Greg Heil’s Top 25 MTB Trails from Around the World

After a decade of working in the mountain bike media industry, Greg Heil shares his top trail recommendations.

Greg Heil

Images

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Looking back up The Whole Enchilada toward the La Sal mountains. Photo: Stanislav Sedov via Flickr Creative Commons

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Mountain biking The Whole Enchilada. Photo: Stanislav Sedov via Flickr Creative Commons

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Enjoying the lower sections of The Whole Enchilada. Photo: Stanislav Sedov via Flickr Creative Commons

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Round Mountain in the Castle Valley, as seen from The Whole Enchilada. Photo: Stanislav Sedov via Flickr Creative Commons

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First Descent Photographer

by Tom M.

Licence Free

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Epic Antora View Photographer

by Greg Heil

Licence Free

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Sweet Singletrack Photographer

by Greg Heil

Licence Free

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Ouray Airtime Photographer

by Marcel Slootheer

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Riding Beneath Ouray Photographer

by Marcel Slootheer

Licence Free

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Old School Cribbing Photographer

by Greg Heil

Licence Free

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Abfahrt zur Alp Sanaspans Photo:tMadeleine Brugger, Ferienregion Lenzerheide

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Traumtrail durchs Welschtobel Photo:tMadeleine Brugger, Ferienregion Lenzerheide

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Culmet Photo:tMadeleine Brugger, Ferienregion Lenzerheide

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Blick vom Culmet nach Furcletta Photo:tMadeleine Brugger, Ferienregion Lenzerheide

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Kurz vor der Ramozhütte Photo:tMadeleine Brugger, Ferienregion Lenzerheide

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Pedaling along the top of a 12,500-foot mountain. Rider: Marcel Slootheer. Photo: Greg Heil

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Descending along an alpine ridge. Rider: Marcel Slootheer. Photo: Greg Heil

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Looking back down the Canyon Creek hike-a-bike. Rider: Scott Cotter. Photo: Greg Heil

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Top of the mountain. Photo: Greg Heil

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Looking back down the Canyon Creek hike-a-bike. Photo: Greg Heil

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Rock garden down in the trees. Riders: Jim Cummings and Marcel Slootheer. Photo: Greg Heil

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Hike-a-bike to the top of the mountain.

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Looking back down the hike-a-bike singletrack. Photo: Greg Heil

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View from the top of the mountain. Photo: Greg Heil

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Pedaling along the top of a 12,500-foot mountain. Rider: Greg Heil

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Singletrack on the mountaintop. Photo: Greg Heil

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Flowy singletrack descent through the high alpine. Photo: Greg Heil

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Climbing up the 4x4 road. Photo: Greg Heil

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View of the mountains, looking back down 4x4 road climb. Photo: Greg Heil

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Mountain view. Photo: Greg Heil

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Be careful to make the turn off the Ribbon before you reach this point, because it’s a long way down! Photo: Greg Heil

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View from the top of Free Lunch. Photo: Greg Heil

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View from the rim of the upper rock slab. Photo: Greg Heil

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The rock slab at the top of the trail. Photo: Greg Heil

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Your choice is between really hard and insane on the Free Lunch Trail. Photo: Greg Heil

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Rider: Marcel Slootheer

by Greg Heil

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Rider: Greg Heil

by Marcel Slootheer

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Rider: Greg Heil

by Marcel Slootheer

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Rider: Greg Heil

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Rider: Greg Heil

by Marcel Slootheer

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Mountain biking the Wasatch Crest Trail. Rider: John Beebe. Photo: Sam Rice, Courtesy of Jans Jans

by Sam Rice

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Mountain biking the Wasatch Crest Trail. Rider: John Beebe. Photo: Sam Rice, Courtesy of Jans Jans

by Sam Rice

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Abfahrt vom Piz Scalottas. Photo: Madeleine Brugger, Ferienregion Lenzerheide

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Abfahrt vom Piz Scalottas Photo:tMadeleine Brugger, Ferienregion Lenzerheide

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Abfahrt vom Piz Scalottas Photo:tMadeleine Brugger, Ferienregion Lenzerheide

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Tunnel Creek portion of the Flume Trail. Photo: Rick Cooper via Flickr Creative Commons

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Top of Kokomo Pass. Photo: Greg Heil

