Bike trips to Canada usually follow a fairly similar route: fly into Vancouver, taxi to Whistler, and embark on three weeks of party laps at Whistler bike park. Now while we’ve got nothing against railing the world-class A-line and Dirt Merchant trails, there’s so much more in this vast land that’s worth riding. We headed to British Columbia’s eastern region to get better acquainted with three amazing places.
The background – listen to locals, not travel guides
How do you plan riding trips? TripAdvisor and other travel platforms might be the obvious first port-of-call, but you ultimately end up with the same tips as every other tourist. For our trip, we had a different approach from the start, which is why we’re beginning with ‘the background’. We – my girlfriend Antonia and I – had got to know a Canadian, Tucker Braund, while at an enduro race in our hometown of Aschau. Tucker was left disappointed with the official race stages, so we took him out on the following day to ride the far better, hidden trails in this idyllic patch of Bavaria. The day ended with dinner in a beer garden and sparked a year’s worth of social media contact. When Canada later became our summer holiday plan, we began by shooting a message to Tucker. From there, the planning was easy: first stop, Panorama Bike Park in Invermere where he works as a guide. Instead of the standard Sea-to-Sky highway route towards Whistler, we’d leave Vancouver and go north-eastwards.
Online platforms lead tourists en mass to not-so-secret destinations – Our plans looked different
Golden – a sleepy town with a bike park and one legendary race
One of the first stops on the way to Invermere was the Kicking Horse Mountain Resort, which is just above the quiet town of Golden. On the way there you pass Matt Hunter’s stomping group of Kamloops as well as Revelstoke – two must-visit towns that we’ve visited previously. The Kicking Horse Mountain Resort boasts the second-longest descent with gondola access in British Columbia, second only to Whistler. The trails are rougher and rockier here – a lot less manicured you could say. The top end of the park is pure Alpine terrain, while further down you’ve got two long rock rollers as well as the brilliant Devil’s Disco trail. This tight, techy and super loamy trail immediately became our favourite.
Don’t hesitate – the T4 trail is techy and exposed up top.
If you ask any local rider, the T4 trail is the Kicking Horse Mountain Resort’s raison-d’etre . But make sure you know what’s ahead of you before setting off – the gondola takes you up to 2,447 metres above sea level, you head left, and push your bike for around 20 minutes up to a ridge. From here, there’s an alpine-esque trail that weaves down to the valley. Steep and rocky at first, it dishes up more and more flow as you descend. By the time you reach the bottom, after many sharp counter-climbs that do their best to sap your energy, you end up – much like us – pretty knackered and thankful that it ends at a petrol station. Coca-Cola and sweets, as desired #foodporn. There’s a choice of mellow trails to pedal back to the town, or, when you’re as empty as us, put your thumb out and look hopeful.
Mount7 lies across from Golden. There’s a pristine gravel access road leading up the mountain, which – as is typical for Canada – is accessible by car and can therefore be used for shuttling. Alternatively there’s an infinitely snaking climbing trail. It’s not just popular with mountain bikers either; expect kite-flyers and paragliders too. The legendary annual Mt Seven Psychosis race ran for ten consecutive years before ending in 2008, but the many waymarked trails remain. The most notorious goes by the name Dead Dog – mega loose, mega steep, and commanding respect. If any doubts enter your head before you drop into it, we suggest turning around straight away. It gets progressively steeper and crescendos with the final righthander, home to countless over-the-bars moments. But don’t let this put you off; Mount7 has a legion of other, mellow, and no-less-fun trails. Our favourite combo was the Summit, into the 10k, then Erichs to 5k before ending on True Valley. Take a look on Trail Forks to see how this maps out.
Top tips for Golden and Kicking Horse Mountain
- Half-day in the bike park and head to the T4 around 2 pm.
- Double Black Café is the go-to for coffee and breakfast at Kicking Horse
- Hitching to the Resort from Golden is easy.
- If you’re not staying at the resort, hang out at the Bluebird Café in Golden
- For great beer, live gigs and a tasty food truck go to the Whitetooth Brewing Company
- Dine out at Wolf Den – delicious, meaty grub with a cute terrace
For more information on Golden visit tourismgolden.com and check directly with Kicking Horse Resort to see current offers.
Invermere and Panorama – a bike park with no end of opportunities
Panorama Bike Park is a known entity for many racers after having played host to the Canadian National Downhill Championships as well as number of enduro races. Hell’s Bell is a well-built jump line with big jumps, but there’s also top-rate enduro trails like Moose Powder and Lookout. But Panorama’s real draw comes well above the tree-line on mountain trails that you can access straight from the park. Unfortunately the upper chairlift wasn’t running throughout 2019, but it’s expected to launch back into action for 2020 and save us bikers from grinding up 600 vertical metres on a steep gravel track. From the plateau there’s an amazing view and the sense of being so far removed from the rest of the world. We planned on riding the G.L.D trail and then dropping smoothly into Hopeful. With incoming storm clouds and fear of local grizzly bears, we put the foot on the gas and tore down the first stage of the BC Enduro race. Flowy but far from easy, this sweeps you along with a lot of variety–from massive rocks and burnt-out forests to the final section alongside a stream back to the Bike Park. It tops off with a run over the Hell’s Bells jump line – banging.
