The Perfect 4 Day Itinerary
Words: Andrew Daly // Photography: Chris Pilling & Nathan Hughes // Video: Peter Wojnar
Whistler is known as a mountain biking mecca, with its world-class bike park and over 300km of singletrack in the valley. With all that and a ton of other stuff to do on your down days, it's tough to know where to start. Well fear not, because we have designed a perfect four day itinerary.
Day 1: I Only Ride Park It’s an easy choice…
Whistler Bike Park. World renowned and in a class of its own. With the addition of the new Creek Zone it's even better. Opening only a couple of weeks ago, it represents a mix of flow and tech—truly classic Whistler style riding.
Creek Zone offers up beautifully crafted flow trails such as Insomnia and Earth Circus which will have your cornering dialled in in no time. They are designed as top to bottom flow trails with high speed lines and doubles to keep you on your toes. Classed as intermediate (blue) trails, they are a great place to start your Creek Zone exploration.
Now that you’re warmed up the next trail should be Delayed Fuse - roots, rocks, chutes and tight switchbacks Delayed Fuse is an advanced (black) trail that embodies the technical singletrack Whistler is known for.
After your first few runs you’re likely grinning ear to ear. The Creek Zone is full of other new trail options including Midgard into South Park, and accesses existing trails like BC’s Trail. From the top of the Creekside Gondola the rest of the park is easily accessible with options to scoot down to the infamous Garbanzo Zone or access the Top of The World trail at the top of the Peak Chair via Big Red Chair. And if they're on your bucket list, go hit the WBP classics of A-Line, Dirt Merchant, Schleyer, etc.
Rounding out your day at either Dusty’s Bar in Creekside or the Garibaldi Lift Co in Whistler village (GLC) for
apres, you’ve just nailed day 1 like a local.
Day 2: Explore Beyond The Park Using
Trailforks you can explore all the riding Whistler has to offer. Get amped to hit one of Whistler’s most classic trail zones, opposite the valley from the bike park. More mysterious than the bike park,
Whistler's Westside is an intertwining network of the best technical trails on the planet. This might be a good day to go with a guide or link up with some locals, so that you can make the most of your time, but a good place to start is the old classic Danimal.
The Westside is also an area that is home to the
Lord Of The Squirrels (LOTS) trail, an alpine epic that takes around 4-6 hours to climb into the alpine and descend superbly built intermediate single track; mountain and lake views are in abundance. Above average fitness and knowledge of backcountry travel is recommended.
A proper post-Westside activity is to hit up one of Whistler’s many
lakes for a dip. Rainbow Park on Alta Lake is located on the Westside, with stunning views of Whistler and Blackcomb mountains, plus it has volleyball nets, a beach and a swimming dock.
Lakeside Park is easily accessible right off Highway 99 or via the Valley Trail (a network of 40km of paved trails that link one end of the valley to the other) between Creekside and Whistler Village and looks back over the valley towards Sproatt and Rainbow Mountains. Lakeside Park offers a tuck shop, multiple docks for swimming, paddle board/kayak rentals, and a great local vibe.
Whistler’s
nightlife offers a plethora of dining and entertainment options. From bar appetizers to family restaurants and fine dining, much like Whistler’s trails - there is something for everyone. Round out your massive second day by sampling some of Whistler Village's culinary hot spots and a few drinks at the bar of your choice.
Day 3: Rest & Recovery (optional) The plan always starts with having another park day planned, but remember those "few drinks" last night? Thanks to them, this is now your ‘rest day,’ but we use the term loosely. There’s a reason Whistler is continually voted the number one resort in North America: there are so many things to do.
Maybe an alpine or valley hike accessible from your doorstep, a cruisy pedal on the not-technical-at-all
Lost Lake trail network, a quad bike tour to the beautiful Callaghan Valley just south of Whistler, a day relaxing at the hot and cold pools of Scandinave Spa, a quick ride up the Whistler Village Gondola, or a round of golf at the
Whistler Golf Club—a championship designed course by Arnold Palmer. You name it, Whistler has it.
Day 4: Get To The ChopperThe day you’ve really been waiting for. No perfect Whistler MTB trip is complete without heli-biking. It's is an incredible way to see Whistler from the air and get a true perspective of how vast and beautiful the region is. Providing easy access to the alpine, Blackcomb Helicopters offer reasonably priced heli-drops to Rainbow Mountain, situated across the valley from Whistler and Blackcomb mountains.
Once you’ve been dropped on the peak of Rainbow Mountain and the thump of the helicopter rotors fades into the background you have all the time in the world to soak in the incredible views and pristine setting of the alpine meadows below. Recommended for advanced riders only, from the alpine you’ll descend through high speed flowering meadows into rocky, rooty, old school singletrack nearly 1700m to the valley floor. It’s a memory that’s sure to stick with you for the rest of your life and an epic way to round out your trip.
Presented by Tourism Whistler.
To learn more about biking in Whistler or to book a trip, visit whistler.com/bike.
Nice gaff if you can get it. But seriously you don't need ads to get me to want to go there, it just makes me more depressed that I can't afford to for the foreseeable future.
If your wife says do you want to have children? Just say NO!
Hold on to the DH if possible!
ridespots.com/destination/whistler-british-columbia
A house here cost wayyyyy over a million bucks.
Most expensive cell phone bills
Insurance is crazy expensive.
It's great living here if you have a very well paying job.
www.trailforks.com/trails/cheakamus-lake-trail This is a nice scenic and well rounded ride that's not super tech. Gets up to a gorgeous lake.
Don't beget the bike park. Lots and lots of super fun green and blue trails that kids ride all day long. Don't be surprised to see 8 year old Canadian kids out riding you (and me). Also, the jump and skate park and surrounding play things are really fun to ride with your kids, or session yourself. This is next to the river that separates Blackcomb and Whistler. Somehow it's not marked on Trailforks, but you can see it here: www.google.com/maps/place/BMX+Park/@50.116608,-122.951138,309m/data=!3m1!1e3!4m5!3m4!1s0x0:0xc58c3196ff2598c4!8m2!3d50.1166574!4d-122.9511628?hl=en-US
Have fun and explore a bit. Trails on Blackcomb are bliss!
Definitely make sure to check out the bike park, especially the new Creekside trails (shown in this video!).
Need new shorts and would love some extra pockets.