Mountain Biking as a Family: How to Make It Fun for Everyone
The families who make mountain biking a lasting part of their lives don't just stumble into it. They figure out a few key things early — and those things make all the difference between a sport the whole family loves and one that quietly gets dropped after a few hard rides.
I've been both versions of that parent. After a few years of coaching kids on trails in Golden, BC — and riding with my own two boys — I've learned that the difference between a great family ride and a hard one usually comes down to the same few things every time.
Here's where most families get stuck — and what to think about instead.
1. Planning rides that work for everyone
The most common mistake families make is picking a trail for the most confident rider in the group. One person has a great time. Everyone else suffers. Nobody wants to go back.
Trail selection is the foundation of a great family ride — but it's not just about difficulty level. It's about understanding what each rider needs on that particular day, and finding a trail that has room for all of it.
There's a simple framework I use with every Trail Rippers family that makes this a lot easier — and it starts with one question most parents never think to ask before they leave the house.
Want to know what it is? It's the first thing I cover in our free five-part email series — along with specific trail recommendations for families riding in and around Golden.
2. Keeping kids engaged on the trail
Here's something I've learned coaching kids every week: motivation on the trail changes quickly. A ride that starts with excited kids can unravel fast if there's nothing to hold their attention — especially on longer or less technical terrain.
Keeping kids engaged has very little to do with the trail itself. It's about what you bring to the ride — and there are a handful of simple things that work on everything from a gravel path to a flowy singletrack.
I share my favourite techniques — including the scavenger hunt idea my own boys still ask for — in Email 2 of our free series.
3. Measuring the ride in the right way
Family mountain biking is easy to measure in the wrong way. Distance covered. Hills climbed. Pace maintained. Features accomplished.
None of those metrics have anything to do with what actually makes a family ride worth doing. The moments that matter most are nearly invisible if you're not looking for them. Once you start seeing them, everything changes — including how your kids feel about riding.
Email 3 of our free series is all about this mindset shift, and it's the one parents tell me resonates most.
4. Adapting when things don't go to plan
Every family has a ride that goes sideways. Someone bonks earlier than expected. The trail is muddier than forecasted. A crash shakes someone's confidence. The plan falls apart.
How you handle those moments — as a parent and as a rider — has an enormous impact on whether your kids want to come back. Flexibility isn't just a nice-to-have in family mountain biking. It's a skill, and like every skill, it gets easier with practice.
In Email 4 I share the exact approach I use on family rides and in Trail Rippers sessions to read the room early — and turn a hard day into a good story.
5. Making it stick
The families who build something special around mountain biking aren't necessarily the most athletic or the most experienced. They're the ones who made it a rhythm.
Consistency is what turns a fun day out into a lifestyle your kids carry with them. But building that consistency — especially through a busy season — takes more than good intentions. There's a small habit that made a bigger difference for our family than almost anything else, and I wish someone had told me about it sooner.
I save this one for the last email in the series — because by then, everything else has laid the groundwork for it to actually land.