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

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.

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.

i concur. johnny smoke sells dreams

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.

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…

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.

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…

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.

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.

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

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

we live by it over here

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)

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

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.

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.