Description

Compared to the rest of Squamish, the Valleycliffe Trail System retains much more of an old-school cross-country ride quality.

Many of Squamish's most famous trails are either machine-built flow trails or tech trails filled with rock slabs and gnar.

Valleycliffe, on the other hand, retains a handbuilt character with an up-and-down cross-country ride style. This zone also isn't nearly as steep as other trail networks in the area, which is a nice change of pace from the classic Sea-to-Sky formula of brutalizing yourself by grinding straight up the mountainside just to blast straight back down again.

Instead, at Valleycliffe, you can enjoy the sensation of actually covering some ground. Most of the singletrack here, anchored by the Farside and Fartherside trails, consists of intermediate trail flowing through a beautiful forest, winding its way around a bluff.

Roots and rocks occasionally punctuate the trail tread, but these mellow tech features serve to keep the riding engaging, reminding you that, yes, this is still mountain biking! While it's possible to ride an intermediate-friendly loop through this trail system, choosing to descend Meet Yer Maker adds a delightful dose of classic Squamish tech into the loop.

To get there, head up the bluff via the Sweeter the Berry trail, then drop straight into the top of Meet Your Maker. At first, you might be surprised at how flowy the trail is as you whip through beautiful, smooth singletrack, but...

this is Squamish.

Brace yourself. You'll soon roll up onto a substantial rock slab series in the middle of the downhill, which is the crux move of the entire trail.

There are a few lines down the interconnected slabs, offering multiple levels of technical challenge.

In the grand scheme of Squamish riding, this series of rocks is quite achievable.

Even the main line straight down the gut is quite rideable.

While this isn't a technical test piece, it does provide an entertaining dose of gnar to spice up an otherwise mellow ride. The rest of Meet Yer Maker finishes off fairly chunky as it races back to the base of the hill.

Finish the loop off with some fun, flowy up-and-down pedaling via Three Virgins and My Trail.