[Closed] Calgary to Whistler road trip

Trail forks is good for finding trails in Canada
If you like bike parks, silver star and sun peaks are on the way, obviously lots of riding around whistler both in and out of the park
What dates are you going?

tourist trap advice

Whistler is the biggest tourist trap around.

Iv done this route in the winter for skiing.

I'd have a look at Revelstoke and Kicking horse/Golden. Both areas offer heli biking for maximum cool points.

I have a mate who lived in Revelstoke for a while and says the riding there is epic.

Weather is usually better the further east you are. West coast Canada can be a bit like west coast Scotland. Very un predictable and everything in whistler costs a fortune.

If it was my trip id do the bulk of my riding outside of whistler, then Finnish the trip with a few days in whistler.

Did similar 2011. Into Calgary, then onto Fernie, Nelson, Vernon, Whistler then out of Vancouver. Preferred Fernie for my type of riding. Not sure on bike hire as we took our own.

Just go to Fernie; the whole of Whistler is designed to empty your wallet (it does make you feel great about being broke though). Fernie has lots of great shops that offer demo bikes and one that offers top end consignment bikes. The trail network is superb and the run 'Contra' is more fun than Morzine!
You can ride there in a day from Calgary too and that ride through the edges of the Rockies is amazing.
Be prepared to earn your turns cos the uplift is not the slickest

Note, park pass needed for the National Parks if driving. Can buy on entry. If going for long enough or visiting a few of them it may be worth getting the annual Discovery Pass. Did that two weeks skiing around Banff area as they said it works out cheaper.

ps, not been in summer but I liked Kicking Horse for winter and looked like a great place for bikes. Loads of terrain and trails but just a few long lifts with a lot of elevation so should ensure long runs down.

Thanks all.

Think I will end up renting so I can do varied terrain on different bikes. US brakes are fine for me and I’m sure I’d put my bike through £100’s of damage + have to worry about it overnight in accommodation.

Is Whistler actually worth missing then or is it just a value for money thing? How does it compare to Morzine or bike park Wales? It’s always been my dream but now I’ve had a few people say it’s not actually that good.

Fernie and Revelstoke look amazing.

Any recommended uplift or rental co’s?

Just seen that Timber Chair at Fernie will be closed all summer. Not a reason to miss the place (as I love Fernie) but it does take out quite a few lift serviced trails.

https://skifernie.com/discover-fernie/whats-new/

"Is Whistler actually worth missing then or is it just a value for money thing?"

It's hard NOT to recommend Whistler in terms of spending a week 'banging out' laps in the Park is good fun. But you mention tourist traps and Whistler has that in bucket loads. I live 40 minutes away and have only been into Whistler itself three times in the last couple of years IIRC. At the end of the day, I'm sure you'd have a great time there to be honest, but it is what it is.

Go south through the Crowsnest Pass, Highway 3 IIRC. Drop by into Kananaskis on your way south there is some simply awesome riding to be had there, truly Gods own country. Go through the Rockies at Crowsnest and this way will take you conveniently past Fernie. From there head over towards Nelson and onto Rossland, then head north into the Okanagan and then East to the North of Whistler.

My memory is a bit hazy as it was about 15 years ago when I had a place in Kimberley which is just north eastish of Fernie, so I got to know the East and West Kootenays very well in both summer and winter.

Hire a truck camper and a Parks Pass and you’re self sufficient and good to go. It’s an awesome part of the world. What time of year you going?

Whistler Bike Park is a victim of it's own success. It can be insanely busy and the trails get hammered because of this. Peak season day passes can work out pretty expensive.

It's also very hard on bikes and bodies which can add to the expense.

I'm not a huge fan but it's hard not recommend a visit if you like uplifted riding but try to avoid weekends (and holiday weekends specifically) unless you like chatting to other riders in the long queues (you can shortcut the queue if you are solo).

However, WBP is not the only bike park as others have said, and whilst no other bike park comes close to Whistlers size, they are a lot less busy so you can usually bang out a lot more laps.

Did a similar trip last year Calgary - Fernie - Kicking Horse - Revelstoke - Sunpeaks - Whistler - Squamish. Apart from catching up with friends, highlight for me was Revelstoke - days guiding with Wandering wheels, expensive but worth it for getting the most out of the limited time there. I did enjoy Whistler, couldn’t believe how much it had changed in the 10 years since my last trip, valley trails were really good. Too much to mention on here, PM me and happy to pass on some recommendations. Hardest thing is deciding where to go, too many options for great riding that we didn’t have time to include.

I have done this. Fernie, Nelson, Roseland, Silver Star, Sun Peaks. I have also ridden at Kicking Horse/Moonraker, Mt. 7 and Keystone-Standard.

Everywhere was great, and it really depends on what type of riding you want to do, and how much time you want to invest. Will you be able to shuttle?

Whistler is like everything else ramped to the max and then × 10. Expensive and busy, yes, and for a reason.

These 3 are ace
Fernie
Golden (Kicking Horse & Mt7)
Revelstoke

Also all the lake ferry are free and a nice way to travel.

Personally I'd say you'd be crazy to go on a Canadian road trip with biking as the main activity and not visit Whistler for a couple of days. It's not perfect, but there's some great riding there, in and out of the park. Plus there's Squamish, Pemberton, the Northshore, the Sunshine Coast. You could spend the whole summer in that area and not get bored.

(I'm sure all the other places mentioned will be great too, although I've only snowboarded in them)

2 must do rides on the way are 7 Summits, rated as Epic by IMBA for good reason and Frisby Ridge.

Me and the GF managed to cover some of your trip couple years back - Squamish, Whistler, Kamloops, Revelstoke, Nelson, Rossland.

I would not miss Whistler out myself as I thoroughly enjoyed 3 days there and we are not 'park' riders as such. We were there during 'peak' Crankworx but still got on the trails no problem. Loved Top of the World experience down into Khyber, etc but also plenty of the park 'technical' trails.

Squamish was ace, as was Revelstoke - pay the price if you can afford it and do the Mt Cartier helibike trip. Kamloops was OK but we didn't look too hard for trails. Nelson/Rossland are not on your route.

pay the price if you can afford it and do the Mt Cartier helibike trip

do it, bucket list stuff!

We did it a few years ago. We did canmore for some natural riding then I would goto golden revelstoke kamloops pemberton whilster squamish

Thanks all - so much more research required! Hard to decide when it all looks awesome. Anyone done Mt. Cartier or Seven Summits? I guess fitness and skill for a day is on par with a U.K. Enduro event / EU black runs?

I've done Seven Summits twice, and to be honest, I was a bit underwhelmed. Yes, the scenery is good but the trail itself isn't that good (apart from the final descent which is superb!).
Once you've done the main climb at the start, the trail is pretty rocky and loose but not particularly enjoyable to ride. Also, the ride passes thru ski runs so it's not "pristine" either.
If doing it again, I'd park at the south end and ride out and back rather than try to do the whole trail.
Also, Keystone-Standard Basin or Frisby Ridge near Revelstoke both offer better views AND better/more enjoyable riding IMO

Edit: 7 Summits isn't particularly "technical" so only skills required are dealing with loose rocks

I've done Cartier with Glacier Helicopters. If you can get a group of 3 it's about £100 each from what I remember.

It was a bit of a tick list thing, I've ridden better descents, but I'd never jumped out of a helicopter before and taken my bike off the rack. Great experience and a very small landing area!

Frisbee Ridge was good, make sure you ride the lower part too.