Crawford's longest ascent leads to one of its fastest descents!

Statistics

2 - 3

hrs

793

m

793

m

7

max°

Difficulty

FATMAP difficulty grade

Difficult

Description

Crawford specialises in "mini golf" riding; short loops and fun little trails which are perfect for short hits.

As a result, this ride is something of an outlier, being both long on the way up and continuously challenging on the way down. The ride starts from the main Crawford parking lot and begins with the aesthetic and easy climb up Lost Lake Trail.

The trail is well signposted at all junctions so you can get on with enjoying the huge views across the Okanagan valley.

One thing to note is that the forest is not dense on the lower section of the climb and on a hot day the climb feels pretty gruelling! Save it for a cooler day in summer, or do it in the shoulder season unless you want to cook! Lost Lake Trail doesn't actually go to Lost Lake itself, but there's a clearly signposted junction where you can detour off and go to the lake.

Detouring to the lake is highly recommended because it's a beautiful spot, but if you don't want to bother then just keep on going up Lost Lake Trail.

The line drawn here includes the detour. The trail continues to wind up through beautifully quiet forests until 1160m, at which point there's a junction where Lost Lake Trail is signposted straight ahead, but it's actually better to turn left and make the final part of the ascent up a smaller trail called Captain Nemo.

This trail leads to the Kettle Valley Rail (KVR) Trail - a local landmark and a fabulous multi-day ride in itself.

Ride south-west down the pancake-smooth KVR for roughly a kilometre and then turn right and let the fun begin! The descent down the Crawford Canyon DH route is fast, furious and fun all the way down! There are only a few short technical sections, and most of the trail is pedal to the metal terrain - it's one of those descents where you just have to switch off that part of your brain which asks, "what if the front tyre blows right now"?!?! There are a few superb viewpoints on the trail from where you admire Crawford Canyon, and there are also some exposed sections where the canyon is a little close for comfort! There's nothing too scary - just keep your speed down when close to the canyon lip. Towards the bottom of the trail, branch off left and follow a series of trails which circumnavigate the large mine just south of the parking lot.

Once past the mine, cross a road and roll back triumphantly to your vehicle.