Alberta and BC bike park opening dates 2024

Updated: Wed. May. 8/24

Posted: Thu. Mar. 7/24

Two wheels and all the feels—it's nearly bike season again! Soon all the mountain bike parks in Alberta and BC will be opening for the season. We have bike park opening dates and a primer on the big parks across Western Canada to get you prepped and help you start plotting your adventures.

Not into downhill riding? Read on anyway, we have tips for riders who want to get into downhill, or find other cross-country or urban cycling adventures in your neck of the woods.

So dust off that trail grit, lube that chain and saddle up. Hey DJ, spin that wheel!

BC BIKE PARK Opening Dates

With a large inventory of park-accessed riding, BC is a mecca for Western Canadian downhill riders. Here are opening dates and some tips on the big eight.

Photo: Mark Matthews

All geared up to bomb downhill at SilverStar.

Big White Ski Resort, Kelowna B.C.
Opening day June 29, 2024
Big slabs and boulders in the alpine flow into tree line dirt trails giving Big White tons of play for riders. Being in the Okanagan, you can ride all day and flop down on the beach when you’re done. Learn more here.

Fernie Alpine Resort, Fernie B.C.
Opening day June 22, 2024
The Griz-ness boasts toothy topside riding with technical trails and big boulders, and friendly flow trails below treeline. Learn more about their summer operations here.

Kicking Horse Mountain Resort, Golden, B.C.
Opening day June 21, 2024
KHMR has for a long time been renowned for having some of the most challenging terrain for mountain biking. Drop in if you dare. Learn more here.

Panorama Resort, Panorama, B.C.
Opening day June 28, 2024
Pano retains some of the feel of classic DH trails, before machine-building became the norm. Expect to find a few roots here and there for some added fun, but all the big fun rollers and berms, too. Learn more h ere.

Mount Washington Alpine Resort, Vancouver Island, B.C.
Opening Day June 28, 2024
Vancouver Island's only lift accessed bike park, Mount Washington, has both natural hand-built tech trails and machine-built flow trails. Learn more here.

Revelstoke Mountain Resort, Revelstoke B.C.
Opening day May 31, 2024
The newest mountain resort bike park in B.C., Revelstoke features the longest flow trail ever built. I personally have yet to ride here but the Stoke never disappoints. Learn more here.

SilverStar Mountain Resort, Vernon, B.C.
Opening day June 21, 2024
With smaller feeder destinations to draw from Silverstar maintains a solid local feel, renowned for its progression. And then, there’s Beowulf, a 35km cross-country trail. Epic! Learn more here.

Sun Peaks Resort, Kamloops, B.C.
Opening day June 15, 2024
With its semi-arid Kamloops climate and rolling terrain, Sun Peaks has great variation, and a resort scene on par with Whistler. Golf, alpine hikes, paddling and more can be easily accessed from the resort. Learn more here.

Whistler Blackcomb, Whistler, B.C.
Opening day May 17, 2024
Being a major international tourism draw, Whistler is the big fish, with Whistler and Blackcomb mountains creating a huge footprint for trails and variety, on trail and off, to meet all riders’ needs. Learn more here.

ALBERTA BIKE PARK Opening Dates

Alberta has less lift-accessed riding than B.C., but some excellent entry level and intermediate riding, with a few more technical lines to satisfy the expert. Also worthwhile to note that community bike parks (not lift-accessed but well built and maintained by local riders), like Hinton, Whitecourt and Red Deer, play a bigger role in Alberta riding. Read on for opening dates and places to check out.

Riders taking air at the Whitecourt Bike Park, Whitecourt, AB.

Photo: Jeremy Derksen

Whitecourt's new bike park opened in 2021 with some big dirt jumps.

Winsport, Calgary, AB
Opening day June 21, 2024*
Formerly known as Canada Olympic Park, Winsport is a small hill with a big punch, offering something for every level of rider with a park designed by Whistler’s Gravity Logic, and the accessibility of the city. Learn more about their summer operations here.

Nitehawk Year-Round Adventure Park, Grand Prairie, AB
Opening day May 31, 2024*
Big boreal riding with a campground nearby for multi-day riding. Learn more here.

The obvious omission of big Alberta ski resorts - Sunshine, Lake Louise, Marmot, Norquay, Nakiska and Castle — owes to the fact that being within national parks, there are various regulations preventing summer biking (mostly wildlife protections).

However, the chairlifts still spin at Sunshine and Lake Louise for hiking and sightseeing, and Norquay, where there's the added appeal of the via ferrata (fixed route, simplified mountain climbing).

Intro to downhill mountain biking

While newer than the ski resorts on which they new operate, bike parks have evolved from the early days of downhill, lift-access biking back in the early 2000s. Operating standards and certifications have reached an international level of consistency, at least across North America.

So, much like skiing, from one resort to the next the overall experience will be similar with your basic difficulty ratings (green, blue, black), safety standards and above all, that high level of stoke.

It’s hard to go wrong with any of these parks. Put some names up on the wall, blindfold yourself and throw a dart and you're bound to land somewhere fun.

Get outdoors, get more connected, get more Zen.

Looking to learn to ride?

If you’re new to lift-accessed riding, it can all feel a bit overwhelming, from the chunky full-face helmets and the body armour to the alloy-frame, full suspension 29ers with their beefy, knobby tires.

(Pro tip: even if you think you know how to ride, a lesson can help level up your technical riding game, and resorts make it easy to learn on a variety of terrain.)

Here are some stories about places to learn to ride downhill in Alberta and BC.