3 weeks mountain biking in Canada - where's best to go?

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3 weeks mountain biking in Canada - where's best to go?

34 posts & 24 voices | Started 2 years ago by baggins | Latest reply from walleater

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baggins - Member

Going on honeymoon for three weeks biking in Canada in July. We've searched endlessly for best places to ride and the possible destination list is growing and growing.....

Can anyone recommend any places to stay, guiding companies etc?
Can you get good trail maps in Whistler / Banff / Nelson?

At the moment the plan is:
One week in Whistler (with daytrips to Squamish / Pemberton?)
One week in Nelson
Five days with no accommodation booked at the end - possibly go to Banff?

Any thoughts on the above? Any places we should definitely add to the above? (We'll be xc rather than downhill riding)

Any help much appreciated.

Posted 2 years ago #
Kona TC - Member

could try asking ticket2ridefor advice, rode with them 2 years ago seem like a nice bunch

Posted 2 years ago #
davy-g - Member

Sunpeaks resort @ Kamloops http://www.sunpeaksresort.com/summer/bikepark/index.aspx

also Kamloops Bike Ranch http://www.city.kamloops.bc.ca/bikeranch/index.shtml

invermere http://www.canadatrails.ca/mtb/bc/invermere.html

the list is endless for British Columbia....

Posted 2 years ago #
nols - Member

Give smokey a cal or email.
nobody knows more about riding in Canada. And I mean, nobody. Possibly the most respected MTB guide in Canada. Awesome guy and his wife Barb is amazing as well.
http://bushpilotbiking.com/
If they're booked up then I'm sure he'll point you in the direction of someone decent who can help.

Posted 2 years ago #
BigJohn - Member

Walleater or J-claw are the men to ask. They both live in BC, after having done guiding for a year or so with T2R.

Posted 2 years ago #
walleater - Member

I'd ask Smoke!

I'd also ask yourself what level of rider you are. If you are a 'blue grade UK XC rider', then you will probably get seriously frustrated XC riding around Whistler. That's not to say you won't have a great time there anyway but ask yourself what type of riding you like before heading there. If you like steep rocky rooty gnar then it's ideal, but if you like fast smooth then it's probably the last place on Earth you'd want to ride.

If you want epic singletrack riding with awesome views then I'd drop Smoke a line and see what Interior options he can come up with. I spent a couple of days with him after quitting guiding, and the riding was much better than anything Whistler had to offer.

But regarding maps, they are readily available for Whistler, Squamish and Pemby. Also consider the Sunshine Coast if you want to get away from everyone but still have awesome riding.

Posted 2 years ago #
BearBack - Member

Drop us a line if you need Whistler holiday info. Bear Back Biking

Also try PM'img Troutwrestler, he's done a whole bunch of exploratory riding throughout BC from a tourists point of view and has some excellent feedback on the riding and best places to go. Oh to be a teacher and have all that holiday

Posted 2 years ago #
jedi - Member

i concur. johnny smoke sells dreams

Posted 2 years ago #
baggins - Member

Thanks, will definitely drop Johnny Smoke a line. It sounds like he will be able to fix us up a treat for some of our stay. Bit concerned about the rattlesnakes on his website though!....

Have emailed Bear back and ticket2ride too.

Walleater, thanks for the advice about Whistler, just seems a shame to go all that way with the bikes and not go there..... The trip to Tyax with Ticket2ride looks awesome as well but cripplingly expensive. Anyone done it? Is it worth the cost?

We are both quite happy riding difficultish cross country trails having spent a few summers riding in the Alps but are just not out and out freeride/downhill folk. Looking for trails that are the equivalent difficulty of say Glentress, Kirroughtree or Borrowdale Bash I suppose.

What about Nelson/Revelstoke/Rossland the riding there looks really good. Has anyone got any experience of these areas?

Thanks very much

Posted 2 years ago #
walleater - Member

You should be OK with Whistler if you are pretty competent rider then. It's just that some people who go there because they have seen it in a mag end up taking their bike for a walk for two weeks!!

Tyax resort is well worth a trip. If you are hiring a car then you could probably hook up direct with Dale there...but the road out there is pretty rough so it takes a lot long to get there than you might expect. I rode there early season the other year, before the higher trails were clear. The lower trails out in the middle of nowhere were really good fun though.

