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When in Kamloops, hit the trails
Thursday, May 28th, 2009 by GetawayBC.com
The Kamloops-Thompson Valley region is making a case for being the mountain biking capital of Canada.
Hoodoos, rugged canyons, logging roads, sliders, ramps and kilometres of trails for recreational riding provide ample terrain for both adventure mountain bikers as well as the casual, leisure riders.
Kamloops is the birthplace of freeriding and has been attracting mountain-bike enthusiasts for years.
With the diverse, easy-to-access topography,
Kamloops has it all. There is desert-like terrain, single-track courses and high-speed alpine trails.
Away from the city, mountain bikers will want to check out Stake Lake, Inks Lake, Bush Lake and Greenstone Mountain. Closer to town, here are few places to ride:
Kenna Cartwright Park
This 800-hectare park offers an extensive network of nature trails for cycling, with panoramic views of the city, the Thompson Valley, Kamloops Lake and the convergence of the North and South Thompson rivers.
Directions: Take the Trans-Canada Highway to Exit 366 north. Head west along Hillside Drive to the main entrance.
Kamloops Mountain Bike Ranch
This park hosts tournaments and plans to form tour linkages with other celebrated mountain biking areas, like Sun Peaks Resort.
Directions: Take Valleyview Drive in east Kamloops (parallel to Highway 1) and turn onto Highland Road. Kamloops Mountain Bike Park is located behind the Valleyview Ice Arena.
Lac Le Jeune Trail
This is a 25-kilometre stretch from Lac Le Jeune Provincial Park to Ross Moore Lake and back.
Directions: The ride begins from Lac Le Jeune Provincial Park, located 37 kilometres south of Kamloops off the Coquihalla Highway.
Sun Peaks Resort
This trail is rated one of the five best mountain-biking parks in North America. Riding downhill is definitely a challenge, with 24 candy-sweet, lift-accessed mountain bike trails to ride from the top of the Sunburst lift.
This ever-expanding network has more than 40 kilometres of single-track trails.
Directions: Travel north on Highway 5 (toward Jasper) for 19 kilometres and turn right at the sign to Sun Peaks. From there to the village is 31 kilometres.
The Dewdrop Range
Located on the north shore of Kamloops Lake, these trails run through rippling grasslands.
Directions: Take Tranquille Road past the Kamloops Airport and Kamloops Golf and Country club.
Enter the Lac Du Bois Grasslands Provincial Park on Tranquille, pass Criss Creek Road and left onto Frederick Road.
This road is about eight kilometres long and ends at Kamloops Lake, but you are looking for a parking
area just 300 metres to the right on Frederick Road.
Stake Lake and Inks Lake
Located 25 minutes south of Kamloops, these 45 kilometres of marked trails at Stake Lake are great for family rides.
Inks Lake is also a popular riding area with locals and visitors and is suitable for more-experienced riders.
One of the more difficult rides here is to climb south 21.5 kilometres to Timber Lake Road.
Directions to Stake Lake: Take Exit 366 from Highway 1/Highway 5 in Kamloops, just past Aberdeen Mall exit, and follow Lac Le Jeune Road south. Park near Stake Lake. Trails are to your right.
You can also travel further south on the Coquihalla and take Exit 336, and backtrack about six kilometres.
Directions to Inks Lake: Take Exit 355 on the Coquihalla Highway, 10 minutes from Kamloops, or take Lac Le Jeune Road.