Fantastic Fat Biking in BC

Feeling Fat? Grab your winter whip for some of the best BC fat biking. For folks who love getting fat over the winter, ditch the chips n’ dip and waddle your winter whip over to Rossland, Castlegar, Nelson or Kaslo.

We’re talking fat biking here people. (FYI — you can burn 1,500 calories an hour in soft conditions on a fat bike). The West Kootenay – Rossland in particular — may well be BC’s premier peddling destination in frigid months when most mountain bikes are gathering dust inside the shed.

Where to Fat Bike in Rossland

Over the past decade, thanks to a super-dedicated army of riders and volunteers, Rossland has amassed nearly 30 kilometres of smooth, beautifully bermed fat biking trails. The community has two single track groomers and a regular trail report. 

You can head in two directions from downtown Rossland. Down the hill to the Redstone Resort Golf Course, where they have a few loops near the scenic fairway. Or up the hill to wintery wide-load biker heaven. The Monte Christo and Strawberry Pass areas are where you get the goods. You’ll find single track on both sides of the highway at the north Seven Summits trailhead too. For those riders who just want to give ’er a first try, you can rent fat bikes at the Get Lost Adventure Centre and Revolution Cycles.

Epic Castlegar Trails

Over in Castlegar, the good folks at Cycology Bikes can point you in the direction of some terrific track too. The trail that runs from Selkirk College’s hill-top campus leads you down along the banks of the mighty Columbia River is quintessential Kootenay. Dove Hill, above the West Kootenay Regional Airport has some riding, as does the Nancy Greene zone up Highway 3, but wait ’til after its padded flat by snowshoers. And if you really want to go the distance, head up north, just past the pulp mill, and venture out onto the Columbia and Western Rail Grade. You can go as far as Christina Lake! (Truthfully, a far more enjoyable epic mid-summer.)

Kootenay Lake Loves Chubby Tires Too

While not as well-established as the Rossland fat biking scene, the famously fab riding in Nelson accommodates chubby tires too. Volunteers groom some of the amazing network of hand and machine built trails at the Morning Mountain riding park. Wheel over to the other side of town, and grunt on up to the Svaboda Trails in West Arm Provincial Park, in the Long Jam/Long Svaboda zone. 

Well worth the drive, just for the views over Kootenay Lake and towering Purcells, Kaslo offers a bit of off-the-beaten path fat biking too. Rambling past the burbling Kaslo River through forest of hemlock and cedar, the River Trail starts at a gorgeous magenta-hued timber-framed footbridge off Highway 31. The River Trail connects to the lower end of the town and a trail that runs to Kaslo Bay. And just a ways out of town, the Kaslo  Nordic Club has room for riders too. 

Watch the videos on the remarkably passionate crews at the Kootenay Columbia Trails Society, the Nelson Cycling Club and the Kaslo Mountain Bike Club for all the not-too-dirty-this-time-of-year details!

Want to learn more about fat biking in the area? Visit the local tourism websites.

Enjoy the #WestKootRoute