Whistler Beta: Lite Version

Calling this the "lite" version because we're not gunning for the rampage here.

Wife and I are headed to Whistler in late June. We're both advanced riders for our respective age/gender/rider type. Mind you that means we're 40+, not huge enduro/freeriders. Just.....mountain bikers who can do most of it. We are going to Whistler for the vibe, some time away, and trails beyond the Mountain. We'll only spend a day or two paying to ride lifts. There for 7 days, so 5 days to do some other single track riding.

I could use some beta on a couple things:
1) Anyone have a place they really like to stay? There's a shit-ton of options. Overwhelming. We only require a place to cook and want to be able to walk or ride bikes to the village without too much effort. My feeling is to just find something close to town on Air BnB and be done, but thought I'd check to see if you guys have a place that is not to miss.

2) Any non-lift accessed pedal trails you might suggest around Whistler?

3) Any fun Squamish (or similar) loops you might consider? We'll have a car.

Our limit will be about 15 miles a day of single track pedaling, 20 if it's of less tech, more flow. Lift service days we'll just go until we drop.

I'll take what ya got.

You can't go wrong with a basic Airbnb. Prices are reasonable in summer. Many like the Blackcomb area as it's just a tad quieter

My wife wrote a bunch of online guides via Trailforks on how to stitch together routes of various lengths. Here they are. Scroll down to the Whistler routes. Be aware 25kms of Whistler trails may take a while due to their technical nature.

https://www.trailforks.com/routes/all/?user=Sharonb

My wife and I found crossing the street for lord of the squirrels to be super worthwhile. The shorter version of the loop without add-ons is about 18-20, but the climbing trail is pretty smooth for a lot of it (but still a grind). The alpine views, beautiful lakes, and fun but friendly downhill made for a very special day in the mountains and a worthwhile diversion from downhilling and slabs in squamish we thought.

Worth clarifying what your appetite for steep/blown out/technical climbs for trail riding might be.

ie. Dark Crystal on Blackcomb is a fun ride, but you are climbing an on-mtn access road, so mostly chill with pockets of steep moondust and loose gravel sections. easily rideable if used to that, and kinda PITA if not.

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Originally Posted by justcuz

1) Anyone have a place they really like to stay? There's a shit-ton of options. Overwhelming. We only require a place to cook and want to be able to walk or ride bikes to the village without too much effort. My feeling is to just find something close to town on Air BnB and be done, but thought I'd check to see if you guys have a place that is not to miss.

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We usually get an airbnb / vrbo on the blackcomb side. As of last summer, VRBO was generally cheaper and had more options. There's plenty of condos to choose from, it's 5 minutes from the village, and it's also 5 minutes from the nice beach at lost lake if the weather is cooperative.

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Originally Posted by justcuz

2) Any non-lift accessed pedal trails you might suggest around Whistler?

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Lee's the expert on this. Howler's a good on for a more extended descent that's not overly technical. The blackcomb stuff (dark crystal, etc.) is a bit techier and also great (and close to the condo).

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Originally Posted by justcuz

3) Any fun Squamish (or similar) loops you might consider? We'll have a car.

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Tons of stuff. I've always enjoyed the Alice Lake zone the most - easy enough to navigate with trailforks, and the trails are a blast. They're mostly short loops, so it's easy to shorten or lengthen a ride as needed. For advanced riders, start by going up 50 shades of green and down Rupert, then scale up or down from there.

If it's rainy, look at Pemberton too. It's drier up there, and the trails are awesome.

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Originally Posted by Spencer123

My wife and I found crossing the street for lord of the squirrels to be super worthwhile. The shorter version of the loop without add-ons is about 18-20, but the climbing trail is pretty smooth for a lot of it (but still a grind). The alpine views, beautiful lakes, and fun but friendly downhill made for a very special day in the mountains and a worthwhile diversion from downhilling and slabs in squamish we thought.

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Problem is that in late June it's doubtful trails will be melted out

Ahh poor reading comprehension, didn't see the date!

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Originally Posted by LeeLau

Problem is that in late June it's doubtful trails will be melted out

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Also, Dark Crystal isn't "open" until July 1st typically. I'd definitely hit Microclimate (which is getting some work this spring) and Hey Bud, both are right there next to Dark Crystal.

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Originally Posted by Spencer123

My wife and I found crossing the street for lord of the squirrels to be super worthwhile. The shorter version of the loop without add-ons is about 18-20, but the climbing trail is pretty smooth for a lot of it (but still a grind). The alpine views, beautiful lakes, and fun but friendly downhill made for a very special day in the mountains and a worthwhile diversion from downhilling and slabs in squamish we thought.