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Looking back down Kokomo Pass. Photo: Greg Heil

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Riding between Searle Pass and Kokomo Pass. Rider: Mike H. Photo: Greg Heil

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Climbing toward the top of Kokomo Pass. Photo: Greg Heil

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Descending Searle Pass toward Copper Mountain. Photo: Greg Heil

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View from the top of Searle Pass. Photo: Greg Heil

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View from the top of Searle Pass. Photo: Greg Heil

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High alpine singletrack on the Colorado Trail. Photo: Greg Heil

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Descending Searle Pass toward Copper Mountain. Photo: Greg Heil

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Waterfall along the trail. Photo: Greg Heil

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Copper Mountain Ski Resort. Photo: Greg Heil

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Fully loaded bikepacking rig on top of Searle Pass. Photo: Greg Heil

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Descending off the top of Kokomo Pass. Rider: Greg Heil. Photo: Mike H.

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Descending through Copper Mountain Ski Resort. Rider: Greg Heil. Photo: Mike H.

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Red rock on the Hangover Trail. Photo: Trailsource.com via Flickr Creative Commons

by TRAILSOURCE.com

Creative Commons: Attribution
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Junction with Mund's Wagon Trail

by Coconino National Forest

Licence Free

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Mund's Wagon Trail segment

by Coconino National Forest

Licence Free

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Dropping into a technical rock feature. Photo: dh Reno, via Flickr Creative Commons

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Enjoying some buff singletrack. Photo: dh Reno, via Flickr Creative Commons

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View from the top of Kennebec Pass. Photo: Greg Heil.

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by Marcel Slootheer

Creative Commons: Attribution
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by Marcel Slootheer

Creative Commons: Attribution
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Riding the Porcupine Rim, the lower section of the epic ride, "The Whole Enchilada." Rider: Greg Heil

by Michael De La Rosa

Creative Commons: Attribution
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One of many breathtaking corners on the 401 Trail. Rider: Andrew K. Photo: Greg Heil.

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Looking down valley toward Gothic. Photo: Greg Heil.

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Wildflowers and view from the 403 Trail. Photo: Florian Lungu, via Flickr Creative Commons

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Rider: Greg Heil

by Adam Carlyon

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Dropping into the famous In-n-Out Burger. Rider: Alex

by Greg Heil

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Scoping the line down In-N-Out Burger

by Greg Heil

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Multiple line options down most of the slabs. Riders: Andy and Jas

by Greg Heil

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Beautiful views from Squamish's slabs. Rider: Jas

by Greg Heil

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by Greg Heil

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by Greg Heil

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by Greg Heil

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by Greg Heil

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by Greg Heil

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Rider: Greg Heil

by Mike De La Rosa

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Greg Heil descending the 403 Trail

by Marcel Slootheer

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Marcel Slootheer climbing up 403

by Greg Heil

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Holy Cross. Rider: Greg Heil

by Joel Lipovetsky

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Holy Cross. Rider: Greg Heil

by Marcel Slootheer

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by Greg Heil

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by Greg Heil

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by Greg Heil

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by Greg Heil

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by Greg Heil

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by Greg Heil

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by Greg Heil

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by Greg Heil

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by Greg Heil

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One of the few open sections on Alpine

by Greg Heil

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One of the few open sections on Alpine

by Greg Heil

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One of the few open sections on Alpine

by Greg Heil

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by Greg Heil

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by Greg Heil

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by Greg Heil

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by Photo by TRAILSOURCE.com, via Flickr Creative Commons

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Rider: Greg Heil

by Marcel Slootheer

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Rider: Greg Heil

by Marcel Slootheer

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Rider: Greg Heil

by Marcel Slootheer

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Rider: Greg Heil

by Marcel Slootheer

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Rider: Greg Heil

by Marcel Slootheer

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Rider: Marcel Slootheer

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Rider: Marcel Slootheer

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Rider: Marcel Slootheer

by Greg Heil

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by Greg Heil

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Colorado Trail: Kennebec Pass

by Marcel Slootheer

Creative Commons: Attribution
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View from Gold Valley Rim

