With a great mix of cruisy cross-country, technical downhill, and machine-groomed e-bike and adaptive trails, it comes as no surprise that Kimberley is fast becoming a must-visit mountain biking destination. While it can be tough to decide which of our 200 or so established trails to head out on, we’re taking the guesswork out and letting you in on some tried and true bike routes that we keep coming back to. Intermediate riders, this one’s for you!

The Route: Sleight of Hand/Magic Line 1 Climb → The Pledge/Magic Line 1 Descent → Nuts and Volts → Showmanship/Magic Line 2 Climb → The Turn/Magic Line 2 Descent → Nuts and Volts → John Travoltage → Mussers → Ohm My → Watts Up? → Misdirection/Magic Line 3 Climb → The Prestige/Magic Line 3 Descent

Distance: 11km

Time: 1-2 Hours

The Breakdown

This ride starts and ends at the Kimberley Nordic Centre parking lot, and is best suited for intermediate riders who are comfortable on Blue Trails, don’t mind some hard pedalling on the climbs, and can tackle some loose, rocky terrain and small jumps on the descents. Expect this loop to take between 1-2 hours, and give you a great taste of the variety of Blue trails and scenic views that the Nordic Centre Trail Network has to offer.

• Sleight of Hand/Magic Line 1 Climb → The Pledge/Magic Line 1 Descent → Nuts and Volts
  
  Expect a few steep hills on the climb, and some good old-fashioned rocks and small roots on the way down. This leg of the loop is a great way to get the heart rate up for the larger climbs and descents to come. At the bottom of The Pledge/Magic Line 1 Descent, continue straight onto the Green Nuts and Volts trail to find the second climb of the route
  
  Alternate Descent - Rainbow Rock Rodeo: near the top of the Sleight of Hand/Magic Line 1 Climb, you’ll find a branch-off called Splendid Cowboy, which leads to the Blue flow descent, Rainbow Rock Rodeo. This is a fun alternative for anyone looking to tackle smooth berms and small jumps. This trail links back to The Pledge/Magic Line 1 Descent

• Showmanship/Magic Line 2 Climb → The Turn/Magic Line 2 Descent
  
  The second climb of this loop takes you to an iconic viewpoint overlooking the town and the distant Canadian Rockies, and has recently been refurbished to reduce the overall uphill grade. For the descent, expect things to be a little more rocky than The Pledge/Magic Line 1, and keep an eye out for 2 small rock drops that can be rolled or ridden around, depending on your riding comfort. Briefly connect back to Nuts and Volts at the bottom before finding the start of John Travoltage
  
  Alternate Descent - Yiiikes!: for a more technical descent from the top of the Showmanship/Magic Line 2 Climb, expert riders might opt to tackle the punchy and rocky Yiiikes trail. Keep an eye out for the large wooden structures and technical lines along the way, and plan to link back with John Travoltage at the bottom

• Nuts and Volts → John Travoltage → Mussers
  
  John Travolate is a fun way to link together the 3 bigger climbs and descents of this route. Expect a fun cruise featuring machine groomed berms and the option for expert riders to try a few bigger features, such as The Screemer on the south end of the trail. Once done, connect onto the Green Mussers trail to link to our final climb of the route

• Ohm My → Watts Up? → Misdirection/Magic Line 3 Climb → The Prestige/Magic Line 3 Descent
  
  Ohm My is a machine-groomed 2-directional trail that connects to the more mellow Climb Trail, Watts Up, then reconnects back to the Misdirection/Magic Line 3 Original Climb. While the Misdirection/Magic Line 3 Original Climb trail can still be ridden in full from the bottom, we like the Ohm My to Watts Up option for anyone looking for less steep gradients and a little more cruise all the way through. From the top, get ready for a fun 1.5km descent with small, punchy jumps, plenty of groomed berms, and views of our surrounding mountains in all directions
  
  Alternate Descents - Penelope’s Cruise or Shoodilley-Waddliley: for expert riders looking to spice up the descent of their final climb, both Penelope’s Cruise and Shoodilley-Waddliley can be found near the top of the Misdirection/Magic Line 3 Climb. Pick Penelope’s Cruise for a technical, handbuilt trail that offers plenty of rocky, rooty and loamy fun. For those looking for more of an advanced, machine-built flow trail with large jumps and berms, Shoodilley-Waddliley might be the trail for you

Electrify the Mountains Project

As our suggested intermediate route starts and ends in the Nordic Centre Trail Network, a shout out to the Electrify the Mountains Project is in order. The Electrify the Mountains Project is a collaboration between the City of Kimberley, Sustainable Kimberley, and the Kimberley Trails Society. Funded by the Tourism Dependent Communities Fund created by the Government of BC, this project has played a pivotal role in the development and refurbishment of many of the biking trails in the Nordic Centre area. The First Phase of the Electrify the Mountain Project officially opened in June of 2024, welcoming in 36km of new and upgraded trails suitable for eBikes, adaptive trikes and traditional mountain bikes. Moving forwards, the trail projects will be managed and maintained by the Kimberley Trails Society, the local non-profit that manages over 180km of Kimberley trails.

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.