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can also do the LESS cut out which is half the distance of the shortest alpine option, yes you miss the alpine, although it's a super fun rip into the bottom 1/3 of Squirrels, and then chipmunk reb

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Originally Posted by smmokan

Also, Dark Crystal isn't "open" until July 1st typically. I'd definitely hit Microclimate (which is getting some work this spring) and Hey Bud, both are right there next to Dark Crystal.

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Micro also isn't open until July 1st, both are in persistent spring seepages and spring bear habitat

Adding to these IMO most people are usually pretty happy to start with the easier then work up to the harder. For that see what I posted and start with these

- Lost Lake loops. Starts you off with a taste of mixed XC and flow and jank and woodwork)
- Whistler south side (includes Todd's creations - Hi-Line etc) and throw in some Creekside trails

Then continue on to the "harder" trails eg North side of town; the Howler loop (gives you a taste of alpine etc); West Side trails. TBH the choices are rather overwhelming

I didn't mention the Blackcomb trails eg Dark Crystal, MC, Crazy Train because of the timeline. If they do open early then Marshal's caveat applies

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Originally Posted by LeeLau

- Whistler south side (includes Todd's creations - Hi-Line etc) and throw in some Creekside trails

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park function lot at the highway, ride up farside/far out then down flashback, then climb back up to High Side/HiHi/Highline, then you can climb up to tunnel vision and do hind sight, climb back up single track mind and then you can do It's Business Time full or ampm cutout, or skip IBT and do after hours/ampm. full lap of that is probably 2+ hours for average tourist. Probably good early trip lap for warm up, much less technical than most Whistler trail riding, but really fun trails.

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Originally Posted by t.odd

can also do the LESS cut out which is half the distance of the shortest alpine option, yes you miss the alpine, although it's a super fun rip into the bottom 1/3 of Squirrels, and then chipmunk reb

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I second the LESS recommendation. It's relatively mellow, as far as Whistler trails go, but it's a big loop that riders of many levels can have fun on. It's also consistently downhill, which isn't a given in Whistler valley.

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Originally Posted by D(C)

I second the LESS recommendation. It's relatively mellow, as far as Whistler trails go, but it's a big loop that riders of many levels can have fun on. It's also consistently downhill, which isn't a given in Whistler valley.

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IMO LESS is one of the best machine built non bike park trails in the Sea to Sky, Zander killed it on that build

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Originally Posted by t.odd

park function lot at the highway, ride up farside/far out then down flashback, then climb back up to High Side/HiHi/Highline, then you can climb up to tunnel vision and do hind sight, climb back up single track mind and then you can do It's Business Time full or ampm cutout, or skip IBT and do after hours/ampm. full lap of that is probably 2+ hours for average tourist. Probably good early trip lap for warm up, much less technical than most Whistler trail riding, but really fun trails.

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Agreed. Almost always recommend people start with the Cheakamus River trails as they're so aesthetic. Then also over to HiHi - Highline combo. Shar laid it out as this https://www.trailforks.com/route/whi...kumus-classic/

Attachment 458703

So many ways to build variations. Want more tech. Add Trainwreck, Garbage etc.

Want more climbing. Cross over to Function, climb to Into The Mystic; throw in Less or if you want an introductory just do Chipmunk Rebellion.

Jeebus this place is amazing. Thanks all! Awesome suggestions. Will get moving on some planning. I was a little worried about going in June fearing it might be too early, but sounds like we'll still have more than enough to keep us busy.

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Originally Posted by Marshal Olson

Worth clarifying what your appetite for steep/blown out/technical climbs for trail riding might be.

ie. Dark Crystal on Blackcomb is a fun ride, but you are climbing an on-mtn access road, so mostly chill with pockets of steep moondust and loose gravel sections. easily rideable if used to that, and kinda PITA if not.

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Clarifying this bit: The moondust/loose over hardpack ball bearing stuff we are not necessarily used to. We come from black dirt mixed with clay, and only about 1-month of our riding season sees dry loose over hardpack. That's one of the reasons we wanted to go early in the season.

I've got nothing to add other than you've gotten great advice from some of the most knowledgeable bike people in the valley.

Enjoy.

