48 Hours
Prairie mountain biking in Saskatoon
As I hit Saskatoon after a six-hour drive, I was glad my accommodations were two short blocks away from the trails I’d come to ride. My younger brother is an excellent ride guide, so I was eager to get my legs moving again. We wasted no time getting geared up and headed out into autumn conditions along the banks of the South Saskatchewan River.
Like many Prairie cities, the best riding is riverside; Saskatoon is no exception. We left from the City Park neighbourhood and crossed under the Highway 16 bridge, linking up to the Meewasin Trail system that runs throughout the river valley. A fun, flowing section passes the Sutherland Beach dog park with birch trees bending to provide a tunnel-like canopy of cover for cruising. (Tall riders should watch their noggins.)
As the trail heads north, you can take the easy way out along the shale path above. We opted to plow through High Roller, which provides challenging climbs and technical sections of rocks and roots to navigate. We kept riding north and crossed Petturson’s Ravine, passing a semi-abandoned gravel pit that’s been shaped into a few large freestyle sections for more adventurous riders. Multiple lines offer themselves up along this stretch of singletrack, dropping steeply from the ridgeline above down toward the river.
We kept pushing toward the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow we’d been riding – a short, punishing and absolutely fantastic trail loop called Corkscrew. Taking the counter-clockwise route, we hammered up and down big banks, around bends and steep drops on this roller-coaster ride of a trail. Don’t be surprised if you see locals lapping this section until their legs give out, as it’s one of the most fun little rips in the area.
Beyond the river trails, Saskatoon’s cycling scene has grown significantly during the past half decade or so, with an explosion of clubs, rides, races and events for cyclists of all kinds. Reagan Wildeman of the Pedal Wenches road cycling club has played a leading role in making cycling a more inclusive sport for female riders. “There was a need to break down the barriers that keep women from road cycling in particular,” Wildeman explained. “Some of that has to do with bike-shop culture, but we’re trying to spread the idea that it’s OK to be a newbie and ask questions.” Wildeman credits the long-running shop Bike Doctor for making a huge commitment to support the Wenches’ weekly rides, and in turn, hiring more female shop staff as a result. “Our gals now get treated really well by the staff, and the shop has been such a great partner for the club,” Wildeman said. “We’ve seen about 300 new women riders come through the club during the past five years or so.”
The next day brought us to the south end of town for some exploration among the older trails of Saskatoon’s mountain biking infrastructure. Rolling out of Diefenbaker Park, we found tightly winding trails that cut through the bush and discovered a mix of newly built and older features that made my knuckles whiten. A 5-m drop into a
180-degree wall ride that seemed too rotten to ride was far beyond my comfort zone. A lot of short trail stems snaked through the foliage and provided a challenging up-anddown grind between tight corners.
“The trails on the south side were impacted by construction of the Gordie Howe Bridge, so what’s left there is a lot smaller than it used to be,” explained Susan Clarke, who is involved with both the nbr Mountain Bike Club and the shop-sponsored Bruce’s Cycle Works Club. Like many other cities, Saskatoon’s riverside singletrack trails are officially unsanctioned. While riders perform basic maintenance to keep things safe, new singletrack development has been all but impossible. The Meewasin Valley Authority, however, has installed wide gravel pathways that provide an extension of the trail system that winds its way south, out of town all the way to Chief Whitecap Park.
Realizing the potential that sits just outside city limits, nbr and bcw teamed up to approach the folks at Blackstrap
Provincial Park, a 40-km drive south of town. The long-dormant ski hill in the park had had basic, unsanctioned trails cut into it throughout the years. The new partnership between the clubs and the park offered a stable approach to ongoing trail maintenance and development.
“It’s been great to help maintain all the singletrack that winds through the cross-country ski trails out there,” Clarke said. “The trails are a little less tight than in the city and some of the original trails had some erosion problems, so we’ve since fixed a lot of that to make sure they stay in good shape.”
Blackstrap now offers a great location for ongoing club races and events. The campground on-site makes the place a bona fide destination for cycling in the province as well. I swung through the park on my way out of town and wound my way through the trees on some excellent little runs that got the legs pumping uphill and allowed for some blisteringly quick descents.
As I slogged my way up to the top of the old chairlift hill to take in the view from the highest point around, past memories of learning to snowboard here as a teenager came to mind. Blue skies merged with wheat fields, and green hills with the blue waters of Blackstrap Lake to paint a picture of the potential the Prairies hold for becoming the next great cycling destination in Canada.
Getting there Located smack dab in the heart of south-central Saskatchewan, Saskatoon is a five-hour drive from Edmonton to the west and eight hours from Winnipeg to the east. John G. Diefenbaker International Airport has daily direct arrivals from many major Canadian cities, as well as Minneapolis for international visitors.
Where to stay If you’re feeling the urge to splurge, the historic castle-like setting of the Delta Bessborough offers a beautiful place to stay downtown next to the river. The Park Town Hotel ( parktownhotel.com) sits a little farther north along the river, with closer access to singletrack trails. Gordon Howe campground ( saskatoon.ca) is another great option on the south end of town, still within easy reach of great trails.
Where to eat Canada’s best Burmese restaurant might be the family-run Golden Pagoda on 2nd Avenue, featuring incredibly delicious and authentic cuisine ( goldenpagoda.ca), while just a few blocks north The Night Oven ( thenight oven.ca) provides all the bread and pastries you’ll need to stay fuelled (plus pizza on Friday nights). Zip across the Broadway Bridge to the Yard & Flagon ( yardandflagon.ca) for the classic Saskatoon pub experience, featuring a wide range of local brews on tap.
Where to shop Bruce’s Cycle Works ( brucescycleworks.com) is a little off the beaten path, but its new location on Central Avenue – just across from the old one – is well worth a visit. Bike Doctor ( bikedoctor.ca) is one Saskatoon’s oldest shops and sits just off Broadway, while Doug’s Spoke ‘n Sport ( spokensport.com) offers good-bud vibes in Riversdale, along with your other sporting needs.