The first thing you need to know about riding in Cumberland is that most of the trails on the mountain were not originally planned in any which way. The original renegade trails were constructed in a haphazard fashion, and only in recent years have local mountain biking advocates attempted to stitch them together into more logical routes. Even still, to complete this flow lap, you'll have to string together some amazing descents with a few awkward punchy climbs in the middle. This is simply the reality of Cumberland mountain biking.

This recommended route follows Sobo No Michi to Above and Beyond, Blue Print, New Vanilla, Upper Climax, Field of Dreams, Blue Collar, the Crafty Butchers, No Hole, and Space Nugget.

The ride begins by following the classic climbing route up the dirt road and then up Sobo No Michi. Sobo No Michi is a purpose-built ascending trail that's been constructed with a series of constant switchbacks and grade reversals to make for an eminently climbable singletrack descent. The concession to build numerous switchbacks is much-appreciated because the upper section of the mountain here in Cumberland is quite steep.

Once at the top of Sobo No Michi, you'll grunt up a strenuous ascent on Above and Beyond to reach Blue Print, which was just built in 2021.

Blue Print is an absolute riot of a descent, featuring flowy berms, fantastic jumps, a fun crisscrossing section with two line choices, and then finally some steep bermed turns into a few short chutes. The fresh dirt (at the time of this writing) is extremely enticing, yet it seems that relatively few people make the grunt up Above and Beyond to reach this fun little trail. Instead, many will simply choose to drop into New Vanilla to begin the run.

New Vanilla is the freshest trail in the Cumberland Forest at the time of this writing in Summer 2022. Right now, it's the closest thing that Cumberland has to a purpose-built flow trail. With berms, rollers, and tabletops that you can catch some serious air on, New Vanilla has instantly become a crowd-pleaser. That said, in my professional opinion, this build seems somewhat amateurish when compared to other flow trails. The length of the tabletops is not consistent at all, and without being able to spot the landings, judging your jumps is quite difficult. Also, the flow trail simply ends when the singletrack hits the trees—the big berms and tabletop jumps were only constructed where it was convenient, in the wide-open clearcut. That said, compared to the jank fest that you'll find in many areas of BC, this fast, flowy trail really stands out.

After New Vanilla, you'll grunt back uphill on Upper Climax to reach Field of Dreams.

Field of Dreams and Blue Collar embody an old-school flow trail style, with sender-style jumps, stump jumps and drops, and berms interspersed somewhat randomly. These two trails are two of the fastest, flowiest, and most enjoyable downhill romps in the entire trail system!

After Blue Collar, you'll drop into the Crafty Butchers: Upper, Middle, and Lower. The flowy intermediate trail character is retained, but these trails are a bit chunkier and feature some beautiful woodwork and extended bridge sections.

Finally, you'll finish out with some smooth, fast flow on No Hole to Space Nugget to wrap up this route showcasing the flowy side of Cumberland riding!