Canadian bike parks start to re-open for 2020 [Updated]

Bromont first out of the gate, but the ropes are set to lift on lift lines across the country

Terry McKall June 6, 2020

Bromont is leading the way for Canadian bike parks to re-open for the 2020 season.

The Quebec bike park was the first mountain in Canada to open for lift access mountain biking since the coronavirus outbreak arrived in North America.

Other mountains have postponed their opening dates for this year or, in the case of Coast Gravity Park, shut down operations temporarily to help prevent the spread of the virus. Most now have plans in place, or are partially open and welcoming users to the new mountain experience.

Every hill has its own set of measures and requirements for users to maintain a safe health environment. Before you head to the hill, be sure to check how operations will work at your local mountain. Provincial health authorities are still recommending against all non-essential travel between communities.

Riders: Peter Ostroski in Bromont, Quebec. Photo: Andy Vathis

Quebec: Bromont pilots new-look bike park operations

As you would expect, operations at Bromont look a little different than last season. The mountain has put in significant health and safety measures to protect its users.

Mont-Sainte-Anne followed shortly behind. Cross country trails opened to the public on June 5. Lift accessed riding is expected to open June 26 with distancing measures in place.

Mont Saint-Sauveur (MSS) bike park is open as of June 6th.

Whistler making plans to re-open

Whistler Bike Park is owned by Vail Resorts. Vail is aiming to have all of its resorts open by late June or early July.

What that means is still up in the air. Whistler locals will surely be stoked to get back up the mountain. B.C.’s provincial health authority is still advising against non-essential travel within the province, a move which the town of Whistler has strongly supported. This means Vancouver riders still won’t be able to make the trip north on the 99, until travel within the province is allowed.

B.C. resorts

Other B.C. resorts have opening dates set and are looking forward to greeting the season’s first riders. Some are dealing with unseasonably late snow on top of the pandemic.

Fernie Alpine Resort, Panorama Mountain Resort and Mount Washington are all set to re-open on June 27th. Revelstoke is aiming to open one day earlier, on June 26. Big White is pushing its opening day to June 10, with the Kelowna resort still waiting for the final remnants of snow to give way for summer.

Update: Silverstar will open July 9 for its 2020 season. Sun Peaks in Kamloops is doing a split opening day, starting with season pass-holders on June 26 and June 29 for everyone else.

Coast Gravity Park has stated it is putting together its re-opening plan but has no set date yet.

Horseshoe Canada Cup XCO 2018 — There won’t be Canada Cup racing this summer, but Horseshoe is already open to Ontario riders. Image: Matt Stetson

Ontario

Horseshoe Resort is already open to riders, with lift-accessed riding running from Thursday to Monday. Sir Sam’s is aiming for a July 3rd opening date.

Blue Mountain will not be opening to mountain bikers in 2020. The resort is looking forward to the 2021 season.

Alberta

Canada Olympic Park will not be operating its lifts for mountain biking in 2020. The hill is considering opening trails to pedal-access riding, but has not made a decision as of yet.

New Brunswick

Sugarloaf Mountain is all set to open Atlantic Canada’s only lift-accessed mountain biking on June 13.