FATMAP by Strava

Wonderland Trail

Ride fantastic wooden bridges and chunky rock gardens on the Wonderland Trail.

Mountain Biking Difficult

Distance
5 km
Ascent
213 m
Descent
213 m
Duration
0-1 hrs
Low Point
677 m
High Point
882 m
Gradient
Wonderland Trail Map

The Wonderland Trails just outside of Quesnel is a purpose-built mountain bike trail network that will surprise many riders with the rigorously high quality of the singletrack. Built by mountain bikers, for mountain bikers, you can find a bit of everything in this trail system: machine-built flow trails; steep, rocky test pieces; massive wooden features; jumps; drops; and even some great beginner trails.

Description

This dense trail system features lap-style rides, with one main climbing trail—What the Huck—providing access to a myriad of downhill options. The OG trail in this network—the Wonderland Trail itself—is a great place to start your exploration of this gem of a trail system.

What the Huck is a steep grind to the top of the hill, but the grades are generally quite rideable, and since the hill is fairly short, you won't climb for long. All told, this short 3-mile loop only has about 700 vertical feet of climbing, which is quite achievable.

Despite only having 700 feet of vert, Wonderland is a fantastically rewarding downhill! This epic trail toes the line between intermediate and advanced, with intermediate riders being able to take alternate lines down the hill, bypassing the wooden features.

Advanced riders, on the other hand, will have a blast ripping down some steep, rocky drops. But by far the stand-out features on Wonderland are the wooden bridges! The first big (ish) bridge you see runs out as a flat bridge, and then rolls steeply off the end into a steep roller, finishing on a rock slab. This feature is quite aestheti and is definitely for advanced riders.

I called that bridge big (ish) because next, there's a massive bridge that rises over 12 feet off the ground! However, this big, elevated bridge is non-technical. It's about 6 feet wide, and it's almost entirely flat, meaning most any mountain biker can ride it... so long as they get out of their head.

Lower down, you'll encounter more fast, flowing singletrack, rocky bits, and, most notably—several sections of built-up wooden drops. These drop zones all feature progression options. On most of them, you'll find either 3 or 4 lines. You can stay on the ground and bypass all the drops if you'd like. But there's also the possibility to start on the smallest one and work your way up, gaining confidence as you go. These drops have been superbly built, with smooth transitions and long runouts. You couldn't find a better place to learn mountain bike drops!

Finally, this short run wraps up with a quick blast down the last few berms of the signature flow trail—Mucho Oro. This superb flow might just tempt you to pedal back up for another lap!

Difficulty

Difficult

Mostly stable trail tread with some variability featuring larger and more unavoidable obstacles that may include, but not be limited to: bigger stones, roots, steps, and narrow curves. Compared to lower intermediate, technical difficulty is more advanced and grades of slopes are steeper. Ideal for upper intermediate riders.

High Exposure

3 out of 4

Some trail sections have exposed ledges or steep ascents/descents where falling could cause serious injury.

Remoteness

2 out of 4

Away from help but easily accessed.

Best time to visit

between May and November

Features

  • Flow
  • Technical
  • Singletrack
  • In the forest
  • Drops
  • Jumps
  • Roots
  • Rock Rolls
  • Rock Gardens
  • Wooden Feature

Similar routes nearby

Guidebooks in this area