If you’re looking to get your fill of trail kilometers, Golden is a great place to set up your base camp.  Golden is perfectly situated near 6 national parks with a plethora of trails in its own right, so you can’t really go wrong, unless you’re really bad with maps and directions.

Here are my favourite 30+ km runs to hit in the Golden area are:

It ain’t no secret that there’s a new trail in Golden.  The Schacher Trail (pronounced 'Shocker') has been more than four years and half a million dollars in the making and it’s finally complete.

Mt 7 has been a destination for extreme adventure seekers for decades in Golden. Pilots launch their hang gliders and paragliders from four different launch sites on the mountainside and downhill mountain bikers also launch themselves down the mountain on a network of trails made famous by the Psychosis DH race. 

It’s amazing how quickly spring comes to our valley!  Not too long ago it seemed like we had to skate along sections of the rotary trails and now we’re able to cruise all of the singletrack trails with barely a puddle to dodge.

Spring is in the air! Well, it’s more like summer with the high 20s temps and light until 10 but that’s just Golden. We do everything to the max. Spring usually starts rearing its sun-bleached head late March and by early May the only thing telling you it’s not August is the snow-capped mountains in the distance. Yes, a fresh start. Comfortable temps, blue skies, no bugs. What to do? Everything. The answer is do everything.

It’s mid-April and the lifts just stopped spinning. You look up at the blanket of white stuck from tip to toe to the mountain you love so, wearing moguls like spring goosebumps under a perfect sun and two and a half metres of snow, “How could this be over?” you ask yourself. Someone passing by whispers that it doesn’t have to be, winking coyly at the touring skis in their car.

The most important things to bring while snowboarding with a snowmobile in Golden, BC

Or skiing, if you’re into that kinda thing.

Going snowboarding with a sled in the backcountry requires a little more preparation than heading to the ski hill. It might be a good idea to make a list of things to bring with you.

Things you won’t find in the backcountry:

A fresh coat of forest service road dirt thickens on the dash of my truck as I bounce through the Blaeberry. Crisp air produced by the rivers roar greets two friends and I as we set up camp next to the water where the forest service road ends. Dozens of towering peaks overhead hide the sun earlier than expected and nightfall follows suit, it’s chilly for a late July night. With Mummery Glacier on tomorrow’s agenda, we dim our headlamps and nestle into our tents deep in the Blaeberry Valley.

Somehow I get into a lot of fun situations with the “great ideas” my friends toss my way.  The latest grand plan was to run from the top of the Gondola at Kicking Horse Resort to Gorman Lake.  This is a pretty signature route in Golden as a traverse of the Dogtooth Range so, needless to say, I was keen! Here are a few things I wish I knew before I strapped on the shoes for the day of adventure...

S’up, Columbia Wetlands.

I’ve always been curious as to why SUP is the short form for stand-up paddle boarding and not SUP-B. I mean it’s catchier and all, but is there any danger of somebody trying to SUP a kayak or canoe?  Maybe that’s the extreme future version of the sport.

A weekend is fast approaching and all you know is that Golden, BC is a mountain biking mecca and you want to be there. What are the networks? Where do you bike? Where is the best food? Worry not, fellow mountain biker, I’ll show you the way.