You bring the bike – we’ll bring the adventure.
Open to National Interscholastic Cycling Association (NICA) student-athletes from any state, these mountain bike-fueled adventure camps will combine bike skills and wilderness exploration.
In partnership with the WV Interscholastic Cycling League, these camps are for those who are interested in learning about exploring the world around them by mountain bike. Daily ride groups will vary in terrain, difficulty, and length, and will follow NICA guidelines with certified coach to rider ratios.
The NICA Adventure program focuses on developing skills and pursuing challenges in a non-competitive setting that prepares youth for their own lifelong adventures. Our NICA Adventure Camps will include spectacular mountain biking in iconic areas of our mountain state and other backcountry skills such as map-reading, fire building, and cooking. Each group will also participate in a half-day stewardship project on a local trail system receiving Teen Trail Corps hours for their participation.
You do not need to have prior camping experience or be an expert in the outdoors to participate in this camp – we will teach you all the camping skills needed to have success on this adventure! Experience Learning will provide all necessary camping gear, onsite transportation, use permits, and program food.
You must be registered through the NICA League to participate in our NICA camps. More information on NICA and the WV Interscholastic Cycling League can be found here. This is a specialty camp with a limited number of spaces. We encourage you to reserve your spot as soon as you are able to commit.
Meet our NICA Camp Director
Guiding the way through some of West Virginia’s most scenic bike trails will be Hardy County Cryptids Team Director, Vicki Sliwa. Vicki has been riding bikes since owning her first bike at five years old, and she has never looked back. She enjoys all types of bike riding, with mountain biking being her favorite. She shares in the NICA and WVICL vision to get more kids on bikes and loves being the Team Director for the newly formed Hardy County Cryptids. When she is not riding bikes she enjoys practicing and teaching yoga, cooking and baking, and hiking with friends. She recently retired from federal government service after careers with the U.S. Department of State and with the United States Coast Guard.
2024 MTB Camp Options
Dates: June 16th – 21st, 2024
Drop Off: Sunday, June 16th, 1 pm, Location: Sweetwater Farm Trail Center
Pick Up: Friday, June 21st, 3 pm, Location: TBD
We will start the week at our Sweetwater Farm Trail Center to ride 9 miles of onsite trails and complete a trail-based service project. Mid-week we will move to the Canaan Mountain Backcountry area and ride additional technical single track while hunting for amazing views of the Blackwater Canyon and Canaan Valley. The program will also include our local favorite, the iconic Huckleberry Trail, an IMBA EPIC* trail.
Dates:
Beginner Mountain Biking: July 19 – 20 — Camp Full! Join the Waitlist HERE!
Beginner Adventure Mountain Biking: June 13 – 15 — Register HERE!
Each session of beginner bike camp will target different age ranges, and focus on developing skills appropriate with that range. We will take our beginner riders on an introductory journey, spending three days camping in tents from a wooded basecamp at our Sweetwater Farm Trail Center. We’ll go on daily group rides that are beginner in nature and geared towards developing a lifelong love of the outdoors, and bicycling. Our days will be filled with games, skill development, and fun, while evenings will be based at our campsite, learning campcrafts, enjoying campfires, and stargazing under the darkest skies in the east. More information here.
