While Kimberley has its fair share of cruisy cross-country and all-levels progressive trails, there’s also no shortage of down and dirty, buck-around-and-find-out routes to keep expert riders gripping and ripping with huge smiles on their faces. Whether your ideal ride includes party laps on your favourite downhill track, or is more geared towards a long day on the saddle with gruelling climbs and long downhills, we’ve got an expert route you’ll be itching to return to for years to come.

The Route: Levirs in a Dangerous Time → Trickledown → Upper Army Road → Army Road (Trans Canada Trail) → Lower Thunder Turkey (Trans Canada Trail) → Sneaking Cougar (Trans Canada Trail) → Unicorn Hunting (Bootleg Climb Trail) → Bootleg FSR → Snow Mexican or Atlas Shrugged → White Lightening → Pinch and Roll (Matt’s) → haǂaʔ¢u swaʔ (Sneaking Cougar / Trans Canada Trail) back to homebase

Distance: 40 - 42 km Round Trip (depending on descent route)

Time: 3+ Hours

The Breakdown

Our Expert Route is for strong riders who love to mix long endurance pedals, challenging climbs, and technical descents into a single outing. On this route, you’ll pass through Kimberley’s varying topography, enjoy some spectacular views of the Purcell and Rocky Mountains, and gain a whole lot of appreciation for the vast trail networks we are lucky to enjoy here. Ready to ride?

• Levirs in a Dangerous Time → Trickledown → Upper Army Road → Army Road (Trans Canada Trail) → Lower Thunder Turkey (Trans Canada Trail) → haǂaʔ¢u swaʔ (Sneaking Cougar / Trans Canada Trail) → Unicorn Hunting (Bootleg Climb Trail)
  
  This ride starts out mellow with a low-grade and cruisy climb from the Swan Avenue Trailhead in the Kimberley Nature Park. After flowing through Levirs in a Dangerous Time and Trickledown, prepare for a long pedal along the Trans Canada Trail, which connects the Kimberley Nature Park to the Bootleg Mountain Trailhead

• Unicorn Hunting (Bootleg Climb Trail) → Bootleg FSR
  
  After reaching the end of the haǂaʔ¢u swaʔ (Sneaking Cougar/Trans Canada Trail) section, find yourself at the base of Bootleg Mountain. This is Kimberley’s dedicated downhill biking network, and is a must-visit for any rider looking for more technical terrain, steeper descents, and challenging climbs. Find Unicorn Hunting, Bootleg’s 8km climb-trail, near the Trailhead and begin the long pedal to the top of Bootleg Mountain. While the climb trail takes you 8km up, there is an additional 4km to go before reaching the two highest trails, Atlas Shrugged and Snow Mexican. Take the Bootleg FSR road to reach the upper trails, then get ready for a screaming descent back down to the staging area
  
  Bonus: Bootleg Mountain is also a designated Recreation Sites and Trails BC area, with areas to camp, an outhouse, and a few picnic tables and fire pits to enjoy

• Snow Mexican or Atlas Shrugged → White Lightening → Pinch and Roll (Matt’s)
  
  If descending down Atlas Shrugged, expect a steep and rooty descent with lots of loam and plenty of techy rock, jumps, and drops mixed in along the way. This track is 4km long, with over 850m of elevation drop to enjoy
  
  The other route from the top, Snow Mexican, requires a bit more commitment, with less opportunity to jump out onto less challenging trails mid-ride. Expect long and steep rock slab sections and plenty of technical terrain the whole way through. With mandatory drops and tight switch backs, this one will get your pulse racing
  
  Both trails eventually funnel into the uber fun jump line, White Lightening. From the bottom of White Lightening, riders can opt between Matt’s Pinch & Roll (our pick for a more technical route), NIMBY, or the new green Spicy Kitty to return to the bottom of Bootleg

• Sneaking Cougar (Trans Canada Trail) → Back to Basecamp
  
  After a gruelling pedal to the top of the mountain and a white-knuckle descent down challenging terrain, we strongly suggest a soak and chill at the Matthew Creek crossing along haǂaʔ¢u swaʔ (Sneaking Cougar/Trans Canada Trail) before resuming your pedal back to town
  
  Tip: May we suggest you pedal a little further to Grist & Mash Brewery or Overtime Beer Works for a well-deserved post-ride refreshment, too?

Alternate Route: Less Endurance, Just as Much Fun

Listen, sometimes we want the downhill fun without the marathon pedal first. The good news is that Bootleg Mountain is the perfect place to enjoy all-day shuttle laps with your crew. Bring along a sturdy vehicle to navigate these rough, gravel roads, and get ready to feel fresh and ready for the technical downhill laps that will follow. Aside from Atlas Shrugged and Snow Mexican, we also love Snow White and the Seven Wasps, and the slightly less technical Pinch & Roll for more great expert options.

Reminders

While we’re all for optimizing our fun on the trails, preparation and planning are vital to ensure that every outing goes as smoothly as possible. Be sure to familiarize yourself with our basic planning, safety, trail etiquette and wildlife tips, then stock up on relevant maps, apps and guidebooks. Kimberley's Trail Networks can be viewed on the Trailforks website or through the mobile Trailforks application.

We would like to acknowledge that Kimberley (k̓ukamaʔnam) and our surrounding trail networks are located on the unceded traditional territory of the Ktunaxa (?amak?is) Nation. And shout out to our fabulous volunteer trail societies, Kimberley Trails Society and Kimberley Nature Park volunteers, who thoughtfully build and maintain the most incredible playgrounds for us to enjoy.