Here in the heart of the Selkirk Mountains, several networks of trails have been hand-built by dedicated locals with an obsession for riding technical mountain bike singletrack. Covering long vertical descents and full of steeps, roots, rock slabs, bridges and airs, Nelson’s downhill singletrack is the epitome of classic BC-style riding. Hard core qualities aside, there is also more forgiving trail designs and cross-country inspired riding emerging throughout the area as well.

Below you will find an area map broken into riding zones, with descriptions of the riding you can expect to experience.

Blewett.

This picturesque rural area west of Nelson only has a couple of trails, but they have always been among the top favourites of local riders. Both are long and well built, with a wide variety of unique features and advanced terrain.

Giveout / Gold Creek.

Giveout - Providing the mountain backdrop south of Nelson’s town site, this face of Morning Mountain is commonly referred to as Giveout. These trails link into longer descending lines that are of the typical old-school, technical variety, but with a new wave of trail work focused on creating more flow and speed that is slowly influencing everything here.  

Except for the upper portions of Powerslave, all of the trails that follow the northwest ridge of Morning Mountain down to the old Blewett ski hill are now recognized as an ‘Authorized Trail Area’ and part of BC Recreation Sites and Trails. Thanks to the on-going efforts between the BC Government, RDCK, and the Nelson Cycling Club, this area will continue to be developed. Good news that means more trails, an ascent route for pedaling access and a potential bike park within the decommissioned ski-run area, all being proposed for the near future.

Gold Creek - Held on the dank north flank of Toad Mountain between Giveout and Gold Creek, the trails here are best known for being tight and steep. These are big DH singletracks that almost always have an uphill start and despite the reputation, the scarier sections are broken up by lots of less-intense riding.

Smallwood.

While the Nelson area is dominated by steep mountain sides and downhill trails, the adjacent drainages of Smallwood and Sproule Creek hold a rarity in some true cross-country out-and-back and loop style singletracks. Sproule Creek’s Millsite trail is a multi-use path that has been around for as long as any bike trail in Nelson, while the Smallwood Creek trail system is part of a new BC Recreation Site area created from a vision of the founding members of the NCC to have more user-friendly biking and rider designed XC and all-mountain trails.

Mountain Station.

The closest riding to town, Mountain Station is a tightly packed nucleus of trails. Except for The Vein and Spacejunk, these are all short but sweet rides that you can link together for a nice long run. Before you hit the trails, make a mental note that the entire riding area lies on private property managed by Anderson Creek Timber, and thanks to the generosity of the local landowners, mountain biking is allowed. Do your fellow riders a favour and don’t car-drop Mountain Station Road, don’t ride here in the wet, and please, no new trail building. Logging and road building operations are possible anytime throughout the year, please respect any trail closures and don’t ruin future access by poaching.

Shannon Pass.

Wrapping around the northern edge of Elephant Mountain, Shannon Pass holds one of the longest and largest descents you can ride on any single trail in the Nelson area. Brings you down to Kootenay Lake on beauty singletrack that mixes technical and flowy sections, with a few minor climbs and loose steeps.

North Shore.

The north shore of Kootenay Lake’s West Arm covers a large variety of terrain with impressive slab lines everywhere that range from fun to insane. This is also home to one of the most epic downhills around in Burn and Beyond-Upper Hitman-Hitman..

Svoboda.

The riding here starts with a long grind uphill that is rewarded with some steep, boney trails and lots of nice slab lines. All of these trails are within the West Arm Provincial Park and should be treated with respect. Riding is allowed by BC Parks but should be avoided when the weather is extremely dry or wet, and please, no new trail building.