The mountain biking community in Burns Lake is well organized and highly active, which makes for excellent, accessible, and easy to navigate riding trails.
The main mountain biking area is the Boer Mountain Recreation Site – over 4000 hectares of Crown Land – just a few minutes drive north of town. The area has more than 13 km of downhill trail and over 7 km of cross-country trail, with additional trails in the works. The downhill trails off the top of Boer Mountain were designed by the world renowned Gravity Logic team.
Beginner to intermediate riders will enjoy the trails around Kager Lake. Kager Lake also features picturesque walk-in camping and picnicking spots. Burns Lake Bike Park consists of 160 acres of private land located adjacent to the Boer Mountain Recreation Site. The park’s well-marked routes twist around a wetland area, several streams and a small lake. The terrain includes a variety of cross-country and downhill, with difficulty levels ranging from beginner to advanced. Various trails include fun and challenging features such as jumps, drops, wall rides and boardwalks. Difficulty levels are clearly marked on the Burns Lake Bike Park Map but riders are apt to know how hard the trails are according to their names.
Examples of the more difficult tracks include “Smells Like Bacon,” “Pork Grind,” and “Slaughter House.” Some of the easier ones such as “Piglet” and “Curly Tail” are less intimidating.
The bike park also hosts a skills park for riders to practice, and a 4-cross track. Features include log rides, ramps, jumps, skinnies, a pump track, and more. The recreation site and bike park are managed by the local bike club – Burns Lake Mountain Biking Association.
The club will hold the annual biking festival – “The Big Pig” – August 19-21st, 2011, which features downhill, cross-country and 4-cross races, as well as a jump jam. For more information on mountain biking in the Burns Lake area visit www.burnslaketrails.ca
