The Shuswap has an abundance of shredding opportunities for riders of all tastes and abilities. Here are the main zones. Check Trailforks.com for the best trail mapping and information.
South Canoe
South Canoe is the primary area for xc riding, and home to the Salty Dog Enduro.
There are a couple of twisty, flowy rippers near the bottom of the system, which we call the Malibu Trails. Across the road at the top of Malibu is a network of intermediate routes that criss-cross up and down through some beautiful sections of forest. Use this area as a ride of its own or as a climb to the higher trails instead of using the road.
The classic Lower Schitzo starts at the radio tower a little higher up. This beauty has a little of everything, a couple drops, a nice booter, and a few spicy rock gardens – all with ride-arounds.
Higher up still are a few blue/black trails that are a little steeper and more technical: Coffee Time, Lumpy and KC. Coffee time is a loamy puzzle of turns and doubles (worth the extra climb!), KC is a loamy masterpiece recently redesigned, and is Lumpy is a local fave full of rocks, steeps, and lumps.
On the south side are some newer trails. Alternative Facts, Factual Acts, and Sin Caballos offer flow and challenges and can be ridden in either direction. While mostly blue there are a couple of rocky sections that are tricky to clean and require some attention.
Rubberhead
Traditionally this is the shuttle/dh riding area but there is also an amazing climb trail that you can link up with the main road or less-used double-track to earn your turns.
The main parking lot is on the 110 FSR. From there, use the climb trail, DD until you get to the Rubbhead Climb traverse section. From there, take the Rubberhead Climb to the road on the north to access the Ravine Trail. Alternatively or as a quick fix, follow our recommended climb route to get to the top. From the top of DD, head up the Yellow Brick Rd and drop in the Very Bad Wizard, or continue on the double-track to access the Ida View trail to get to the very top and start at Half Baked.
The top-to-bottom A line is Half Baked, Muffintop to Veggie-Delight/Meatgrinder to A-Frame, Sea-Doo, Alvin Comes Alive, Alvin’s Greatest Hits, and Free-fallin’ if you park on the Hwy pull-off. Veggie Delight is a dark blue with some tech, or you can try Meatgrinder, a classic fall-line trail with some steeps, drops and TTFs, mostly optional.
On the north side of Rubberhead is the Ravine trail – Top to bottom this is a side-hill rip with some very fast straight-aways, nice corners, some small drops.
Feeling like a longer ride? Try the Over the Top. Climb up South Canoe, meander through the Larch Hills trails, then drop into Rubberhead. Leave a car at the Hwy turnoff, or at Canoe Beach.
Larch Hills Traverse
An all day epic from Salmon Arm to Sicamous this is one to go on your to-do list. Preferably with a houseboat lined up in Sicamous to shuttle you back in with a beer in hand. Failing that, drop a car in Sicamous.
With multiple access points to extend or shorten the ride, be sure to check out the Shuswap Trail Alliance’s comprehensive guide to the trail. It is truly a traverse, touring one through an array of various amazing ecosystems and trail sections. Just make sure you are prepared with lots of water, some food, lights, tools, tubes and bear spray.
Reinecker Creek
This is a series of 10 and 20k cross-country circuits along flowing forest trails above Shuswap Lake. The Reinecker Creek trail system is made up of two routes along the valley sides that parallel Reinecker Creek above the beautiful Margaret Falls and Herald Provincial Park. The West trail is a multi-use trail that sees motorized traffic, and is two to three metres wide and roughly 10km long. This is the typical way up. The East trail is a non-motorized route that is 0.5 metres wide and 10km long. There are two crossing points (North and South). The South Crossing is about halfway through the East and West trails and the North crossing is at the top end of both trails. Note, however, that Mountain Bikes can only access and exit Herald Park from the Yellow Gate on the east side of Margaret Falls Parking Lot (watch for signs). The Yellow Gate trail has rough washed out steep climb for about 1 k before accessing a much gentler abandoned FSR climb. A shorter 10 km loop is also possible from the South Crossing to the North Crossing by using the Bastion Mt FSRoad access to the Middle Trailhead.