New Glarus Woods State Park will celebrate the grand opening of its newest mountain bike trails from 10:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 24, at the park, W5508 County Highway NN.

The event, organized by the Friends of New Glarus Woods State Park, will begin at the pavilion. Organizers plan to serve snacks, share information about other trail plans and lead a group ride so visitors can experience what is now open, if trail conditions permit.

The celebration marks another step in the development of an 8.6-mile trail system designed for hiking and running while being optimized for mountain biking. The first one-mile segment, on the eastern side of the park, was completed earlier and built wide enough for standard mountain bikes, adaptive bikes and hikers.

Work continued this summer on a three-mile expansion of the system. As New Glarus 360 reported in September, trained volunteers were working alongside a professional trail builder, using new trail-building skills and equipment to help turn planned routes into finished singletrack.