I live in North Vancouver, and British Columbia is my home province. The province is generally very mountainous and forested, providing excellent topography for scenic, ripping, steep descents throughout.  The most popular regions are along the southwestern coastal areas in North Vancouver, Squamish and Whistler.  However, for those willing to venture further afield, there are great trails in Cumberland on Vancouver Island, the Okanagan Valley (including the cities of Kelowna and Penticton) and the smaller towns of Revelstoke, Rossland and Nelson in the West Kootenay mountain range.

The Okanagan Valley is reminiscent of the Mediterranean wine regions of Europe and offers visitors incredibly scenic vinyards, with wine tasting and great lakefront beaches to swim while you visit. Alternatively, the towns of Revelstoke, Nelson and Rossland, nestled within the West Kootenay mountain range, offer visitors incredible “Alps like” environment with excellent hiking and backpacking among the revitalized formerly railway and mining towns. Below, I show you a map of southern British Columbia, where I circle some of my favourite riding regions.

The best riding weather is typically obtained in the July through September timeframe since the higher elevation, mountain top rides are typically snow covered until mid-July. However, you can still ride at lower elevations nearly throughout the year in North Vancouver, Squamish and Vancouver Island – if you don’t mind the rainier weather.

The best regions to ride for steep, technically challenging trails are North Vancouver, Squamish and Whistler. North Vancouver has dozens of unique, man-made wooden features to challenge the most nervy riders. You will find the best flow trails in Squamish (on the highway from Vancouver to Whistler) and Cumberland on Vancouver Island. If you are looking for outstanding mountain-top vistas, you can find them in Whistler, Revelstoke and Rossland. However, you will also find outstanding mountain biking, small town hospitality and excellent craft breweries throughout the province – towns such as Valemont and Nelson for example, you just need to be adventurous to head further afield. For those visitors to BC who might be more familiar with US ski towns, you will find the towns of Rossland and Nelson similar to those in: Truckee and South Lake Tahoe in California, Park City in Utah and Telluride and Crested Butte in Colorado.

Have a look at my Top 100 List for other outstanding trails in BC! Of my Top 100 Trails, I count 30 trails within the Vancouver, Squamish and Whistler highway corridor – all within a short 90 minute drive!

(Note that the trail rank numbers below are that from my overall Top 175 MTB trail list)

Top 10 Trails in British Columbia

RankTrailCityStateDifficultyScore
12Ladies OnlyNorth VancouverBCDouble Black6.53
17BoogymanNorth VancouverBCDouble Black6.15
32Overnight SensationPembertonBCBlack5.85
25Frisby RidgeRevelstokeBCBlue6.03
16Seven SummitsRosslandBCBlack6.20
21WhiskeyRosslandBCBlack6.10
29In-N-Out BurgerSquamishBCBlack5.88
19Duncan’sWhistlerBCBlack6.13
22Dark CrystalWhistlerBCBack6.08
26Happiest DaysWhistlerBCBlack6.00

And for a further detailed list of recommended trails in Whistler, North Vancouver and Whistler, see the list of the Top 10 trails in each city below.

Top 10 Trails in North Vancouver

RankTrailCityStateDifficulty
12Ladies OnlyNorth VancouverBCDouble Black
17BoogymanNorth VancouverBCDouble Black
35BoundaryNorth VancouverBCDouble Black
39PipelineNorth VancouverBCBlack
41PangorNorth VancouverBCBlack
52CBCNorth VancouverBCBlack
827th SecretNorth VancouverBCBlack
91ExpressoNorth VancouverBCBlack
104Floppy BunnyNorth VancouverBCBlack
137 KirkfordNorth VancouverBCBlack

Top 10 Trails in Squamish

RankTrailCityStateDifficulty
29In-N-Out BurgerSquamishBCBlack
44Half NelsonSquamishBCBlue
46Pseudo TsugaSquamishBCBlue
72Meadow of the GrizzlySquamishBCBlue
78 RupertSquamishBCBlack
93CakewalkSquamishBCBlack
94 PamplemousseSquamishBCBlack
156Leave of AbsenseSquamishBCBlue
163EntrailsSquamishBCBlack
165 Room with a ViewSquamishBCBlack

Top 10 Trails in Whistler

RankTrailCityStateDifficulty
19Duncan’sWhistlerBCBlack
22Dark CrystalWhistlerBCBack
26Happiest DaysWhistlerBCBlack
43Original SinWhistlerBCBlack
51 Clown ShoesWhistlerBCDouble Black
56SchleyerWhistlerBCDouble Black
62Detroit Rock CityWhistlerBCDouble Black
67Comfortably Numb DescentWhistlerBCBlack
75On the RocksWhistlerBCBlue
77No Joke UpperWhistlerBCBlack

If you have any thoughts or comments on my trail lists, please comment in my Blog Post section. Thanks!