Biking the Valley Trail in Whistler, BC
For avid / top notch Mountain Bikers, Whistler, BC's mountain bike park (on Whistler and Blackcomb Mountains) is home to some of the wildest downhill mountain biking in Canada. I like to mountain bike and pretend to think I'm hardcore, even though I'm actually a casual, blue-trail rider, so, when I was in Whistler this past September, I walked to the base of the mountains, stared up at the massive platforms, drops and steep trails running from the cloud-covered slopes, and decided that maybe my skills weren't quite where they needed to be. At this point, I walked back into the village and had a beer instead. The beer almost got me over the fact that the biking was too intense. Whistler Village, however, is filled with bike shops renting mountain bikes from sun up until sun down, so getting over the urge to hop on a bike is next to impossible.
On my second day in Whistler, I decided to pop into one of the bike shops to see if there were any trails I could do without risking serious injury. The guy at the store informed me that his rental bikes, which were Specialized Mountain Bikes, could only be ridden on the Valley Trail (which is, as you probably guessed, located in the valley beneath the mountains). He then pulled out a map of Whistler Village, grabbed a pen and showed me the yellow trail running around the village, through the surrounding old growth forests, and beneath the Whistler and Blackcomb mountains. The trail, as it turns out, offers both gravel and paved sections. It also leads to the five different lakes in the Whistler valley.
The guy at the store took his pen, circled where we were on the map, guided the tip of the pen along the yellow trail, skimmed by the two closest lakes to the village (Lost Lake and Green Lake), brushed the pen back towards the village, and then showed me how to get to the remaining three lakes on the other side of the valley (Alta Lake, Nita Lake and Alpha Lake). He told me that the first part of the ride that takes you to the two closest lakes takes about an hour, and that the full ride past all five lakes could triple that. I studied the map. The yellow, unbroken Valley Trail lines indicated the paved sections of the trail; the yellow, broken Valley Trail lines indicated the unpaved sections. I decided to grab a bike, ride to the first two lakes, and then see how I felt after that.
Lost Lake
The trail turned out to be way more fun than expected. I thought it was going to just a simple, flat ride around the village, however the trail dipped, and swerved and led through Whistler's old growth forest. After a short ride down the gravel trail, the trees opened up, snow-capped mountains jutted into the sky, and Lost Lake came into view. Lost Lake is a relatively small lake - you can ride around it on your bike in less than five minutes -however there are a number of great spots to stop and take in the epic views of the mountains over the water. There's also a small beach area with picnic tables if you feel like chilling and / or having a picnic. After I looped around the lake, snapped a few photos, and took in the mountain views, I continued my ride down the trail.
Green Lake
After another ten or so minutes of riding through the forest, the gravel trail transitioned into pavement. At this point, I got a little discouraged, because the trail seemed to be taking me back towards the village, a resort and one of the golf courses. I checked my map and, sure enough, it indicated that the next lake was ahead. After a few more minutes of cruising, a large, turquoise lake appeared. Massive tree-covered, mountains rose above the water. Clouds hovered and swirled around their peaks. As it turns out, Green Lake really is green. I rested for a while, took some pictures of the lake, and watched as the prop planes took off from the water.
The ride to the first two lakes took me less than an hour, so I decided I'd try cruising to the remaining three lakes. I will say that the first two lakes are probably the most epic, however the remaining three are still beautiful and offer a more secluded, out-in-nature kind of feel, as they are farther away from the village. With that in mind, my journey towards the third lake started after I cruised through part of the village, crossed a road, and then dived back into a trail. This part of the trail, even though it was paved, weaved through the old growth forest for quite a long time.
Alta Lake
After what seemed like quite a long ride through the trees, a green field appeared. At the end of the field, a small lake rested beneath a few tree-covered hills. Grey clouds hovered in the sky. I rode my bike across the grass, leaned my bike against a picnic table and walked out on a small dock. Water sloshed and waved beneath my feet. Whistler's mountains loomed in the distance (it turns out the ride through the old growth forest does take you quite far from the village, so bring snacks if you're going to go see all five lakes).
Nita Lake
The trail zipped back into the forest, climbed up slopes, and wound around cliffs edges, as I headed towards Nita Lake. After another seemingly long cruise through the woods, a dark lake, a lake-side resort and wooden dock appeared. This lake is probably the smallest lake of the five, however it does offer an incredible view of a fairly large mountain right from the wooden dock. If you, like me, are really into photography, the lake provides a perfect composition for a symmetrical shot of the dock, lake and mountain. And, if you get hungry, I imagine you could grab a quick bite to eat at the adjacent resort.
Alpha Lake
At this point I was getting pretty tired, craving a beer, and feeling hungry, so I blitzed over the last of the five lakes. Alpha Lake, being the farthest lake from Whistler Village, does provide a fairly distant, deep-in-nature kind of feel (if you can get over the small park, picnic benches, and cottages at the base of the lake). Rugged trees loomed over the black water, grey clouds hovered over the mountain peaks and rain started to drizzle on my coat. Being in BC, I took that as a sign of heavier rain to come, so I snapped some photos, hopped on my bike and headed back down the Valley Trail.
The ride back wasn't terrible, but the only thing that kind of sucks about it is that, once you've gone Alpha Lake, you've kind of gone as far away from the village as you can along the trail, so it's a bit of a trek back. You thankfully don't need to do the exact same trail back, as the Valley Trail itself is a loop and eventually leads you away from the lakes and back towards one of the main roads into the village. By the time I arrived back in the village, the entire journey had taken me about three hours. I returned the bike, waddled my tired legs over to one of the pubs, and sipped on a post bike ride beer.
So, if you've got an hour to waste or just feel like going for a quick bike ride, I'd say the ride to Lost Lake and Green Lake is the way to go, as it'll give you a solid view of some of Whistler's iconic lakes, forests and mountains. If you're feeling a little more adventurous and have way more time, then I'd definitely recommend checking out all five lakes. The journey may take quite a bite longer and your legs will be in for a bit of workout, but it's well worth it. Just remember to bring along some snacks for the ride (and wear something waterproof, just in case).
Check out my article about the best places to stop along the Sea to Sky Highway for some things to do on your way to Whistler!
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