Please read the City of Lakes Loppet Winter Festival update statement, which outlines the important changes for this weekend’s events.
We encourage participants to bike, bus, ski, or walk to the City of Lakes Loppet Winter Festival events. For those who choose to drive, please read the sections below for information on parking and drop off / pickup.
- Please note that your car is your warm place. There are no warming tents and The Trailhead building is closed to the public.
- There will be no shuttle this year due to COVID-19 restrictions. Because of this, the suggested parking lots are all a short walk/ski/bike to and from the start and finish areas.
Parking
Mortenson Parking Lot
All point-to-point Hybrid event participants who choose to drive to the event should park in the Mortenson parking lot. Please allow yourself at least an extra 15 minutes to get from the Mortenson parking lot to your start area.
Directions: From Hwy 55, turn north on Meadow Ln (just one block west of Theodore Wirth Pkwy). The address is 700 Meadow Lane N, Golden Valley, MN, 55422.
Please do not park in any reserved or labelled parking spots.
The Mortenson parking lot is a convenient center point between the event’s start at Wirth Lake and finish at The Trailhead.
- For skiers and snowshoers going from Mortenson lot to Wirth Lake: It is a short 1/4 mile to the intersection of Hwy 55 and Theodore Wirth Pkwy. From the SE corner of the intersection, you can access groomed trails which you will use to ski to the start on Wirth Lake. These are the Jar Hill trails, and you may warmup on these trails while you wait for your start time.
- For bikers going from Mortenson lot to Wirth Lake: You may bike from your cars at Mortenson to the intersection of Hwy 55 and Theodore Wirth Pkwy and ride south along the parkway to Glenwood Ave. Turn left on Glenwood Ave and you will be near the southern tip of Wirth Lake. You are free to warm up on any of the bike trails along Theodore Wirth Pkwy or Glenwood Ave while you wait for your start time. Note that when you approach the start, you will be crossing the race course but there will be plenty of space between bikers.
Drop off / Pickup
If necessary, you may drop off / pick up participants ONLY in the following turnaround areas. Please pull all the way around before stopping to let out participants so you don’t block the entrances. You may NOT park in the turnarounds while you wait for a participant to finish their event, and if you do so you will be subject to ticketing by the police. If you are unfamiliar with the following areas, please refer to our Loppet Parking Map.
- The Trailhead Lot turnaround: You must enter the lot from the side without the stop sign, proceed through the turnaround in a counter-clockwise direction, and exit the lot through the side with the 4-way stop.
- Chalet Lot turnaround.
- Wirth Beach parking lot.