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Bike park advice
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flag Barks82
O+ FL
Posted: Jan 1, 2023 at 10:46 Quote
Hey, my family and I are planning a bike trip in the spring and we're trying to decide on a park. What are people's thoughts between Highlands and Killington? Or, any other recommendations?

We did Whistler last year. But, we're hoping for something drivable from Ontario this time.

Thanks!
flag BenLow2019
Posted: Jan 1, 2023 at 11:08 Quote
Can only comment on Highland - I thought it was friggin’ awesome!
It is totally all bike park and nothing else.
I’d love to ride Whistler one day, but watching videos of Whistler and looking at trail maps it’s easy to see that Whistler and Highland are almost polar opposite experiences. Whistler seems like a huge resort village super Walmart and Highland is a small, farm-to-table gem.
Highland just felt very tight knit and non-commercialized. I mean just driving to the place made me feel like I was going to a “locals only” zone as you pass by small farms and then climb an old dirt road past some houses to get there.
It was great. The riding is superb, the vibe is contagious and the park is phenomenal. Be advised that it is pretty single minded: there’s the awesome riding, a place to eat, bike rentals and a souvenir shop - that’s all. If that’s all you need then you’ll have a great time and I highly recommend it.
flag Matt7082
O+
Posted: Jan 6, 2023 at 5:15 Quote
I vote Killington. The park is very big, and spread out. There are several lifts serving the park which helps spread the people out. I'll also add that of the handful of times I'd visited Killington, I have never had to wait in a lift line for more than 5 minutes.

Killington has a good variety of trails and they are also a lot longer than Highland. I do love riding at Highland for all the reasons previously mentioned, but that lift line is a major turn off for me. Highland sports one very old chair lift and it operates slowwwwwwww, and combined with the line it makes smashing laps kinda tough on most days.

For me, Killington is great for riding long and fast laps on beautifully maintained flow trails, and nasty tech. And the jump trails are the best I've ever ridden. Highland is where I go to ride as many big freeride features as I can. Both parks have a vibe completely different from each other, and I do favor the vibe at Highland.

Lastly, you may find that there are lots of other things to do en route to and around Killington. There are plenty of other bike parks along the way while driving from Canada, and there are also quite a few non-bike related activities around Killington for your family.
flag WTF-IDK
O+
Posted: Jan 15, 2023 at 19:37 Quote
Big difference between them.
Highland is lift access
Kingdom is not. Tho it does have Burke mtn that is lift but it’s not Kingdom.
flag BenLow2019
Posted: Jan 16, 2023 at 6:37 Quote
WTF-IDK wrote:
Big difference between them.
Highland is lift access
Kingdom is not. Tho it does have Burke mtn that is lift but it’s not Kingdom.

I think OP wanted to discuss Killington, not Kingdom. Killington has lifts.
flag WTF-IDK
O+
Posted: Jan 17, 2023 at 7:38 Quote
BenLow2019 wrote:
WTF-IDK wrote:
Big difference between them.
Highland is lift access
Kingdom is not. Tho it does have Burke mtn that is lift but it’s not Kingdom.

I think OP wanted to discuss Killington, not Kingdom. Killington has lifts.

Yup. Miss read that.
I have not been to Killington for MTB.
flag d-dog123
FL
Posted: Jan 17, 2023 at 8:04 Quote
I too have a question about bike parks. my family and i are making a day trip to whistler and i was wondering what are the best trials to hit?
flag BenLow2019
Posted: Jan 17, 2023 at 9:11 Quote
d-dog123 wrote:
I too have a question about bike parks. my family and i are making a day trip to whistler and i was wondering what are the best trials to hit?

Nobody will be able to answer this for you without more information. What is your skill level? What kind of trail do you typically ride? Will you split off to satisfy different members of the family or will you all ride as a group? How big are the kids? More detail the better.

Good luck.
flag d-dog123
FL
Posted: Jan 18, 2023 at 7:57 Quote
BenLow2019 wrote:
d-dog123 wrote:
I too have a question about bike parks. my family and i are making a day trip to whistler and i was wondering what are the best trials to hit?

Nobody will be able to answer this for you without more information. What is your skill level? What kind of trail do you typically ride? Will you split off to satisfy different members of the family or will you all ride as a group? How big are the kids? More detail the better.

Good luck.
oh yeah sorry. Im the kid going, im really good at tech but not so much jumps. im really asking for myself.
flag BenLow2019
Posted: Jan 18, 2023 at 8:01 Quote
d-dog123 wrote:
BenLow2019 wrote:
d-dog123 wrote:
I too have a question about bike parks. my family and i are making a day trip to whistler and i was wondering what are the best trials to hit?

