Whistler Bike Park Creekside Trail Expansion Now Underway - Video
After many years in the planning and approval process, crews from three different trail building companies finally broke ground on the much anticipated construction of fifteen kilometres of new trails in the Creekside Zone. After opening this zone for bike park access in 2015, the Creekside trail expansion beginning now is the most ambitious development project in the park's history and will be a well deserved enhancement to this zone.
Video by: Good Fortune Collective & Goldstein Productions
Ready for 2018, five new trails are being built adding fifteen kilometres to the park's trail inventory, equalling an increase of 20% more lift accessed riding. Accessed directly from the Creekside Gondola, from Garbanzo Express/Upper Whistler Village Gondola, and from Top of the World, the new trails will be a mix of machine-built freeride and hand-built technical single track suitable for the intermediate and expert level rider. The zone is being developed to ride well for both all-mountain trail bikes and DH.
This mix of trail types will give the zone more diversity, allowing a larger range of riders the ability to access it while ensuring advanced riders keep coming back. All while maintaining the personality and atmosphere that makes Creekside so special.
The Dream Build Team
The new expansion will be split between three of the world's premier trail building teams based in Whistler. The Whistler Mountain Bike Park Trail Crew will be tackling the main machine-built low intermediate trail as well as teaming up with Gravity Logic on a low footprint machine-built single track. Gravity Logic will build two additional trails including a hand-built single track and another low footprint single track trail accessed from Highway 86. Joyride Bike Parks will be taking the final trail and making it a machine-built intermediate freeride. The purpose of this all-star build team is to ensure the trails are built with individual flavours allowing for the most diversity and a fresh approach. Each will be uniquely built giving riders a new experience on each one.
It is anticipated that all five new Creekside trails will be ready to ride for next summer's planned opening of the Creekside Gondola in June. It is also possible that some sections of the expansion will be available to ride before the end of this season but stay tuned for updates.
Looking even further in the future, the Master Plan for Creekside includes a total of 56km of trails that stretch from tree line to valley floor giving riders even more options when descending from Top of the World and the Garbanzo Zone. In anticipation, the Whistler Mountain Bike Park Trail Crew are developing several new trails within the existing park for this purpose. But for now, 15km is a great start.
Riders arriving to Whistler this season can currently access the park from the Creekside Gondola and take advantage of free, secure underground parking, delicious Dusty's BBQ, bike repair and shopping at GBB Creekside, and fewer lift lines.
View the full album of images.
Photography by: Clint Trahan
Top of the World Update - Opening This Saturday
Thanks to Mother Nature's warm and consistent temperatures so far this summer, along with some much needed acceleration by Trail Crew, riding from the summit of Whistler Mountain will be open this Saturday. There will still be many sections where the Top of the World trail will be covered in snow but Trail Crew has been able to remove as much as possible allowing riders to descend through the alpine. As the summer heat continues the trail will only get better and better.
To purchase your Top of the World ticket visit Guest Services or call 1-800-766-0449.
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Whistler doesn't need trail bike trails for trail bikes, or flow trail roads for big BMX bikes (although a FEST series jumpline would be nice in open areas - it certainly isn't a tiny flow trail) - it needs natural freeride mtb trails with big ungroomed natural gaps and drops with more steep rock rolls ala Cypress MTN. Handbuild the jumps and hucks and don't remove rocks and roots from drops and landings. There needs to be natural features or as some call it "old school" bikepark riding. There are plenty of trails already in Whistler for new riders, its time for trails where people can really push themselves, their equipment, and improve skill. Whistler needs DH/Freeride trails for big lines and big bikes.
No one is pointing a gun to your head saying you have to ride Whistler...obvisouly you dont belong there so dont go. Quit bitching about it like you are writing everyones pay check...
Whistler is the reason you have the bike you have. They have done more to mountain biking then you will ever do in your lifetime.
Props to Whistler for always killing it!
www2.gov.bc.ca/assets/gov/farming-natural-resources-and-industry/natural-resource-use/all-seasons-resorts/whistler/16_summer_recreation_plan_at_buildout_-_whistler.pdf
Looks like a ton of new terrain opening up, so stoked! The Blackcomb master plan is also showing potential future bike park operations as well. Looks like a certain existing trail does not fall within the boundaries shown in the master plan, which makes the current conflict a little more understandable.
Define low-footprint machine-built, are there any examples currently in the bike park? Serious question.
I'll be in Whistler Bike Park for my first time this year, with a friend, and I'm still with doubt about which bike bring there,.. a knotty podium or a kona process 153, half time in whistler BP and other days exploring squamish or pemberton... so I'm open to your suggestions to enjoy the ride.
It's also pretty sweet to drop off the bike at the end of day, knowing it will be serviced and ready for you in the morning. You're in Whistler on a dream vacation, who wants to spend time servicing your bike when you could be out enjoying the village life?