Lindenberg is a classic local trail area. The range of hills stretches between Lake Baldegger in the west and the Reuss Valley in the east. Sixteen municipalities—ten in Aargau and six in Lucerne—border the area, and around 46,000 people live in the region. According to a Sport Schweiz study, this means that around 4,600 people in the area must regularly ride mountain bikes.

One of them is Philip Gassner from Hämikon, Lucerne. He has been biking on the Lindenberg for 25 years and estimates that others have been doing so for at least 30 years. “On weekends, people come from even farther away by bike or car to ride at Lindenberg,” he says. The pressure on the trails is therefore considerable.

Now, the cantons of Aargau and Lucerne present challenging terrain for mountain bikers; their regulations on rideable trails are strict, coexistence faces significant hurdles, and trail-building projects struggle to gain traction. Of course, people still ride the singletrack trails. And just like in other places, the COVID-19 boom caused the pressure to boil over. “Conflicts have been around for much longer—we already had spike boards on certain trails ten years ago,” says Gassner, “but things escalated during the pandemic.” Countless new trails have sprung up, in addition to those that have been used for decades.

On the Ride Trailmap, however, the area is a blank spot. Only the Lucerne Hinterland Tour touches the southern end of the Lindenberg. A few trail sections are listed on Trailforks.

Fortunately, there’s the state’s “Trail” directive

In 2021, Philip Gassner and some fellow cyclists founded an association with the innocuous name “Sport- und Freizeitförderung Lindenberg” (Lindenberg Sports and Leisure Promotion). Their original goal: to build a legal trail. “We expected resistance, but it turned out to be much greater than we thought,” he says, summarizing the early years. After three years of struggle with no progress, the volunteers realized they wouldn’t achieve their goal on their own.

Their new strategy is surprising, but actually quite logical: “We wanted a public contract for what we had in mind.” Of course, the Bicycle Path Act requires the cantons to create a recreational network as well. The sports and recreation advocates approached various authorities and finally found what they were looking for with the Regional Planning Associations (RPV). In principle, these are regional development organizations that work on behalf of the public to promote the economy and quality of life in their areas. “Idee Seetal” is the name of the organization working on the Lucerne side of the Lindenberg, and it took the project under its wing. On the Aargau side, the RVP Oberes Freiamt is supporting the initiative.

Gassner and his colleagues already knew how they wanted to move the project forward: with an NRP project—the federal funding program that supports initiatives capable of boosting a region’s development. The acronym stands for Neue Regionalpolitik (New Regional Policy), which has long been active in the mountain biking sector as well, for example through the various cycles of graubündenBike. The federal government funds half of the cost; the other half must be raised by local stakeholders, municipalities, cantons, and private entities.

The St. Gallen-based company Bikernetzwerk was awarded the contract to develop the trail network up to the building permit stage. Initial public hearings have taken place; municipalities, forestry and environmental agencies, and hunting organizations have submitted their comments, and the bikers are currently working on their response to these comments.

Goal: Build as Little as Possible

According to Gassner, the basic idea is: “Maximizing coexistence on existing paths, legalizing trails that have been ridden for decades, and minimizing the construction of new bike trails.” It’s also important, he says, that a network be created rather than just a single trail. “You can also do this in phases, but ultimately the project must offer residents of all 16 municipalities something attractive in their immediate vicinity.” It goes without saying that a network is much easier to create when it’s made up of existing trails than when everything has to be built from scratch.

According to Gassner, hunters are currently the ones raising the most objections. “The municipalities are glad that we’re doing something to channel the mountain bikers, and so are the forestry authorities.” He reveals that in discussions with individual hunting representatives, they’ve been open to the bikers’ suggestions. “But when they then go to their members with concrete ideas, they still face rejection.”

The nice thing is that this is no longer just their problem, but also that of the specialists from the Biker Network and the regional planning associations, Gassner says with a smile. The mountain bikers have officially handed over the arduous search for a compromise to the professionals and authorities. The NRP and the RPV are spearheading the project “Mountain Bike Opportunities in Lindenberg”. In reality, however, they continue to be involved. “We bikers can’t shirk our responsibility. Ultimately, we all benefit from a viable solution, which is why we’re continuing to contribute, even if only behind the scenes.” There is consensus that a solution is needed. “Because everyone knows you can’t get the bikers out of the forest anymore. As long as the opponents block every proposed solution, there won’t be any channeling.”

The ideal timeline calls for a draft trail network to be finalized by 2026, which can then be presented to the landowners. Philip Gassner also expects significant reservations there. By the end of 2027, the project phase is supposed to be completed and a project ready for approval to be finalized. He does not expect things to move that quickly. The key point is this: There is a public mandate, funds have been allocated, and a result must be achieved. Opponents have the choice to facilitate a compromise or go down in history as those who prevented a solution.