Bikes, babies and beer – a Sun Peaks Resort road trip chronicle

While many young parents’ lives skid to a halt when they have children, selling their downhill bikes and abandoning other “risky” behaviour, my partner, Nicola, and I have made a point of balancing our play with that of our children, unwilling to slip into the malaise of “maturity.” We continue to ride that fine line, both on the trails and in the rearing of our little whipper snappers.

But to maintain this optimum balance, we’re continually trying to ensure our kids are having as much fun as we are, and that means seeking out destinations that offer a combination of sweet riding and excitement for the kids. With many four-season resorts in British Columbia developing their slopes into world-class downhill mountain bike parks, this balance is becoming easier than ever, and Sun Peaks Resort exemplifies such a destination – with a whole lotta somethin’ for everyone.
We loaded up the truck with bikes, babies and beer and headed out from Rossland with glistening single track on our minds and promises of pools and playing for the kids. With ample stops for potty breaks, food and dropping in to see Trevor and our friends at Full Boar bike shop in Kamloops, we took the better part of Friday getting up to the Peaks. We made our way to our plush accommodation at Cahilty Lodge, the condo-hotel that was formerly owned by and is still home to none other than Rossland-raised, Olympic gold medalist skier Nancy Green.


That night our good buddy Matty Davis came up to share some libations and to show off his new KTM 650 Adventure motorbike, but he was off on a road trip of his own the next day so unfortunately we didn’t get to ride together. We did managed to make the best of the hot tub and good grub from Mackers to round out a welcoming and relaxing evening.


Sun Peaks boasts 2,000 vertical feet of lift-access terrain and 26 well-maintained trails, ranging from machine constructed to high-calibre downhill courses and classic freeride trails. The high-speed Sunburst chair whisks you to the top in minutes, and with much shorter lift lines than Whistler, you’re guaranteed to get your full share of ripping in a day.

In the morning we met up with Jordan Petrovics from Sun Peaks’ marketing department, who helped us get situated with the resort and help with our plan of attack for the rest of the weekend. He explained that they have a new trail building crew that has brought some fresh perspective and ideas to the park. From what he told us, it sounds like all indications are that they’re on the right track. Now, to the slopes!



We met up with Kamloops locals Martin and Jamie Dickson to sus the goods and provide some visual adornments for my photos. As the day progressed, we met up with more and more familiar faces, including young ripper Chase Marshall and a few of the builders responsible for the rejuvenation of the Peak’s trails – Scotty J, Long Perm (Steve), Opie (Joel), James J, Alex and Chris. It was a fast crew, and we covered some ground.


Our goal was to start the somewhat muddy wet day with some old classics to warm up, but we soon found out that even runs such as Gummy Bear and Barn Burner have been vastly improved with flow sections, floater jumps and some previously closed single track sections that were simply sweet. Of course the old school steep, techy lines like Honeydrop provided the same challenges as always, but honestly, the revamped blue runs on the park’s eastern slope were some of the finest I rode all weekend – and they all finish with blazing speed down Sweet One, Home Run or Arm Pump. Dig it.


After a good morning session we enjoyed some excellent food and bevies at Masa’s outdoor patio. A nice touch is Sun Peaks extended the lift’s hours of operation to 7 p.m. on Saturday, allowing the time to enjoy lunch knowing you’re guaranteed to get in a full day of riding.


At the base Village there’s an array of activities for little and big kids alike, from bungee trampolines, a children’s park and a good selection of shops along the pedestrian street winding through the Village. In addition, Sun Peaks has a new Recreation Centre, including an outdoor pool and hot tub open to the public – and an ideal place to lounge while juggling kids and rides. To top it off, the air was filled with music as the Kamloops Symphony Orchestra was having its annual concert series, “Music in the Mountains,” in the Village and at the mid-mountain Sunburst Lodge – Classic!


In the afternoon, we hit the signature dirt jump/big stunt line, Steam Shovel. This run has been in development for the past couple years, but I can say that this is the first year they seemed to have nailed it. The trannies are now far enough to let you boost of the big booters, and a fine new line, “Creeper,” connects the upper and lower sections to avoid the boring straight section of yore. The lower portion of the Shovel has been realigned to flow better, including the addition of a big step up to elevated platform to hip/drop to a challenging, u-shaped vertical wall ride which, if you can get on it and horizontal, spits you out like a slingshot. It’s not for the faint hearted…


It’s no secret that the Peaks’ bike park, now in its 8th season, has always had good single track and classic downhill runs. But with the explosion in popularity of machine-built jump trails with the accompanying big stunts, Sun Peaks seemed to be slipping. However, they’ve addressed technical issues such as fixing trannies, building better, bigger jumps and stunts, and developing new lines to better connect their signature trails. While some of the new runs we sampled were still a bit raw, I can say that they’re doing it, and doing it right…


Steam Shovel ends at the top of the new slopestyle park, the Rocky Mountain Flow Zone. This somewhat steep-pitched park offers an array of dirt jumps, from big tables to proper BMX-style jumps, to a huge gap jump line. While the park was a bit wet to sample all the goods, the rider’s left line consisting of three progressively bigger tables was fun and big – just make sure you break check in to the first one and slightly into the second, as the potential to over-shoot is huge. The last one is smooth sailing.


Another noteworthy new line connects from the end of Kaboom. After riding the shale chutes at the end where you end up under the lift, head right, across the hill into a nice little raw trail that winds down through the mature forest. While it was awaiting a few berms, this is a fun, technical line that shouldn’t be missed, if that’s your cup of tea.

With a solid day of riding behind us, we took the bikes and babies back to Cahilty and met up with our friends for the third and much anticipated ingredient of the day – beers. With some carousing and reminiscing under our belts, we packed it in with another day of great riding ahead of us.


On Sunday we rode most of the day before the long, tired drive home. A great weekend was had by all, young and old alike. Sun Peaks has really stepped up their game this year and it is definitely a destination to have on this summer’s itinerary – you’ll be more than impressed with the improvements to the bike park, and will find plenty to keep you and any other progeny well entertained off the slopes as well.

Oh to live in British Columbia! Oh to visit British Columbia! Happy trails…

www.sunpeaksresort.com