Managed to book a holiday driving around British Columbia next summer. The other half has said I can have a day at Whistler to blast around the trails. Never been, but very excited.

I would be heading out on to the trails on my own potentially, But just wondered is it suitable for a blast around by yourself? Or is there any groups you can hook up with out there to go out on the trails with?
or should I just man up and take my gear and get on with it?

Yeah signage is very good – a bit more complex as there’s two types of each grade “tech” roots, rocks drops etc and “flow” which is wider, faster, bigger jumps etc. Which is denoted by how squiggly the line is on the sign.

There’s green, blue, black and double black (note no red oddly) most people start their day on B-Line or Crank it Up and go from there.

I’d suggest finding your level and enjoy yourself rather than obsessing over particular trails – for example everyone seems to want to ride A-Line, it’s incredibly fast, but has some tough bits on it, I believe they’ve put a better/harder qualifier on it now, if the qualifier isn’t for you, I wouldn’t recommend trying to circumvent it.

Personally I’m no Bearclaw and Blue Velvet was my favourite trail, and I don’t care it’s blue graded.

If you’re planning on riding in the bike park, it’s all signed.

Some of the harder trails have squirrel catchers at the start, which are supposed to question your ability to ride a trail, as mentioned above. Quite often to see someone has nailed themselves off it, or has decided to walk it instead.

They could do with being a bit bigger & harder to be fair. The riding standard disparity on a fast, black trail is downright dangerous sometimes

In the bike park it’s all very well signed. If you want to venture outside the bike park I’d recommend either the trail forks or WORCA trail app (look for trail mapps in app / play store). They are less well signed but the GPS track from phone works pretty well.

If you’re riding outside the bike park I’d recommend starting with an hour on the lost lake trails just to get a feel for what a Whistler trail blue can be like. If that goes well Cut Yer Bars is close by and gives a nice step up.

Plenty outside the lift-accessed park stuff too, if trail riding is more your style. Trailforks is your friend:

http://www.trailforks.com/region/whistler/?lat=50.07804321781704&lon=-122.98798616394038&z=13&m=terrain

Get the app on your phone and download the BC region before you go.

Damn good fun to get a DH bike bike and blast the park for a day too 🙂

Not sure where your drive is taking you, but there’ll likely be plenty of opportunities for amazing rides along the way: Squamish, Pemberton, Sunshine Coast, North Shore for starters…

The riding outside the park is the best bit IMO.

But as a ‘one day hit’ the park delivers a much bigger dose.

There is some great stuff outside, but as said above if time’s tight the bike park gives bigger bang for buck.

If you are touring BC, don’t miss out on Nelson if you decide to go across to Fernie. One of our best stop overs.

I do not think i will be going with the bike, so having somewhere with a half decent rental will have to be a must, which I presume Whistler will have? I’ll have to search and find out re bike hire.

Cheers for the recommendations so far though.

Would love to bag up the bike and take it, I may have to look in to cost with the airline.

Most places with decent trails should have at least some rental I reckon. Where else are you going as other places are also fantastic… Squamish for example.

Starting in Vancouver then slowly making our way to Calgary 3 weeks later. so should have plenty of time to do a ride or so. Also hoping for some kayaking and whale watching! After reading the travel guides etc. i think I may fall in love with the place and have to move there. Biking, kayaking, beer, fishing, can it get any better?!

I live in Calgary 😀 So if you need any thoughts on the Calgary end of things let me know. If you going Highway 1 then Golden / Revy both have good options. I love Fernie but it depends which way you’re heading.

I’m fairly sure you can rent cycles in Canmore and there’s a few trails that make a pleasant distraction even at the Nordic Center.

One thing to keep in mind on rental / hire bikes is that the USA have front brake on the left so make sure you get something where it’s easy to switch… halfway down Whistler is not the place to mistakenly grab a handful of front when all you wanted to do is slide the tail…

I went for three days this summer….hired DH and Trail bikes from “Summit bikes” (seriously good kit/armour etc if you want it )……and because i only had a short time I booked a guide “Bearback Biking”…….just the best way to do it, it was a one off for me and I didn’t want to waste valuable time.

Definitely recommend.

Just finishing up seven weeks in Fernie – never got as far as the ski hill to ride – there is so much to ride around town for free (apart from the effort getting up the hills)
There are some crazy folks here and some brilliant bike shops too for when you bend something.

There are loads of old logging trails to explore if you fancy a bit of XC riding too.

Not sure about Whistler -my only other experience of alpine riding is Morzine and I would say the Euro red runs equate to Fernie blue/green.

You have to be bear aware.

I’m coming back to Fernie next summer – don’t fancy spending time looking for something else that may not be better…..

If you only have one day, I also vote for the park
Two days, rent a more xc bike and check out the local trails.
When in Vancouver do the North Shore, just because North Shore.
Check out nsmb.com for trail info.
Head to the Interior (Canada’s only desert), drop the wife off at a winery (cuz Canada’s only desert also has grapes) and ride the trails in Kelowna. Hit Okanagan Lake beach (did I mention it’s a desert?) and while relaxing on the sand, talk wife into riding the Kettle Valley Railway (google it). Doable and scenic as hell and shows you what bunch of hard-headed Scots can do when they want to settle a country.
Then head east and ride Vernon, Revy, Golden, Banff and Canmore. As a bonus, I think every town I mentioned has kayaking and a brewery.
Plus the Canadian dollar is worth shite right now, so you could prolly do it all first class.
Let me know when you’re in Kelowna and I can set you up with a shop ride.

