SCARY! SCARY! FUN!Whistler Downhill Mountain Park is the extreme of all mountain biking. This is what you see in magazines and in videos. This is not your backyard trail. The park is expanding next year and is suppose to add on another 34000 feet of trails. This is unbelievable, because the trails are already so long. After the gondola ride it would take us nearly 15-20 min just to come down the mountain, and we were going at a somewhat conservative pace.
Basic Information: The bike park requires a pass, which is approximately 35$. There is an extended play ticket on certain evenings from 3:30 -8:30 for $25. This ticket also comes with a coupon for $10 off food at the Garibaldi Lift Co. The extended play seemed like the best deal to us, because we were unable to ride for more than five hours, plus it was warm while we there and cooler in the evening. There are packages for two or three days, as well. Tickets can be bought at the base of the mountain by the gondola.
You can rent equipment almost anywhere in the village. Get the package that comes with the armor and the full-face helmet. If you already have some of your gear, you may be able to talk them down a little. We also found that if you waited for extended play hours (after everyone else had pretty much gone home) you could haggle a little bit on the rental. There are tours and lessons available, but we did not feel we needed them (and we are pretty intermediate). I do not recommend riding anything but a full suspension bike for these trails. In addition, airlines typically charge 75$ each way to bring your bike, so you will need to ride for at lest three days to make it worth it.
This was the best riding I have ever done. Whistler has spent a lot of time in engineering and building the log rides, teeter ladders, and trails. My husband agrees, and we both feel like BC trails are incredibly more sophisticated than their Rocky Mountain counterparts. The money spent on this part of our trip was well worth it. I highly recommend coming to BC in a time of the year when you can experience all the sports it has to offer. We were able to snowboard in the morning and mountain bike in the late afternoon.
However, if your a novice or you simply want a less extreme ride there are tons of free trails throughout whistler. There is also a practice park with log rides and BMX style jumps behind the day parking lots. These are great for smaller kids and beginners.
There is also a paved trail loop that winds throughout Whistler that is excellent for families (especially adults with child carriers).