Posted 2 years ago #
walleater - Member

http://tyax.com/mountain_biking.php

Posted 2 years ago #
langy - Member

Just to play devils advocate...

is BC booked? from what you describe 3 weeks of hitting Arizona, Utah and Colorado could be equally as awesome and easier to self guide...

Posted 2 years ago #
zinger - Member

We did a trip to Canada a few years back

Canada MTb Trip Report

Make sure you get up to the Chilcotins - the best XC trails i rode while out there were up there - as long as you don't mind sharing the trails with Grizzly bears !! - expect to be scared about riding around every corner !!!

Some pics from up in Chilcotins

Posted 2 years ago #
wl - Member

Dale's float plane drop at Warner Lake is a wicked xc ride - one of the best I've done anywhere, and well worth the dosh. At Nelson you can stay at the youth hostel and use a map bought from one of the bike shops - cool town with amazing riding, but we were just doing the big downhill runs, not xc stuff. Squamish isn't too bad to find your own way around - call in at Tantalus bike shop for a map/advice - plenty of fun, accessible riding there. Chilcotins is wild - big days out and you'll need to be a confident navigator if you don't use a guide. I'd say defo go to Whistler, even if it's just for a day and to soak up the atmosphere. Previous replies are spot on though - the grading's generally a bit different to the UK trail centres - a Llandegla black run is a BC green.

Posted 2 years ago #
BearBack - Member

Hi Baggins..

Nothing through from you over email yet. Just in case you were wondering where my reply was

Regards

Jonny

Posted 2 years ago #
jimmy - Member

I'd concurr with walleater about Whistler. Its absolutely fantastic if you're competent but will easily outface UK riders who think red trails here are gnarly.

Otherwise, it all looks rubbish. I wouldn't bother going and certainly wouldn't come back and rub it in...

Posted 2 years ago #
scruff - Member

Banff is beautiful and lots of toursity outdoors stuff to do apart from Biking. Fernie is off alot of peoples radar but is a great 'real' place, I preferred it to Whistler.

Posted 2 years ago #
domino - Member

Agree with Scruff re Fernie. Same for Canmore over Banff, even though they are right next door, Canmore was less 'tour bus' and we did some nice riding there.

Have done lift assisted riding in Kicking Horse and Whistler. I must say that I prefered Kicking Horse for it being less busy and I was chuffed that I rode every green and blue trail in the park once(no reds, black was the next level). We rode away from the park a second and third day round the Moonraker trails. Whistler gets busy and although I enjoyed riding the park, I wasn't keen on having people keep riding up behind me.

Posted 2 years ago #
cxi - Member

I didn't ride at Canmore / Banff but thought Canmore was a much nicer place when there a few years back.

Spent a couple of days riding with Fernie Fat Tyre (now http://www.sacredrides.com/). Great riding with some really good people, though I have memories of thinking I was going to cough up a lung trying to keep up with Eddy on a climb.

Posted 2 years ago #
sweaman2 - Member

There is limited actual mountain biking in Banff national park as it is restricted by the National Park and access is sensitive The best is an out and back along Lake Minniwanka. However just outside Banff National Park is Kananackasis country where there is some very good riding and Canmore is a good base for that stuff.
Two trails to recommend (and easily self guided) are:
Jumping Pound ridge / Cox Hill (best done with a car shuttle but you can do it along the gravel road as we did)
Powderface trail / Pairie creek trail.

Jumping pound ridge

Fernie riding is good but definitly better with a guide I reckon as it is easy to get lost or missed good bits if you're only there for a couple of days.

I can't really help with BC except to echo the above that Whistler trails are a whole different grading to the UK. If you need more advice on the Banff end drop me a line.

Posted 2 years ago #
Dirtynap - Member

If you have the cash do the iconic 2 week T2R trip
http://www.ticket2ridebc.com/summer/holidays.php?id=92

Seriously its awesome. You can also tag on all the other bits so in 3 weeks you can do everything in BC and have the riding trip of a lifetime.
Its worth it just to be one of the few that can say they heli-dropped. You'll be knackered though.

