Experience World Renowned Mountain Biking on Vancouver's North Shore

Image: David J LaPorte on Flickr

Vancouver’s North Shore is known around the world for its exceptional mountain bike trails. The traditional Shore trails are single-track downhill, peppered with wood structure. While these iconic trails are plentiful, the trail network has also evolved to provide a range of trails for beginner to expert and includes both cross country and downhill riding. Certainly, there are visitors to Vancouver who come exclusively to mountain bike, but all active visitors should put mountain biking on their must-do list.
 
Thinking of giving North Shore riding a try? Here’s your short-list to getting started.

Most Popular Trails

John Deere, Expresso, Mushroom, Old Buck and Pipeline are but a few of the popular trails that riders can explore on either Fromme Mountain or Seymour Mountain on Vancouver’s North Shore. The North Shore Mountain Bike Association (NSMBA), in cooperation with Trail Forks, has put together a trail map that details the trail network.
 

Bike Rentals

You don’t need to travel with your bike in order to access the trails. There are high-quality rentals available from Essential Cycles, Endless Biking or Lynn Valley Bikes. Even if you do bring your own bike, you may want to try a rental for a day: if your bike is cross country oriented, and you want to ride downhill, renting a beefy beast will help you to conquer those trails.
 

Guided Mountain Biking

The trail network on Vancouver’s North Shore is extensive. Especially if you have limited time it can be very worthwhile hiring a guide. Our friends at Endless Biking call The Shore their home and they know these trail intimately. With a guide, you’ll cover lots of ground and you’ll have the choice of riding within your comfort zone or challenging yourself to try trails and obstacles that take you beyond.
 

Intro to Mountain Biking

If you’ve never tried mountain biking and it seems a bit intimidating, you might want to consider the pedal-assist mountain biking that is available at Grouse Mountain. Grouse Mountain offers a graduated approach that can be done guided or self-guided on its fleet of pedal-assist bikes. There is a beginner intro loop, Mountain Highway where the trail is generally wide and obstacles are minimal, and the slightly more technical, single-track Paper Cut which includes natural and man-made obstacles.
 

Bike-Friendly Amenities

A great day of riding starts with appropriate caffeination and ends with a cool one. The Holiday Inn & Suites’ Pantry Restaurant and Coach House Lounge are great options. If you want to venture a bit further afield try Alchemy on Lonsdale or JJ Bean with locations on both 17^th and Brooksbank to experience local coffee culture.  For a cool one explore the many craft breweries that comprise the Ale Trail. Each brewery on the Ale Trail offers a very Vancouver sipping experience.
 
The Holiday Inn & Suites North Vancouver has the amenities that mountain bikers need. With secure bike storage and a bike wash area, the hotel caters to two-wheel trail explorers. The Holiday Inn’s location, nestled at the base of the North Shore Mountains means that trails are easy to get to, and that your restful room is in close range after a big day on the trails.