by Greg Heil

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Rider: Marcel Slootheer

by Greg Heil

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Rider: Marcel Slootheer

by Greg Heil

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Rider: Greg Heil

by Marcel Slootheer

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Rider: Greg Heil

by Marcel Slootheer

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Rider: Greg Heil

by Marcel Slootheer

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Marcel Slootheer on the Bug Springs Trail

by Greg Heil

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Marcel Slootheer on the Bug Springs Trail

by Greg Heil

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Marcel Slootheer on the Arizona Trail

by Greg Heil

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Marcel Slootheer on the La Milagrosa Trail

by Greg Heil

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La Milagrosa

by Greg Heil

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La Milagrosa

by Greg Heil

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Marcel Slootheer on the La Milagrosa Trail

by Greg Heil

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Rider: Greg Heil

by Marcel Slootheer

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Rider: Greg Heil

by Marcel Slootheer

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Rider: Greg Heil

by Marcel Slootheer

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Rider: Greg Heil

by Marcel Slootheer

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Rider: Greg Heil

by Marcel Slootheer

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by Greg Heil

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by Greg Heil

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by Greg Heil

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Pothole Arch. Rider: Greg Heil

by Marcel Slootheer

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Pothole Arch. Rider: Greg Heil

by Marcel Slootheer

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Captain Ahab Trail. Rider: Greg Heil

by Marcel Slootheer

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Rockstacker Trail. Rider: Greg Heil

by Marcel Slootheer

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Captain Ahab Trail. Rider: Jeff Currie

by Greg Heil

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Captain Ahab Trail. Rider: Jeff Currie

by Greg Heil

Description

The world of mountain bike trails is a vast and magical place. In no way could one person hope to explore every trail in every nation around the globe—it would take multiple lifetimes to even come close. Yet the impossibility of ever achieving such a lofty goal doesn’t stop us from trying!

Over the past decade of working full time in the mountain bike media industry, employed as everything from a freelance writer to an editor in chief, I have been fortunate enough to travel extensively throughout the USA and, increasingly, abroad. These travels have allowed me to ride over a thousand superb mountain bike trails in numerous countries. Despite spending years wandering to and fro with my bike, there are massive holes in my mountain bike resume—places like New Zealand continue to elude me.

Holes aside, I receive requests via social media on an almost daily basis to share my top trail picks from my travels. In this guidebook, I’ve attempted to answer those requests by collecting the very best mountain bike trail highlights from around the world that I’ve personally pedaled.

This guidebook was assembled on April 3rd, 2019, and last updated on January 19, 2022. The holes mentioned above? I aim to fill them. Regardless of how fluid this list may be, every trail in this guidebook is bucket list-worthy and is worth however much effort you have to invest to get there and ride it.

Go forth and pedal the planet!

Adventures

The Whole Enchilada

One of the most epic mountain bike rides of all time, the Whole Enchilada drops over 9,000 feet of vertical and passes through every climate zone imaginable, from high alpine tundra to desert.

Monarch Crest

This epic trail provides high alpine ridge top riding at treeline with views for hundreds of miles in all directions, finishing with a ripping descent down the mountain.

Furcletta - Welschtobel Tour

Possibly one of the most beautiful mountain bike trails in the world—the Welschtobel Valley is unbelievably beautiful!

The 804 Loop

A beautiful high-alpine trail connected into a mega loop.

Canyon Creek Loop

The 10-mile descent ripping down the Canyon Creek Trail from this route's high point atop a 12,500-foot mountain is to die for!

Gallinero Trail

A gorgeous high alpine singletrack leads to an extended, technical descent.

Osberg Ridgeline Epic

An epic length point-to-point route that breaks above treeline, providing breathtaking views.

Hiline

Hiline offers stunning views of the Red Rocks region from exposed mountainside singletrack. Finish it off with a raucous descent down a black-diamond plunge!

Alpine Trail

Known as the "crown jewel" of Oakridge, the Alpine Trail easily ranks among the best shuttle routes in the world.

Maxi Avalanche

An epic enduro race course that works great as a day-long shuttle ride.

Hangover

Extreme exposure coupled with brutally-technical rock moves make Hangover one of the most technical--and dangerous--trails in the nation.

Classic Squamish Slab Ride

Squamish is renowned for its slab riding, and this route connects many of the best-known slabs into one big ride.

Blue Velvet

One of the best all-around trails in the Whistler Bike Park.