountain bike experience as well as broader recreation and conservation outcomes. This includes utilizing the best of modern trail design, fundraising, and volunteer recruitment for trail maintenance and trail building. If you’re interested in working with GPNEMBA to enhance mountain bike access and recreational trails in Greater Portland, please reach out to us here.
2025 projects
GPNEMBA has an exciting lineup of projects to announce for 2025, including new work at Windham’s Lowell Preserve and within the Portland Trails network, along with improvements and maintenance in Gorham and Falmouth. We’re excited to share more about them as we get closer to spring.
lowell preserve trail revitalization
In 2025, Presumpscot Regional Land Trust, the Town of Windham, and Greater Portland New England Mountain Bike Association are focusing their attention on the neighboring 300-acre Lowell Preserve in an effort to bring the quality and sustainability of the trail networks across the conservation corridor up to par with that of East Windham. Lowell Preserve is currently host to a mix of wide ATV/snowmobile and old-school technical hand-built singletrack that is in severe need of rehabilitation and reinvestment – especially in order to be more sustainable and resilient in the face of worsening extreme weather.
Modern trail design offers the opportunity to improve navigation and sustainability while making better use of the undulating terrain for a broader swathe of the public than currently enjoy the Preserve, and enhancing the possibility of interconnected “backcountry” recreation between Windham and Falmouth. In 2025, GPNEMBA will begin work on a 3/4 mile machine-built multi-use trail, a ¼ mile hand-built multi-use re-route of the current 8/9/10 trails, 2 miles of new machine-built mountain bike-oriented directional trails, and a 0.85-mile machine-built multi-use access trail from parking lot.
Work with portland trails on the first mtb-oriented trails in portland
Portland Trails’ nearly 100 miles of trails and green space within the city limits of Portland is one of the most impressive recreation & commuter assets of any metropolitan area in the country. Over the years, Portland Trails has worked to increase off-road connectivity between the city’s neighborhoods, providing significant opportunities for non-car commuting and public recreation.
Portland Trails is now partnering with Greater Portland New England Mountain Bike Association to re-invest in the quality of the recreational experience across its trail network – ensuring that Portland residents – especially the city’s youth, 53% of whom are students of color – have access to world-class & progressive recreational trails afforded by modern trail design close to home. We are seeking support to develop purpose-built mountain bike trails within Portland’s urban green spaces, directly enabling accessible cycling programs for youth and all within 1.25 miles of four elementary & high schools with 2,000 students combined.
The two are already partnering to develop a new, volunteer-built 0.75 mile trail in the Fore River Sanctuary, 0.4-mile machine-built “flow” trail, 0.25-mile machine-built technical trail in Evergreen Woods, and other work in Evergreen to improve two technical rock rolls and other terrain in the preserve.
expanding the lavoie bike park at gorham
GPNEMBA will continue working on the expansion of the Lavoie Bike Park, with a growing skills park that will include three different jump lines of progressing difficulty, a series of wooden drops, and other technical features that will build the skills of those already enjoying the pump track and neighboring trails like Knolly Roller.
weekly maintenance to make everything better 🙂
This is just the new new — every week, dozens of GPNEMBA volunteers across Greater Portland are working hard to fix drainage, replace bridges, tune up berms, pile rocks, and do the kind of riding that keeps your favorite trails ripping. This year we’ll be working hard with our volunteers in Gorham, Portland, Falmouth, Windham, and Cape Elizabeth, including supporting the projects listed above. Ready to do the hard yards? Sign up to volunteer with GPNEMBA’s trail crews today.
2024 projects
5 Miles of New Machine-Built Trails at East Windham Conservation Area
The 700-acre East Windham Conservation Area (EWCA) opened in December 2023, combining with parcels east to create the largest recreation and conservation corridor in Southern Maine. GPNEMBA helped build 10 miles of machine-built, multi-use (but very fun for mountain biking) trails. The project was made possible by the Land for Maine’s Future state program, the Town of Windham, a Land and Water Conservation Fund federal grant, and donations to The Presumpscot Regional Land Trust. GPNEMBA anticipates returning to East Windham with our partners to develop additional trails on the property.
Assisting in Design & Fundraising for Portland’s First Bike Park
Just 5 miles from downtown Portland, the city and the Portland Parks Conservancy have partnered to build a new bike park at Riverton Trolley Park. While we have a few jump trails scattered throughout the Greater Portland area, this will be the first dedicated bike park in the region (and in Maine as a whole!) and will include multiple dirt jump & skills lines (from approachable small to big expert) with a variety of drops, jumps, and other skill-building features, a pump track, and a flow trail around the baseball diamond. This will be an incredible venue for everyone from day-one beginners to lifelong riders to build fundamental skills and get some airtime right in Portland! In addition to the bike park, the park will see several additional enhancements, including renovating the entrance and parking lot, making repairs to the Little League field, adding new walking trails, and planting an urban orchard. Support for the bike park came from the Land and Water Conservation, Fund the Maine Mountain Bike Trail Fund, and others.
Organizing volunteers to maintain and improve trail systems across Greater Portland
GPNEMBA has been organizing volunteers in Gorham for years to develop and maintain that town’s growing abundance of mountain bike singletrack, with a huge variety of stellar cross-country riding the result. As of fall 2023, GNEMBA has begun organizing volunteers to take on maintenance and improvements to Blackstrap Preserve & North Falmouth Community Forest in Falmouth, and anticipate committing over 200 volunteer hours to improve the trail systems before winter arrives.
If you’re interested in volunteering to help make Portland-area riding awesome, fill out our volunteer interest form here.
2022-2023 Projects
With assistance from a grant from the Maine Mountain Bike Trail Fund, GPNEMBA was able to secure a multi-month excavator rental, along with the time of talented Maine trail builders, to build out the new Hamblen cross-country network in Gorham, which includes a variety of fun, swooping machine-built descents down a beautiful hillside to the secluded bank of the Little River with huge berms, rollers, jumps, and drops keeping you smiling all the way down.
The same equipment rental grant helped GPNEMBA facilitate the years-long work of local volunteers in Gray to build out the Libby Hill trail system – namely the Libby Thrills trail, which features the largest jumps of any publicly-accessible trail system in Maine. Led by the Holmquist family and shaped by the talented Max Southam of Mt. Abrams Bike Park fame, Libby Thrills is bringing up a whole new generation of riders now able to progress their skills from day-one beginners to advanced airborne experts thanks to the variety of trails in the Greater Portland area GPNEMBA is privileged to support.