Might have missed it above but you should be aware they are replacing the Fitzsimmons lift in the bike park right now. So the Fitz (main) zone will be accessed by the village gondola only. WB has plans to mitigate line-ups, i.e. WVG is bikes only, attempting to load 4 bikers per cabin (good luck) etc. but line-ups could be bad especially on weekends. If you can ride the bike park on weekdays it will be way better. Good news is they have built a bunch of new trails in Creekside (not sure why the new map still isn't out, a week ahead of opening, probably Vail's fault) and there are almost never lines there, plus I personally think the Creekside trails are more trail/enduro bike friendly. Late June is almost certainly too early for Top of the World, but if by some heatwave miracle it is open, you can buy a TOTW single access ticket and link it into out-of-park trails on your way down if you choose. Otherwise lots to enjoy in the park, personally I like renting a DH bike if I am doing a full day+ to save the wear and tear on my trail bike and because they smooth out the brake bumps a bit, but a trail/enduro is totally fine.

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Originally Posted by t.odd

park function lot at the highway, ride up farside/far out then down flashback, then climb back up to High Side/HiHi/Highline, then you can climb up to tunnel vision and do hind sight, climb back up single track mind and then you can do It's Business Time full or ampm cutout, or skip IBT and do after hours/ampm. full lap of that is probably 2+ hours for average tourist. Probably good early trip lap for warm up, much less technical than most Whistler trail riding, but really fun trails.

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Do this.

Then don't forget to drop a few bucks in the tip jar. https://www.trailforks.com/directory/201/

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Originally Posted by t.odd

park function lot at the highway, ride up farside/far out then down flashback, then climb back up to High Side/HiHi/Highline, then you can climb up to tunnel vision and do hind sight, climb back up single track mind and then you can do It's Business Time full or ampm cutout, or skip IBT and do after hours/ampm. full lap of that is probably 2+ hours for average tourist. Probably good early trip lap for warm up, much less technical than most Whistler trail riding, but really fun trails.

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also comprises most of the first stage of WORCA's Back Forty...
https://www.trailforks.com/route/bac...lon=-123.02279

Last question; thinking about ditching the car idea and just shuttling up to whistler. Bad idea? Do we really need a car? Most trailheads seem to be within a couple of miles from town.

Thoughts welcome.


Sent from my iPhone using TGR Forums

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Originally Posted by justcuz

Last question; thinking about ditching the car idea and just shuttling up to whistler. Bad idea? Do we really need a car? Most trailheads seem to be within a couple of miles from town.

Thoughts welcome.


Sent from my iPhone using TGR Forums

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You're fine without a car. The function junction area rides start to feel a little far away, but it's entirely do-able if you don't mind a long-ish commute, mostly on paved bike path. And there's tons of stuff that's closer.

*not sure where the shuttles drop you off, but depending how much crap you have, getting to a condo could be a minor slog.

Also, depending on when you arrive at the airport, there aren’t any shuttles to Whistler after 8pm or so

Thanks all!

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Originally Posted by Spencer123

My wife and I found crossing the street for lord of the squirrels to be super worthwhile. The shorter version of the loop without add-ons is about 18-20, but the climbing trail is pretty smooth for a lot of it (but still a grind). The alpine views, beautiful lakes, and fun but friendly downhill made for a very special day in the mountains and a worthwhile diversion from downhilling and slabs in squamish we thought.

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Thanks for the beta here. Riding Trans BC in June and we'll be sticking around Whis for a few days afterwards. Would love to hit Lord of the Squirrels, doubting that will be snow-free by third week of June though?

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Originally Posted by WaistDeepGroomers

Thanks for the beta here. Riding Trans BC in June and we'll be sticking around Whis for a few days afterwards. Would love to hit Lord of the Squirrels, doubting that will be snow-free by third week of June though?

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That would be pretty early if it happened

just a PSA for out of towners this summer who might be used to our fairly docile black bears...Grizzlies have become more frequent visitors to the valley this spring, although one from the village was tranq'd and relocated Sunday, wife got a nice look at it on the fairway as the half marathon ran by it early in the race and said it was quite the sight! Another bigger male was seen right in the heart of westside trails too on Friday so play smart this summer!

Bumping this one up to get some info on current conditions. Have until the end of the month off, so I'm thinking about heading back up to BC to get some riding in. Sounds like the trails are a bit dry up there, but I'd imagine it's still not the rim deep moondust that we get here in Tahoe. Any issues with smoke from wildfires this summer?

Also looking for some campground recommendations. I stayed at the MTN Fun Basecamp back in May, but it looks like they are booked up on some of the nights I'm hoping to be in the area.