The Black River Grand Prix

A smiling female mountain biker races during the 2024 Black River Grand Prix in Craftsbury, VT. — Annavitte Rand en route to 2nd place in the 1-lap women’s field. Photo - Phil Belena.

The Black River Grand Prix is growing! Join us on Saturday, June 20, 2026 for the Black River Grand Prix & Epic, a celebration of big loops, varied terrain, and fun on bikes in the woods. The format is simple: a mass start on one big lap (or two). Want to race 12 miles of the best the Center has to offer? Enter the Grand Prix. Think it's so nice you want to do it twice? Then the Grand Epic is for you. And if racing isn't your thing and you just want a signed ride and tacos for lunch, then the Grand Tour has your name on it.

Whatever your category, this ain’t XCO, this is VT mountain biking - flow, tech, jank, doubletrack, ski trail, and maybe even a dirt road or two - there’s something for everyone. There's even a bit of pavement at the start.

Race Summary

The 2026 Black River Grand Epic field will head off at 10:15am for the 25-mile epic race featuring nearly all the riding the Center has to offer. Two 12-mile loops of nearly all our trails in the most fun layout we can pull off. This is not sufferfest racing, this is the local's loop, the way the builders ride things.

The Grand Prix will start fifteen minutes later at 10:30am for those who just want one sweet race lap.

Five minutes later at 10:35AM the Grand Tour riders go off on a mellow cruise of the same loop. The lap never loops back into the stadium, so once you’re gone, you’re gone, though the Grand Epic racers will come back through the Upper Field after their first ~12-mile lap.

First folks back win. The courses will look somewhat similar to the 2024 Grand Prix course.

Check out this year's Race Guide!

Download a map of the 2024 course.

Download a GPX of the 2024 course.

2024 Results and Photos.

2025 poster - spread the word!

Price & Registration

The Grand Prix will be $50 for open racers, $30 for current college students, and $25 for juniors (ages 18 and under). The Grand Epic will be $75. The Grand Tour costs $35.

Go register now! Registration is open over on BikeReg.com.

Prizes

$12 of each open entry fee will go towards prize money for the open category in that respective race. $3 to the male and female winners, $2 for second place, and $1 for third place.

We will call up podiums for the top 3 overall men and women, top 3 junior (U20) boys and girls, and then the male and female winners of each 10-year age class, starting with 40+ (so 40-49, 50-59, 60-69, and so on).

On-site Lodging

Did you know the Center has on-site lodging with meals available? Whether you want your own private cabin, a lakeside cottage, or just a room in our Cedar Lodge dorm, we can meet your needs. A room in Cedar lodge (with three meals included) starts at just $155.

Learn more about lodging info and rates here.

Or check out the cabin tour from DirtWireTV: