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Nelson
Nelson is the cultural heart of the West Kootenays and home to one of BC's most storied mountain bike scenes. The Nelson Cycling Club maintains trails across eight distinct areas surrounding the city, from accessible lakeshore rides to steep technical descents. The annual Kootenay Fat Tire Festival draws riders from across the region each fall. Nelson's compact downtown is lined with independent bike shops, cafes, and a community that takes its riding seriously. The combination of natural beauty, trail variety, and vibrant town culture makes it a perennial favourite for Kootenays MTB.
11 resources in this area
TrailRipper's Take
Nelson is the kind of MTB town that gets under your skin. The riding is excellent, but it's the culture around it — the shops, the community, the Fat Tire Festival — that makes it special. Gerick Cycle and The Sacred Ride both host group rides if you want to meet locals. Eight trail areas means you can come back multiple times and still find something new.
Skills Parks & Pump Tracks
MTB Associations
1 organisationBike Shops
3 bike shopsGerick Cycle & Ski
4.9Long-standing Nelson institution. Sells and services mountain bikes, e-bikes, and ski gear. Hosts weekly group rides. Exceptional customer care.
Marchie's Bike and Ski Service
5.0Small, friendly repair-focused shop. Highly rated for fast turnaround, honest advice, and sourcing specialty components. Great local option.
The Sacred Ride
4.5MTB and ski shop on Baker Street. Known for quality bike service and good stock of parts. Hosts weekly community group rides.
Trails
5 trailsLedges
BlackRarely steep with a wide variety of slabby and rocky terrain, in a good mixture of descending and all-mountain shredding. At powerlines, turn left and after 200m of pedaling, you will see two trailheads nearly side-by-side. First is lower Goose Bumps, next is part two of Ledges. This trail is unsanctioned.
Nooner
BlackShorter, steeper, and more dirt and roots than most of the trails here, but with new woodwork and still has the token rock slab.
Goose Bumps
BlueMild descent or a singletrack climbing option. Originally created for the younger bikers, or anyone who wants a fun and easy option in this riding area.
Rhythm and Blues
BlueA wide, machine build intermediate adaptive flow trail, providing more progression at Morning Mountain and an alternative to Lefty for jumps and features. The trail has smooth berms, and table top jumps. A crowd favourite for all abilities. The first section of trail takes you to the picnic table overlook. Head left down the road and then next section will be on your right. The trail crosses Bottoms Up and continues to connect with Lefty before you enter the trailhead/parking area. Rhythm and Blues starts at the 6-way intersection of Placenta, Upper Bottoms, Lefty etc, at the old Born Again trailhead.
Bottoms Up
GreenLocals rejoice. Our first grunt-free climb ever, on an easy ascent that zippers up the face of lower Morning Mountain and started the revolution of this neglected area into a must-ride trail system.
Skill & Bike Parks
2 parksBonnington Bike Park
Nelson-area bike park near Bonnington. Limited Trailforks detail — check locally for features and current condition.
Nelson BMX Track
BMX track in Nelson adjacent to the renovated skateboard park. Good for younger riders building bike handling confidence on a purpose-built dirt circuit.
From the blog
