PRESQUE ISLE, Maine — In between the Maine Potato Blossom Festival in Fort Fairfield and the Northern Maine Fair in Presque Isle, the Nordic Heritage Center holds its annual Nordic Trail Festival celebrating mountain biking and the outdoors lifestyles at one of Aroostook County’s thriving four-season trail networks.
The last weekend in July — July 27 and 28 — the Nordic Trail Festival returns for its 14th annual event. What started as a low-key gathering of mountain bike enthusiasts at a new trail network has evolved into one of Aroostook County’s successful summer events drawing people from near and far to enjoy biking, hiking, trails, food, beer and music at the Nordic Heritage Center.
“The event has grown and really become something that people from all over look forward to,” said Mike Chasse, one of the organizers of this year’s event.
Mountain biking has grown in popularity in the last decade, and the Nordic Heritage Center has a strong base of local people who regularly ride the more than 20 miles of bike trails. The Nordic Trail Festival brings those bikers and others from outside the region to compete in various races.
”It’s really a big life style sport here that people really enjoy,” Chasse said.
The Nordic Heritage Center also serves as a destination for hiking, trail running and even low-impact walking, in addition to the winter sports of skiing, biathlon, snowshoeing and fat tire biking. The festival also is meant to be a fun weekend for both competitive racers and non-experts who want to enjoy a summer weekend in northern Maine.
“One thing we want to focus on with the Trail Festival is there’s the competitive aspect, but there’s also a really big community aspect,” Chasse said. “We really want people to know that it’s not just competition. As much as anything, we just want to see a whole bunch of people out there. It’s all about living healthy lifestyles and being outside.”
The festival is free to attend, with costs for the various competitive races, including 6 hour races and 6 hour relay races.
It kicks off Friday afternoon and evening, when camping opens and a party is held at the adjacent Quoggy Jo Ski Center, where a downhill bike race is held. The next day features a full slate of youth and adult races, as well as children’s games and events, food and craft beer and music into the evening.
“We’ve tried to partner with local people,” Chasse said, adding that Tony and Sherry Sullivan of Presque Isle’s Governor’s Restaurant will be providing food. Music in the evening will feature artists Stephen Lewis, the Brad Hutchinson Project and Travis Cyr.
Chasse said that between 150 and 200 race participants are expected, and that proceeds from the festival are plowed back into the Nordic Heritage Center.
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- Mountain bikers take a zigzagging route up a slope at the Nordic Heritage Center in Presque Isle during the 2015 Nordic Trail Festival. (File photo courtesy of Dave Allen)
