All of us at Hydra River Guides love mountain biking and feel so lucky to be able to enjoy all the amazing trails Golden has to offer. If you are heading out riding in Golden, a small donation to the golden Cycling Club is always appreciated. These guys do an incredible job maintaining and creating new trails for us all to enjoy. Check them out here for tons of usefull info https://goldencyclingclub.com/ as well as this site for even more ideas on which trails to pick, https://www.mountainbikingbc.ca/kootenay-rockies/golden/
Downhill
Mount 7
Mount 7 was once home to the infamous Psychosis Race where World Cup racers would come to pit themselves against the mountain! If this is your first time riding here and you are new to steep and rocky riding you can warm up on 3km and 5km before heading to the top of the mountain. These can easily be peddaled up to, and if you are fit and love to climb, you could even ride 15 km up the purpose built Schaucher trail to the top (we must admit we shuttle to the top!). This trail can also be ridden down for those looking for more mellow and flow ride to the bottom. Once at the top you can choose from several options based on your skill level and how brave you are feeling! Check out trailforks for more detailed info and trail conditions https://www.trailforks.com/region/mount-7/
LSD- Little Sir Donald
Like the peak across the valley from which this trail takes its name, Little Sir Donald (LSD) is long and stunning. This is one of our favourites- it has it all! Steep section, rocks, roots and drops- some up to six feet. Most features have some sort of ride around if you look for it. The trail joins into Canyon Creek which is a fast and flowing end to the ride. For more info check out trail forks https://www.trailforks.com/trails/lsd/
Kicking Horse Mountain Resort
You can ride all day till your arms are so sore you cant hold on anymore! Catch the gondola up and there are so so many incredible trails- 50 km plus, for all skill levels to enjoy. The trails here are pretty rocky and getting a flat can be pretty common so be prepared with some bacon bits! You can ride here on an enduro bike, but depending on trail choice, most will use a downhill bike. https://kickinghorseresort.com/purchase/mountain-biking/
Cross country
CBT mainline
The CBT mainline, https://www.trailforks.com/region/golden/trails/, has a number of fun trails branching off it, the climb is relatively moderate aside from 4 steeper switch backs. The first trail to branch off is The Mighty Quinn, a super flowey machine built ride down, if you keep peddling up a bit further you come to Gold Rush which is tons of fun and worth the extra work to get there. You can also keep riding even higher and you will find the excellent jump trail Hymenoptera. After lapping this trail, ride 5 minutes along the road to Cedar Lake, a gorgeous, not to chilly lake, for a well deserved swim. The CBT can be ridden both ways, so you can also head down the way you came up if you wanted.
Mount Shadows
The trails here feature some technical riding with a decent amount of rocky, tricky bits. In general you will find that you spend the first half of your ride pedalling and climbing, and then a return consisting of easy pedalling and fast descending. Rock About, a trail you can either climb the rocks and descend the switchbacks, or climb the switchbacks and descend the rocks, will leave you amazed by the work that went into this trail and the views of the valley.