For much of the Midwest, the name Aaron Rodgers evokes images of the former quarterback of either a beloved team or a hated division rival; for some outdoor enthusiasts, however, the name invokes a different association – mountain bike trail builder.
“To tell you the truth, it worked out to my advantage over the years,” said Aaron Rogers, president and owner of Rock Solid Trail Contracting. “You knew, if you were ever to go to a bar, somebody was going to buy you a free drink because (of) your name … It sparked a lot of conversations. It’s built a lot of relationships, and it’s kind of made my name easily memorable for a lot of people.”
Clearly, it took more than a memorable name for Rogers to grow Rock Solid Trail Contracting into the world’s largest trail building contractor with 100 employees and offices in Copper Harbor in the U.P. and Bentonville, Arkansas.
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Courtesy of Rock Solid Trail ContractingAaron Rogers on the trail. “We’ve almost stopped calling ourselves a trail contractor, we’re really just a contracting firm that specializes in trail development. We have planning services in not only trail development but recreational development as a whole and recreational infrastructure,” Rogers said. “We build campgrounds, parks, social spaces and trail systems.”
Rogers not only revolutionized but also professionalized the art of mountain bike trail building, said Brad Garmon, senior strategic advisor and executive director of the Michigan Outdoor Recreation Industry Office.
“He didn’t just make trails, he helped make an industry, and his influence isn’t just in Michigan but spans the entire segment and continues to shape trails and trail building all around the country,” Garmon said. “Aaron is a great rider and advocate as well as a builder, business leader and innovator, so he didn’t just make great trails happen, he delivered a vision that has changed the way we ride and what we expect of a trail experience."
His story, Garmon added, is “really emblematic of Michigan -- and especially the Upper Peninsula -- when it comes to the role we play in the national and global outdoor recreation industry.” That role has included product innovation, like the pocket safety axe -- created by the U.P.'s Webster Marble. These are transforming products -- "not just another pair of shoes" -- that change the way the world enjoys the outdoors, he said.
Michigan is home to more than 7,000 outdoor recreation industry companies, ranging from manufacturing, service providers and facilitators to retailers and wholesalers, according to the Michigan Economic Development Corporation. Michigan’s Outdoor Recreation economy contributed $13.9 Billion in value-add in 2023, supporting 118,000 jobs and $6.4 billion in compensation to employee households.
“Aaron continues to be a thought leader and visionary, never settling for success but always pushing and creating new ways to think about, build and ride trails. We’re grateful to have him and his team headquartered here in Michigan and celebrate that his influence extends way beyond the amazing trails and experiences he’s creating in the Keweenaw,” Garmon said.
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Courtesy of Rock Solid Trail Contracting
A native of northern Wisconsin and a graduate of the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point, Rogers got his start in trail development after moving to the Upper Peninsula in 2005 in search of a change of pace from his job running a gas station/convenience store.
“I was getting a little burnt out so (I) moved up to the U.P. for a winter just to be a snowboard bum and then ended up never leaving and then taking my passion for the outdoors and diving more into mountain bike trail construction,” Rogers said.
That dive into mountain bike trail construction not only led to the founding of Rock Solid Trail Contracting, but also the development of the Copper Harbor mountain bike trails as one of the best trail systems around.
Rock Solid was formalized in 2014. Before then, Rogers served as president of the Copper Harbor Trails Club.
“So I formed a non-profit, built up the non-profit along with some other local community members and then figured out a way to raise funds to pay myself as a professional trail builder, and then we raised more money and we hired more employees, and then as we got to a certain point … we kind of then formed Rock Solid Trail Contracting and kind of split off from the Copper Harbor Trails Club. They still contract us out to do a lot of the work,” Rogers said.
There are now more than 50 miles of singletrack trails that make up the Copper Harbor trail system, according to the Copper Harbor Trails Club website, with most optimized for mountain biking but open to various other uses as well.
“Biking experts from across the globe come to Copper Harbor to get tested by these gnarly, highly technical trails,” boasts
visitkeweenaw.com, which promotes tourism in Houghton and Keweenaw counties. “But the Keweenaw (mountain biking) scene isn’t just for advanced riders. Singletrack trails at Swedetown Recreation Area, Michigan Tech, Churning Rapids are perfect for all-skill levels with varied terrain and great scenery.”
A Bike Mag story in 2016 called Rogers “the mastermind behind Copper Harbor’s aggressive trail system . . .the first trail builder to bring the concept of large-scale but sustainable flow to the region, a move that has sparked a trail-building revolution in the often-overlooked ‘flyover’ states."
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Courtesy of Rock Solid Trail ContractingThe success of the Copper Harbor trails, along with projects in Minnesota, led to Rock Solid’s expansion into Arkansas.
“Back in the infancy of our company I think we made a name for ourselves, kind of immediately in the trail building industry. We were developing places in Northern Minnesota like Duluth and Cuyuna; and Copper Harbor – doing a lot of notable developments, Rogers said.
“At that point we were recruited to come down to Bentonville, Arkansas and … we learned about all of the ongoing efforts to establish Bentonville, Arkansas as being one of the best mountain bike destinations in the U.S.”
Bentonville’s efforts have resulted in almost 70 miles of trail running through the city, with 400 miles of trail systems in the region, according to
visitbentonville.com.
Rogers said the two locations made sense for his company, in part because of the seasonal flexibility Arkansas’ southern climate provides.
“It worked out well because the company evolved, we were looking for more permanent, year-round work; obviously you can’t work in the north in the winter building trails,” he said. “So, we were able to work until the season ended up north, which is usually around the end of October, and we were able to pack up all of our equipment and come down south and continue working because the conditions are pretty favorable in the winter to be out in the woods and build trails.”
In fact, the expansion into Arkansas was so successful that it is now where much of the company is centered.
“After doing that for a few years, we started seeing that the long-term work looked available and we started investing more and being here until we were more permanently fixed here,” Rogers said, adding that the company’s design and fabrication teams, as well as its professional resources for project management, are largely focused in Bentonville. “Now, really, a majority of our resources are located here, just because it makes more sense.”
The work around the country led Rogers to realize that there was a need for a more generalized outdoor contractor beyond one that just built mountain bike trails – which was perfect as Rogers happened to have other outdoor hobbies as well.
“My entire life I grew up hunting, fishing, kayaking; doing a whole host of different outdoor activities,” he said. “We started to find as we wrapped our heads around mountain biking and how the trails interact with the landscape, we started to really realize we understand a lot of these other recreational assets as well and there was no reason we can’t help coach communities how to best … install them into the landscape.”
With experience developing projects in multiple states and a line of projects waiting to be tackled, Rogers is optimistic about the future of not just the company but outdoor recreation in general.
“Overall, across the U.S., I think what is being proven – especially after COVID – outdoor recreation is in high demand. So, there are a lot of things going on, like large-scale land acquisitions, all across the U.S. with the intention to develop them for outdoor recreation” he said. “So, I think if there’s something we can look forward to, there’s going to be a lot of large trail systems popping up over the next five to 10 years.”
“Even though we are by far the largest trail building company in the world, we’re booked out almost 24 months at the moment,” he continued. “Our services are in high demand, which just kind of proves that society as a whole is putting a lot of resources into recreation. I think that’s exciting.”
A former reporter at the Ironwood Daily Globe, Richard Jenkins moved to Ironwood in 2015. He was born and raised in Metro Detroit. He may not have been born in the Upper Peninsula but got here as soon as he could.