Hopeful has landed in our worldwide top 5 trails – a real find!
Much like Golden, Invermere also has another mountain across town, Mount Swansea, with the choice of a driveable gravel track or uphill trail. Those opting for self-shuttling should invest in a 4×4 as the gradient on Mount Swansea really ramps up. Southpark is the downhill trail that we’ve been head on this day, which is a first-class flow trail with so many high-speed pumps, rollers and berms that’ll plaster a grin on the faces of riders of all abilities when you’ve got over the dizziness from the turns. Invermere itself is a small, sleepy town on the banks of Lake Windermere – chill out there or go on towards Lillian Lake.
Top tips for Invermere and the Panorama Resort
- DIY shuttling on Mt. Swansea needs a 4×4.
- Lillian Lake is the ultimate post-ride wind-down spot.
- Peppi’s Pizza in Invermere serves great Italian food.
- Tasty breakfast sandwiches can be found at Kicking Horse Cafe.
- Fuze Cafe is the healthy alternative to Kicking Horse Cafe.
- Panorama Resort’s finest food is served at the Earl Grey Lodge.
- Panorama Bike Park is great but the high alpine trails outside of its confines are even better – plan your time wisely.
For more information on Invermere and Panorama, head to Panorama Resort.
Nakusp – a small bit of trail paradise in the middle of nowhere
Seeing as the nearest traffic lights must be at least 100 km away in each direction, we definitely wouldn’t go as far as calling Nakusp a hotspot. But after a reader called Daniel alerted us to its presence (thank you once again!), we decided to take him up on the invitation. On the way we took a deliberate detour to Kootenay Bay to take the world’s longest free ferry to Balfour. From there, we stopped in the small hippy town of Kaslo. It’s definitely worth taking a moment to soak up the relaxed vibe here. We then passed Retallack Lodge–another riding spot that comes highly recommended. If you don’t fancy such a long-winded route, you can take a slightly faster route from Revelstoke – but ferries are unavoidable.
Short and sharp trails around Nakusp, and enough to keep you on your toes. The laid-back vibe is reason to be here.
Nakusp is the epitome of a sleepy town. It has one main street with a handful of cafes and restaurants. Barely any traffic passes through the town, and tourists are something of a rarity. The local riding scene, however, is more thriving and centres around Shon’s Bike Shop, which is run by Shon. The scene congregates on Mt Abriel’s trails, which have all been purposefully designed to be accessible to all. Uncompromising enduro pros might be a bit underwhelmed, but it ticks all the boxes for families. After short climbs you get short, mellow descents, and there’s a jump trail and one longer descent currently in construction. In Nakusp there are two ‘adaptive’ trails that open up mountain biking to wheelchair users too. Those looking for a long, technical descent, it’s worth travelling 45 minutes outside of Nakusp to the Butter trail. With loose loamy ground and dusty turns, it’s pretty special. To kick back in Nakusp we suggest heading to the lake or the official hot springs, which you’ll find dotted over BC. Nakusp has one official hot spring, but many are still completely natural, although these are harder to reach.
Top tips for Nakusp
- Shon’s Bike Shop is the address for trail tips.
- Shon und Jani also run a great hostel for overnight stays.
- Save time for the hot springs.
- Nakusp has a distinctive vibe, head into the town and soak it up.
- Stop at Kaslo on route.
To find out more about Nakusp and its Adaptive Biking Project head to Kootneyadaptive.com for more information. For details on the trails and current goings-on in the bike scene, go to Nakusp-Bike-Society.
Golden, Invermere and Nakusp are just a small fraction of what BC has going on. Virtually every spot in the region has a bike community and an official trail network; on Trailforks you’ll find the full menu for each place, but it’s only through locals that you’ll know which ones are truly the best. Anyone considering a trip to Canada should try and maximise the time spent there and aim to stop at some more off-the-beaten-track locations too. Think beyond the classics and go off-grid (so to speak); it’s the best way to get to know a new place. While we’d never complain about Whistler, Squamish, Pemberton, North Vancouver or the Sunshine Coast, Canada is so big and amazing that there are hidden gems to discover for those with an adventurous spirit.
Top tips for travelling to Canada
- It’s huge – schedule as much time as possible.
- Ein Enduro Bike mit 150–170 mm Federweg ist in Kanada ideal – wir waren mit einem Juliana Roubion und einem Santa Cruz Megatower unterwegs.
- Budget well because cheap and Canada are not usually associated with each other.
- If you’re staying at least six weeks, it could be worth buying a caravan (seriously).
- Talk to people! Canadians tend to be open and welcoming.
- Canada is savage so make sure you are versed in dealing with bears and other wild animals (They do exist!)
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