Depending on how far you’re willing to travel in the region, it’s mountain biking season.
The snow is taking its time leaving, but there are trails within reach that are good to go.
“Go where it’s dry,” said Cindy Sleeman of the Fernie Mountain Biking Club.
“Right now a lot of trails down south are good, like Elk Rim, Wigwam and the Community Forest.”
For the Community Forest in Cranbrook, Sleeman said that trails on the north side of the highway were almost all dry, while trails to the south still had a little further to go.
In the Spring weather, trail etiquette was pretty basic. If it’s too muddy, please turn back and find an area where it’s dry. If you do come across a muddy section and have to go through: do just that – go through and not around.
“You’re doing more damage by riding around a muddy area,” said Sleeman, who explained that going around could widen the trail or eventually create branch trails.
The Elk Valley area still has a ways to go before the trails are good to go on a regular mountain bike (although fatbikes with tires with low pressure are possible options), but there’s plenty of locals getting stuck into riding in preparation for dryer weather.
Sleeman said it was valuable for bike riders for everyone to rate and update trails on Trailforks, because it allowed riders to know about conditions, and the best places to go.
It also allows donations to the clubs and organizations that maintain the trails they used – though club membership is also encouraged.
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