Nobody will be able to answer this for you without more information. What is your skill level? What kind of trail do you typically ride? Will you split off to satisfy different members of the family or will you all ride as a group? How big are the kids? More detail the better.

Good luck.
oh yeah sorry. Im the kid going, im really good at tech but not so much jumps. im really asking for myself.

Maybe watch Sam Pilgrim's video. It picks up after 2:30.
flag d-dog123
FL
Posted: Jan 18, 2023 at 8:04 Quote
t
BenLow2019 wrote:
d-dog123 wrote:
BenLow2019 wrote:


Nobody will be able to answer this for you without more information. What is your skill level? What kind of trail do you typically ride? Will you split off to satisfy different members of the family or will you all ride as a group? How big are the kids? More detail the better.

Good luck.
oh yeah sorry. Im the kid going, im really good at tech but not so much jumps. im really asking for myself.

Maybe watch Sam Pilgrim's video.
thanks dudeBeer
flag jpjpj
O+
Posted: Jan 18, 2023 at 11:03 Quote
Barks82 wrote:
Hey, my family and I are planning a bike trip in the spring and we're trying to decide on a park. What are people's thoughts between Highlands and Killington? Or, any other recommendations?

We did Whistler last year. But, we're hoping for something drivable from Ontario this time.

Thanks!


Killington is a big mountain with many peaks and different terrain. There is a lot of diversity, the chairs are fast and there are activities for the whole family other than biking... There are also a lot of stores and restaurants. If you have a camper you can sleep for free in the parking lot, it's very cool with the family! If you choose Killington you can take a day trip to Suicide Six Bike Park (Saskadena Six) which is about 15 minutes away, nice little mountain for the kids! But there is no big challenge in Killington like Highland, other than some old DH trails that are not very pleasant to ride.

Highland is really different, very small mountain with a very slow chair. Weekends are often accompanied by line ups of over 40 minutes plus a very long climb. But there are a lot of challenges, jumps, drops, big freerides. There are challenges for everyone. So to evolve in jumps it is the place. The emblem is really cool, but outside the mountain there is not much to do.


Personally we are from the MTL area and we bought our season pass at highland for 2023. Because my son would like to play jumps. We have been to kilington several times in 2022 because it is closer to our house and I find it a bit redundant in the long run, because there is no more construction of new trail..... even if it is a beautiful mountain.

you can also easily do the 2 destinations in a week
flag BenLow2019
Posted: Jan 18, 2023 at 12:12 Quote
jpjpj wrote:
Barks82 wrote:
Hey, my family and I are planning a bike trip in the spring and we're trying to decide on a park. What are people's thoughts between Highlands and Killington? Or, any other recommendations?

We did Whistler last year. But, we're hoping for something drivable from Ontario this time.

Thanks!


Highland is really different, very small mountain with a very slow chair. Weekends are often accompanied by line ups of over 40 minutes plus a very long climb.

For the OP, can confirm the chair is slow at Highland - it will take just under 15 minutes to get to the top. Also, on a sunny day you can roast on that chair while you ride up. I brought a boonie hat to swap with my helmet during the lift to prevent getting scorched. I tried lots of sunblock, but it wasn't up to the test.

That said, I was there on weekdays in July - the line was either non-existent or short. I got over 30 runs in two days.

Advice for any park trip: bring the boonie hat and go on a weekday if possible.
flag Barks82
O+ FL
Posted: Jan 21, 2023 at 11:59 Quote
BenLow2019 wrote:
d-dog123 wrote:
BenLow2019 wrote:


Nobody will be able to answer this for you without more information. What is your skill level? What kind of trail do you typically ride? Will you split off to satisfy different members of the family or will you all ride as a group? How big are the kids? More detail the better.

Good luck.
oh yeah sorry. Im the kid going, im really good at tech but not so much jumps. im really asking for myself.

Maybe watch Sam Pilgrim's video. It picks up after 2:30.

Angry Pirate, Duffman and Original Sin were some of my fav tech trails. Crank it up is an amazing trail to build your confidence with jumps.
flag d-dog123
FL
Posted: Jan 23, 2023 at 7:35 Quote
Barks82 wrote:
BenLow2019 wrote:
d-dog123 wrote:
oh yeah sorry. Im the kid going, im really good at tech but not so much jumps. im really asking for myself.

Maybe watch Sam Pilgrim's video. It picks up after 2:30.

Angry Pirate, Duffman and Original Sin were some of my fav tech trails. Crank it up is an amazing trail to build your confidence with jumps.
Thanks! yeah as a teen in a flat area, jumps are very hard to find, cant really travel to any too. Also looking at joyride.
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