“Uninterrupted wilderness” is how Danielle Anstess describes what makes the Farmer Lake loop in Sault Ste. Marie’s Hiawatha Highlands so rad. All the trails in this network running more than 60 km are getting a lot of buzz these days as the Sault has quickly established itself as a formidable Ontario mountain biking destination. A great deal of work, from human-powered to machine, has gone into legitimizing and finessing the existing trail network at Hiawatha Highlands—and into building more.
Anstess, a local bike shop employee and self-described builder of the stoke, also speaks to the versatility of the trails. “It’s got something for everyone. If you show up with a family of five—that’s my demographic—you have all kinds of needs and wants in terms of age and riding styles,” she explains. “Sault Ste. Marie has something to cater to everybody.”
Cindy Pruce, the marketing and communications director of the Sault Cycling Club, calls all the great new, modern flow and jumps “things that make you go ‘whee,'” a sound she admits that she lets out while she rides. Pruce volunteers with the club’s Kids Shredding Singletrack weeknight program that’s designed to build the skills and confidence of the next generation of riders.
“People know me because they can hear me,” she says. “I’m hooting and hollering. The kids I’m teaching, I want them to feel that too—the feeling I get when I’m riding my bike. It’s pure happiness.”
“The diverse terrain of Hiawatha Highlands offers a variety of trails that cater to different skill levels, making it a perfect destination for our StokedCamp skills event,” says Mel Poel of Dundas, Ont.-based Stoked MTB. “I love that the terrain includes everything from beginner-friendly loops to rocky technical trails and flowing jump trails. Everything is wonderfully designed, built and well-marked.” With so many new trails going in, it’s hard to keep up with the trail map.
All these developments have elicited a deep sense of pride in the locals who may have been riding the trails for years, but are pumped about exponential growth and the improvements to what was already there. With the TLC Trail, for example, Anstess explains that to gain the elevation, the climb used to be up a loose, gravelly road. Now a new loamy trail reveals the beautiful view of waterfalls. The climb may still be a challenge, but it’s more rewarding.
Jan Roubal says he’s been mountain biking in the Hiawatha Highlands since the ’90s when he was a “wee whippersnapper.” The owner (with his wife Ngaire) of local bike shop Vélorution is active in the mountain biking community and was a part of the discussions that shepherded the network to where it stands today. He says the city really listened to the Sault Cycling Club and the community when they were just starting out on the trailplanning and projects, and the direction they should take. “They did a really good job of building progression. There is everything from a pump track to rollers to berms, to big booters now,” he says.
If mountain bikers were excited about last year’s Da Big Kahuna jump-line reveal, this year’s double-blackdiamond gem is the cleverly named Soonami. Anstess says the two complement each other really well, with Soonami being all the fun of the former, but without the kicky tabletops. “It’s a mountain biker’s dream,” adds Pruce. It’s no wonder the Northern Ontario landscape, with its rock vertical, technical features and waterfalls, yields comparisons to the rugged trails in Quebec—or even parts of the West Coast.
Hiawatha Highlands isn’t the only place to take a mountain bike. Twenty minutes out of town, Bellevue Valley may only offer about 6 km of tread, but you need to climb or take a shuttle to access some scenic, technical downhill. Trails range from black and double-black diamond to pro line, so it’s worth getting the lowdown from staff at one of the local bike shops to determine if you want to make the trip. There’s not only Vélorution in town, but AlgomaBicycle and Duke of Windsor, as well.
“The neat thing about the Sault and the riding community is we’re a smaller city. It’s really friendly here,” Roubal says. “If you roll up on somebody in the parking lot, they’re probably going to come up and see if you know where you’re going and want to join a group ride. It’s a really special community we have here.”
As mountain bikers decide where to spend their vacation dollars, word is spreading about the strength and diversity of the Sault’s trail network. “In a short period of time, we’ve been seeing a spike in tourism, both from across the border and the province,” says Roubal, who used to spend a lot more time mountain biking at Marquette in Michigan.
“As if the trails aren’t amazing enough, the community vibe is the best I’ve ever experienced,” enthuses Poel. “And that’s saying something!”
For more information on the trails of Sault Ste. Marie, head to the city’s mountain bike page.
This story is presented by the City of Sault Ste. Marie.
