British Columbia, the land of plenty of downhill mountain biking opportunities! BC is the destination of choice, with North America's highest concentration of lift-access riding. There is a good diversity of riding available too! Whether you prefer extreme gravity or a more gentle single-track, there are paths sure to make you comfortable or push your limits!
Mount Washington Alpine Resort
Mount Washington Alpine Resort is located on Vancouver Island. Riding in the thick forest of hemlocks and yellow cedars is a real outdoor adventure. And the vistas, are to die for with views of the Island's rugged mountains and blue waters of the Pacific Ocean. Be sure to keep your eyes on the track!
Mount Washington is located 50km south of Campbell River and 100km north of Nanaimo.
# of Gondola / chair lifts: 2 High Speed Chairlifts, The Hawk Six Pack, & The Eagle Quad
# of Trails / runs: 17 trails
Operating Season: typically from July 1st Canada Day to beginning of September, Labor Day.
Degree of Difficulty: 18% Easiest, 35% More Difficult, 47% Most Difficult
Longest Run: Monster Mile, 1657 Vertical Feet, 1 Mile (1.6 km) long
Total Length of Runs: 37km
Whistler
Whistler dominates the downhill mountain biking parks. Chairlifts service over 4,800 vertical feet of gravity-fed, adrenaline-fueled downhill trails – from gentle greens to expert-only double blacks – there is a massive variety of terrain to choose from.
Whistler is located in the Coastal Mountains of BC and is approximately 115 kilometers from Vancouver.
# of Gondola / chair lifts: 1 Gondola, 2 Highspeed Quads, 1 Fixed grip chair
# of Trails / runs: 50 marked trails, 3 Skills Centers, 4 Jump Parks
Operating Season: typically from mid-May to Canadian Thanksgiving in October
Degree of Difficulty: 17% Easy, 19% Intermediate, 64% Advanced
Longest Run: Freight Train, Length: 4.3km / 1.66 mile, Vertical: 660m / 2165 '
Sun Peaks Resort
Sun Peaks claim to fame are their freeride camps with professional mountain bikers such as: Matt Hunter, Specialized Bicycles, and Graham Agassiz, Kona Bicycles as coaches. And 50% of the trails are advanced, giving you plenty of opportunity to test out your new found skills.
Sun Peaks Resort is located 50km north of Kamloops, BC.
# of Gondola / Chairlifts: 1 chairlift, the Sunburst Express, high speed quad equipped with roll on style racks
# of Trails / Runs: 29 trails with 1954 feet of vertical per run + dirt jumping zone
Operating Season: end of June to end of September
Degree of Difficulty: 23% Easy, 23% Intermediate, 54% Advanced
Longest Run : Smooth Smoothie 5km
Total Length of Runs: 70km of trail
Silver Star
Silver Star Mountain Resort has a great mix of machine made and natural terrain entertaining all downhill bike enthusiasts. Jump trails, like Pipe Dream and Rock Star, have quickly developed reputations as some of the most progressive and fun bike trails around.
Silver Star Mountain Resort is located just 22 kilometers from Vernon at the north end of BC's beautiful Okanagan Valley.
# of Gondola / chair lifts: 1 High Speed Six Person Chair (holds four bikes in roll on racks per chair), 7.5 min ride time
# of Trails / runs: 16 hand-crafted trails of gravity-fed mayhem
Operating Season: end of June to mid-September
Degree of Difficulty: 15% beginner, 40% intermediate, 45% Advanced
Longest Run: Paradise Trail – 10 km's, 1600 vertical feet
Fernie
Fernie BC is legendary offering wide machine-made flowing trails for beginner / intermediate riders, challenging steep and technical single track trails for advanced / expert riders.
Fernie is located in the south-east corner of the BC Rockies on Highway No.3 approximately 60 km from the Alberta and US borders. Fernie Alpine Resort is 5 km from the City of Fernie.
# of Lifts for Summer Operation: 1 High speed Quad – Timber Express providing over 2100 'of vertical (operates on weekends only), 1 Quad – Elk Chair
# of Trails: 37 trails & Skills progress park
Operating Season: end of June to Labor Day weekend
Longest Run: Megasauras (trail takes you through 3 Alpine bowls!)
Total Vertical 2162 feet / 657 meters