A Look at Velosolutions' Innovative New Bike Park in Norway

At Harstad Bike Park, you will have the opportunity to try it all – from exciting MTB trails to unique Freestyle and Skills Bike Parks. In 2021, the second phase of the project was completed, where the team of Velosolutions Scandinavia carried out impressive construction work for more than 3 months in the new, modern active recreation area.

The idea of the park was created in 2015 by Harstad Cycling Club (HCK) with the goal to create a safe progressive space for cycling enthusiasts. HCK members worked closely with the local municipality and began more than a two-and-a-half-year process of regulating the area to create a modern bike park of 330,000 m2.



In 2019, HCK partnered with Velosolutions Scandinavia to build the first two asphalt pump tracks - to date the northernmost Velosolutions Pump Tracks in the world above the Arctic Circle. The project was funded by Sparebank 68°Nord, Gjensidigestiftelsen, and Nordenfjelske Bykredittforening together with the Norwegian Lottery system. 

The total area of the main pump track is ~2000 m2. This special track has two straight rhythmic lines that are great for improving pumping skills with some unique and hidden transfer lines. The total area of the second, smaller pump track is ~1260 m2, including a fun children’s loop (37 m long) for young riders with a main loop that is 117 m in total length. It’s fast and has quite big berms, which are perfect for improving technique. The tracks are used not only for local training but also for various competitions that are held regularly. Next year, Harstad will host the Norwegian Qualifier for the Red Bull UCI Pump Track World Championships.


In 2020, HCK challenged Velosolutions Scandinavia with the task of creating a unique, modern Bike Park. Thereby marking the next project phase of Harstad Bike Park – starting with the creation of new bike trails and ending with innovative Freestyle and Skills Bike Parks. The sponsors were inspired by the idea and supported the concept of the project and its purpose. During the campaign, Sparebanken Nord-Norge allocated 9 million NOK, which creatively involved the whole city. Residents of Harstad raised donations by walking to several specific check-in locations. The campaign was planned to last for 9 weeks, but in just six days the whole city raised the goal of 9 million NOK. With the donated funding, Harstad Cycling Club was able to carry out the planned construction in 2021 with a total value of 23 million NOK.

The long-awaited construction of the second phase began in July 2021 with a focus on 3 main areas - Bike Trails, a Freestyle and a Skills Bike Park. The team experienced a variety of adverse weather conditions - strong winds, classic rainy days, and even snow at the end of the project. The most time-consuming part was the construction of bike trails. From the new trail-start location at the very top of the hill, 5 downhill and 2 uphill trails were built, entailing various levels of difficulty - from Green trails for families and beginners to Black trails for experienced athletes.




Green-Family Trail – an easy 2 – 3 m wide trail with mellow berms and rollers and without steep parts with a total length of ~720 meters. The Green Trail is perfect for mountain bikers of all skill levels and suited for any type of mountain bike. It is a great trail for everyone - beginner or expert, riding with a hardtail XC or a downhill bike and is suitable for the whole family.




Light-Blue-Flow and Dark-Blue-Flow Trails. Both Blue Trails are made for flow, they are ~2 m wide trails with berms, some easy-beginner level table jumps, and corners that offer the possibility for the riders to have a more challenging ride and to reach a higher speed, compared to the Green Trail. Both tracks include unique wooden structures (bridge, wooden wallride) designed to encourage riders to progress and develop new skills. The trails are suited for all types of riders – families, and also more advanced riders.


Red-Fun Trail. The name says it all, a fun ~1-1,5 m wide, ~370 meters long trail with some natural pavement parts (for example, stones), including berms, banked turns, switch-backs, drops, wooden northshores, bridges, and jumps for a more dynamic ride. It is still suitable for beginners, there are special routes leading the way around these elements. The Red Fun Trail is perfect for riders who want to feel the taste of speed and are seeking more action and adrenaline. The Red Trail is a great place to gain new skills for trail riding.

The Black Jumpline! The first half of the first downhill trail has been built and it will be completed next year, together with new Black Enduro lines. The Black offers an awesome blast of jumps and massive berms with steep descents. Be ready to try out the show-off jump at the end of the Black Jumpline in season 2022!

The construction of two uphill trails has been completed, so that riders can easily reach the trail-start of all downhill tracks. Green-Blue Uphill is ~680 m long and surrounded by a forest oasis on the backside of the park. It is a great adventure for everyone. There are also various technical segments on the trail. It is possible to choose an easier or more challenging route, for example, with unique natural rock formations or narrow parts. The second – E-bike Uphill trail, is ~300 m long and winds through the centre of the downhill tracks. During the uphill trip, it is possible to see almost all the downhill trails, which allows you to see the details of the tracks, learn from others, as well as cheer up friends from the side.



Freestyle Bike Park

The Freestyle Bike Park consists of 20+ unique elements from beginner to expert level – drops, kickers, wallrides, lips, whale-tail, cannon, some dirt features, and pumps on one side of the park, and twists and turns on the other. All features are designed to offer progressively complex challenges and opportunities for everyone. The variety and difficulty of elements are divided into 3 levels – kids, intermediate, and professional, providing everyone with the opportunity to become a skilled rider.


Skills Bike Park

Located right next to the kids pump track the Skills Park is an environment for children, teens, or adults who want to learn essential bicycle riding skills in safe and fun conditions. It is divided into two difficulty zones, providing a place for young children and beginners to learn cycling skills, as well as a place for slightly more advanced riders who want to develop their skills at a higher level and prepare for the Freestyle Park.

In total, there are ~30 different purposely designed, unique, technical, and challenging wooden / metal and gravel elements in the area with drops, wallrides, lips, berms, turns, swings, rollers, stones, logs – you name it, the Harstad Bike Park has it all! It also includes a modern and exciting addition – a 40-meter-long wooden North Shore adventure. The final woodwork is still in process and being continued by carpenters who arrived at the end of September to create various wooden elements in several areas around the Freestyle Bike Park, Skills Bike Park, and others. Although it has been snowing already, the carpenters have managed to complete the construction of an impressive 300 m2 terrace. It has a wonderful view of the Bergselva River and is a perfect place to relax.


Next year, the final touches will be added to the existing areas, complemented by various infrastructure elements from Velo Features. On top of that, some new entertainment areas will be created, woodworks will be actively continued at the trail-start and trail-end points, where innovative gates and surrounding infrastructure objects will be built and installed. The construction will not stop on the mountain trails either - they will continue to only get bigger. Get ready for endless adventures in 2022, once the snow has melted!