7 MTB Rides with Phenomenal Views in the Sea-to-Sky

Very few MTB trails in the Sea-to-Sky corridor offer good views, but these are the best.

Greg Heil

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Rider: Jeff C.

by Greg Heil

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Rider: Jeff C.

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Rider: Jeff C.

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Rider: Jeff C.

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Rider: Jeff C.

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Rider: Jeff Currie.

by Greg Heil

Creative Commons: Attribution

Description

The mountains of the Coast Range span the stunningly-beautiful Sea-to-Sky corridor. While the mountain peaks climb high into the air, ending in dramatic, rocky, high-alpine tundra scraped clean by the recent departure of glaciers, the vast majority of the mountains' slopes are covered in towering coniferous forests. In this lush temperate rainforest, the trees grow tall and majestic, the massive trunks of the current inhabitants still only a fraction of what the ancestors in the old-growth forest boasted before they were cut down.

The pervasiveness of this deep, dark forest combined with mountain bikers' desire to access their favorite trails straight from town means that you'll find most of the best trails in the Sea-to-Sky corridor winding their way among the towering trunks, sliding down steep hillsides over cascading root webs and rock gardens. Rare is the trail that breaks out of the dense canopy to reach wide-open views of the valley below, and rarer still is the trail that climbs high enough into the alpine to provide long-range views.

In this guidebook, we've rounded up the few rare mountain bike trails that combine fantastic singletrack shredding with gorgeous views. Some of these, such as In-N-Out Burger and Cream Puff, provide these views thanks to exposed slabs of bedrock that the trail traverses. Others, such as Meadow of the Grizzly, offer beautiful views from logging clear-cuts. But the true gems, like Lord of the Squirrels and Top of the World, actually traverse the rarified alpine environment of the Coast Range.

But whichever trail you choose from this list, you can be guaranteed an incredible combination of world-class ripping and world-class views!

Adventures

Top of the World -> Creekside

Gain amazing views from Whistler's coveted alpine zone, followed by an otherworldly descent all the way down to Creekside.

Howler Loop

A classic rock-filled descent with stunning views up high.