I booked a guide “Bearback Biking”…….just the best way to do it, it was a one off for me and I didn’t want to waste valuable time.

Exactly why we offer a guiding service even for guests not staying as part of our catered/guided accom package.
Away from the park, there’s nothing worse than missing the best trails for your riding when our guides could have put you in exactly the right trails to make sure you get the most from your time. $50/25gbp per hour for a private guide to make sure you get the goods!

Cheers guys for the info. I will make contact with the BearBack riding and work out when I will arrive in Whistler. Really excited now after looking at trails and reading through your comments.

Will head to the desert for sure!

I’ll be there again next year.

It’s true, out of bike park is amazing

Anything trail wise over crankworx is rough as ken

You don’t need a DH bike but it helps slightly.

My favorite bits were Dirt Merchant, Original Sin, In Deep and BC Trail.

It looks like we will just miss Crankworx, we will be there around last few days of July, as after that we are heading north then back down to finish in Calgary.

I am no DHiller, as I am useless on jumps! So the all mountain kind of stuff would suit, but I am sure the guides will tailor to ability and then see where we go from there? Happy to have a go at some of the bigger stuff though.

If you’ve only got one day then I’d go guided (BB) on the natural trails…(cos you will be back for a longer stay) or maybe 8-3 natural and a last hour in the park???…..just don’t miss the outside park stuff.

If you are touring BC, don’t miss out on Nelson if you decide to go across to Fernie. One of our best stop overs

Yes to this – Also Rossland

I believe there is an option of getting heli-dropped at the top of one of the mountains, way above where the ski lifts will take you and then spending the rest of the day riding back down (in a group, led by a guide).

If I was only there for one day, once in my lifetime, I think I’d have to be having a look at this option 🙂

http://www.ticket2ridebc.com/guiding/heli-drop-rainbow-mountain

This?

I did two days in Whistler this year, having been in the same position as you actually.

I hired a bike from Whistler Blackcomb directly, one of their fleet Giant Glory DH bikes. Stay clear of the premium bikes, they just arent worth it.

Whistler blackcomb also chucked in armour and a helmet with the hire. This was by far the best deal I found, as their armour had a spine plate as well. A lot of places don’t offer that as standard, so be aware of what you’re actually paying for (and for the speed you’ll be going on unfamiliar trails, its pretty re-assuring to have it).

In terms of trails start your first couple of runs easy (seriously, do!), so something like B-line and Crank it up as previously stated. They are really fun and will introduce you to the speeds required for the other flow trails. Then just go up from there. Take note that the grading in the bike park is nothing like over here, so a blue is like a red in the UK (and if not even more accentuated as you move upwards).

Once you’ve got the hang of B-Line / crank it up maybe try Blue Velvet, which is like an extended and more difficult version of those two. You might even see a bear or two up there.

If you want to experience the ‘highlight’ trails, like A-Line, absolutely go for it – you just need to be super aware of other riders as the jumps are massive, and people absolutely haul down them.

As for the tech trails, they really do get very, very technical once you hit double black diamond territory. So, for one day maybe give them a miss and concentrate on having fun.

You’ll have an absolute blast no matter what you do – just find your groove and have fun!

Like others have said, for one day just go steady.

I did 3 weeks over there a couple of years back and was riding well and more regularly than now. I’d already had a week in the Alps previously that summer and was comfortably hitting the gap at the top of Les Gets bike park and the big ladder drop a little way down on the black. Took me a week to find my feet in Whistler and only started to feel properly comfortable after 2! A lot of it isn’t hard, it’s just a different type of riding to the UK.

A Line is pretty rideable to anyone, I rode it a fair few times but I just didn’t see the point – unless you can clear the massive tables it just doesn’t flow. B Line is steady, nothing to catch you out and has good flow (likewise Crank it Up). Good place to start. Some of the stuff around Samuri Pizza Cat etc in the middle is also fun, a little more tight and twisty than the big wide flowy trails, but I enjoyed them more. Stand out stuff for me was undoubtedly the tech stuff and built up to Schleyer (best trail in the world!?) Detroit Rock City etc, but don’t destroy your confidence on day 1 (I did!!) when you’ve only got 1 day!

Happy to have a go at some of the bigger stuff though

Becareful saying that in Whistler as someone will volunteer to take you down Crapapple 😆

A-line is a good benchmark.

Pinkbike photo of A-line squirrel catcher

I’m not sure ticket2ride are still going? I do know that Mount Carter in Revelstoke is possible. Pinkbike link

Also in Revy for considerably less cost is a DH shuttle down Martha Creek which is a lot of fun. Wandering Wheels is a local Revy company that I’ve used for shuttling and trail beta in Revelstoke.

Basically you need to tell your other half that it’s actually a 3 week biking holiday and to start practicing 😀

For what it’s worth if I could only ride one trail in Whistler / Squamish area it’d be Pseudo-psuga in Squamish. It’s a blue flow trail but the lower section is just fantastic…