Tapping into the flow at Toby Creek

Feb 02, 2024

Tucked away high above the Columbia River basin, deep in the Purcell Mountains is Toby Creek Adventure Lodge. The facility isn’t new, it has catered to snowmobiles, ATVs and more for years. This summer, after years of building and planning, the unassuming base camp is opening its gates (and shuttle vehicle roads) to mountain bikers.

While Toby Creek considers its initial trail network a soft launch, it already contains an impressive, seven-kilometer flow trail, a serious skills area (with another youth-focused one in the works) and several rugged shuttle vehicles to get riders up the two-km rough service road to the top. Another green trail is already in the works with more, harder trails planned and even a climb trail.

If you don’t recognize the name, it’s because Toby Creek Adventures is a little off the beaten path. It’s not inaccessible though, at just 10km from Invermere, the nearest town, and just a short drive from the lift-accessed riding at Panorama Mountain Resort. All three are just a few hours drive across the Rockies from Calgary.

On our way back from Dunbar Summer Series’ Canada Cup downhill at Panorama, photographer Andrea Heath and I had a chance to preview Toby Creek’s new flow trail before the official opening. Blue flow might not sound like the biggest draw for the shuttle crowd, but this is flow done differently. It’s definitely a ‘dark blue,’ with options for air time that push closer to what would be black at most resorts. But for riders looking to tap into the flow while keeping wheels on the ground, everything is roll-able and there are no gaps. For the more experienced rider, several cheeky side hits offer the option for a bit more excitement.

Toby Creek’s bike trails, at the moment there are just two and an impressive skills park, are new, but they feel like far more than a first effort. That could be because the owners are not rushing in. They’ve spent two years and brought on a full trail crew, led by renowned local builder Jose Letelier with help from machine operator Owen Peters (and, last summer, Lukas Zvonicek) to craft the first, winding blue flow trail.

The result is a trail that is a riot to ride, impressively intuitive and easy to trust enough to push the pace on, even your first time down. It is a blue flow trail, but not the type you’d expect at a lift-access bike park that is full of braking bumps after opening weekend. The remote location and shuttle access means Toby Creek sees manageable trail volumes. The corners are buff, the jumps smooth and, due to the excellent design that actually creates flow instead of frustrating it, should stay that way.

Most of the features and corners are quite intuitive the first time down and require little or no braking, always the sign of a well-built trail. The top 2/3 connects so well that flow turns into flow-state as you link corners, rollers and doubles. There are jumps, and some push into the dark blue or navy blue end of the blue-square difficulty rating, but this is not A-Line. Everything is approachable and about keeping flow while adding speed, style or both, not getting extreme.

At the bottom, the trail mellows out for a nice cruise along the namesake creek. Back at base, there’s a skills area to help riders dial in their form for second runs. With a range of jumps, from intermediate to some solid-sized hits and even a six-ish foot ladder bridge drop,

Another, smaller youth-focused skills area is in the works. As is a “beach” area, with sand, games, and chairs, to relax while you wait for the shuttle to return, or for your slower friends.

This is just the start for Toby Creek. A second, Green-level trail is already in development. There are plans for an advanced more technical line which, based on the current trail and the look of the skills area, should be incredible. Eventually, Toby Creek plans to tap into the existing sub-alpine trail network for guided tours and possibly an up-track in the future. All while staying within the quality-over-quantity approach that resulted in such an excellent opening offering.

Toby Creek is a small operation, and mountain biking is the latest addition. That means the rates, as they are now, are set at around $50 for two runs and access to the skills area. That is arguably a bit steep, sure. But consider what you get for that. It’s access to a low-volume private network where there will never be more of a crowd than the truck-load of riders that travel up the mountain with you. Limited opening days (it is currently weekend only) should keep the trail buttery smooth. With Panorama just down the road, you can smash out a day of park laps, then change up the pace and take easy, fun laps down Toby Creek to recharge. And you can bring the family for ATV trail tours, too. It’s not the standard bike park experience. It is its own thing.

While Toby Creek Adventures is operating all weekend for the rest of the summer, the crew is planning a grand opening for Sunday, September 3. The food truck will be open, a local DJ will add music to the base area experience.