FACTS
| Project | Development and expansion of the Twin Peaks Bike Park |
| customer | Niseko Area MTB Association |
| Location | Niseko, Japan |
| Period | first contact in 2016 Planning and construction start summer 2021 – until today |
| project launch | First Opening Summer 2021 |
| project Manager |
Lukas Häusler, Claude Balsiger, Colin Leutenegger, Marc Wyckmans |
The trail building project in Niseko, Japan, began in 2016: The local tourism organization invited the ALLEGRA Switzerland team to build flow trails based on the model in St. Moritz, Switzerland. So two of our experts, Claude Balsiger and Lukas Häusler, on the way to Niseko, met the local mountain bike community on site and visited the area in Twin Peaks. But then it remained quiet for a while - until 2021. Since then we have been developing and building the Twin Peaks Bike Park and establish mountain biking in this region. Today we want to tell you the whole story and show you the way forward.
A MOUNTAIN BIKER, A PHONE CALL AND THE RESURRECTION OF THE PROJECT
After a few years' break in the Niseko project, one of the local mountain bikers contacted us in 2021: Andy Meadows had been working on the vision of the bike park and asked for our support in developing and building the mountain bike trails. In the meantime, the association Niseko Area Mountain Bike Association (NAMBA) founded. Together we developed a conceptual master plan with which the association specifically sought sponsors for the construction of the trails and the implementation of the project. That was exactly the right step: Because success was not long in coming and the course was set for the first trail construction project in Niseko as early as summer 2022.
GROUNDBREAKING CEREMONY IN TWIN PEAKS BIKE PARK
For this first project, the association rented a piece of forest in the Kutchan community, which is now known as Twin Peaks With an international team led by Chris Kehmer and Claude Balsiger began construction work on the first trails on site. At the beginning, the focus was solely on the Kutchan area, as the neighboring ski areas showed little interest in developing into a mountain bike destination - but that soon changed.
EXPANSION TO THE LARGEST TRAIL CENTER IN JAPAN
Since the groundbreaking ceremony, the trail network has grown steadily and now includes almost 20 kilometers of routes. 14 trails have already been created since then and offer an impressive variety of fun. They range from flowing trails to classic enduro descents, technical parts and skill loops for practice or uphill trails - there is a selection of different lines for every level. But that's not all: Today Twin Peaks is the largest freely accessible trail center in all of JapanThe network now even extends to the neighboring ski areas – for example with a flow trail and the downhill course in Hirafu.
WORK ON SITE AND FUTURE DEVELOPMENTS
On site, our trail specialists and project managers work closely with a local trail crew. Since February 2025, our trail crew has been under the leadership of Colin back on site and has started building the next trails for the summer together with the local crew. Plans include a new jump line, a green uphill and downhill trail and several trail connections between the sections.
With the expansion of Twin Peaks, the ALLEGRA Team Japan has also grown. The Japanese trail team, consisting of Marc, Kaneko and taro, now spends a large part of the summer in Twin Peaks and continues to develop the trail network.
Twin Peaks has now established itself as a major mountain bike center in Japan and remains a showcase project for sustainable trail development. You can find all trails at Trailforks, NAMBA or at Niseko Tourism direct.