Posted 2 years ago #
one_happy_hippy - Member

Went with Bear Back Riding in 2008. Awesome. Not a bad word to say and too many good ones to list here.

Posted 2 years ago #
Gary_C - Member

+1 for Bear Back Biking.Spent 2 weeks with them last August,stayed in Alta Vista chalet,good facilities,good location.The guides were top notch too.

Posted 2 years ago #
deserter - Member

if you want to do some non guided type riding get yourself a copy of this,
THE BIBLE

we live by it over here

Posted 2 years ago #
deserter - Member

oh and buy bear spray please we don't want the local wildlife getting a taste for British blood

Posted 2 years ago #
baggins - Member

Thanks for all the advice and ideas. There is lots to think about and the list is now even longer! Think we might need more than 3 weeks.....

Still undecided about Whistler which was pencilled in for a week so might have a bit of time to spend elsewhere.

Posted 2 years ago #
scruff - Member

I think you should visit Whistler even if its just for a few days, it is a great place to visit but its a bit Disney (and full of overweight ex-pat Vancouverites stuffing themselves with BeaverTails)

Posted 2 years ago #
freeridenick - Member

I lived in BC for a year a few years back and rode all over the province. MY recommendations would be
a few days in Vancouver (city sight seeing etc and riding on the shore)
Whistler is a must as well
Pemberton
onto Smoke at bushpilot
silver star bike park is truely great
Nelson -
Rossland - ride 7 summits trail
Fernie - brill trail riding
up to Revelstoke if you have time
finishing up in calgary.

look at my pics from 2006 (in my profile)

Posted 2 years ago #
walleater - Member

I think you should visit Whistler even if its just for a few days, it is a great place to visit but its a bit Disney (and full of overweight ex-pat Vancouverites stuffing themselves with BeaverTails)

Lattes and cinnamon rolls for me. Totally freeride....

I agree though. Although I think I'd just hit the Park for a few days and get my XC riding in out of Whistler with the exception of maybe riding Gargamel but that's relatively gnar.

Posted 2 years ago #
markgraylish - Member

silver star bike park is truely great

Very true...no lift queues, no **** over-taking you in stupid places, no attitude. So much better than Whistler Bike Park and the trails are so much FUN

Posted 2 years ago #
markgraylish - Member

Oh, and another thought if you don't have a fixed itinary and consider yourselves more XC than FR/DH, try Washington (State not DC!). Some epic XC rides in the Cascades around Wenatchee and Lake Chelan. I believe there's also some good riding around Winthrop (I'll be checking these out later this year).
The big advantage of riding in the US is the availability of good maps and guide books. In many places in Canada (though NOT most of the ones mentioned above), the maps are poor, non-existant or can only be bought from limited local suppliers (making in harder to plans rides in advance). I'm not aware of any really good, up to date guide books for BC, for instance

Posted 2 years ago #
mccett - Member

XC round Squamish/ALic Lake area is good and the local bike shops have trail maps - fairly easy to find your way round.

Fernie is great, very chilled out and friendly.

Sun Peaks is a bit like Whistler but with else around it - and the DH trails were harder (Anywhere that has a sign saying 'A fall on this trail WILL result in injury or death' has to be respected.)

Rossland - really good xc trails but better with a guide.

Nelson - tonnes of riding. Dont dismiss trails as all DH either, some of the best trail rides ended in long DH runs that were really good fun without taking a hammering.

Posted 2 years ago #
al_f - Member

markgraylish - Member
Some epic XC rides in the Cascades around Wenatchee and Lake Chelan. I believe there's also some good riding around Winthrop (I'll be checking these out later this year).

<slight OT> The scenery in the Cascades is awesome, I would be very surprised if there wasn't some great stuff there but I haven't ridden there myself. Winthrop is a great place, very chilled and not too touristy even though it's done out like a traditional old west town. Can recommend the Winthrop Brewing Co (on the main st opposite the bike shop) for food and some good beer.

Posted 2 years ago #
walleater - Member

Speaking of scenery, if you can incorporate a drive along the Ice Fields Parkway in the Rockies then it'd be well worth it. The views are unreal. I ended up sacking off a days biking at Kicking Horse on a road trip with my wife so we could check it out again.

Posted 2 years ago #

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