Canada by Bike – BC Bikepacking Route
1337 Km from Canmore to Hope
Bicycle Touring with Sir Bikes Alot
Bikepacking YouTuber, Sir Bike Alot has cycled many places such as Canada, America, Europe, and even Japan. Recently he began to focus on off-road adventures in BC, but after COVID axed his 2020 world-tour plans, he redirected his energy into creating bikepacking related YouTube content.
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Water and food are plentiful as the route passes through towns every other day. I would recommend carrying three days’ worth of food at a given time and up to 4 liters of water at any given time. Consider bringing a water filtration device or tablets to drink from rivers and creeks.
There are lots of provincial and regional campsites along the way, which cost about $15 Canadian per night. Wild campsites are also an option in some places, however, it is not technically legal.
There is a lot of wildlife on this route and it can be quite remote in some places. Bring bear spray and practice good camping etiquette so bears are not attracted to your site.
Weather can vary significantly, so be prepared for high and low temperatures and rain. We experience some snow in the first few days of the trip in June.
THINGS TO SEE ALONG THE ROUTE
My favorite highlights of the trip were camping at
1) Tobermory Creek. Forest Service cabin near Elk Ford,
2) Biking up Gray Creek Pass (Canada’s highest road),
3) Riding the km long former train trestles over Myra Canyon, and
4) Riding through Bulldog tunnel a 900 m long train tunnel through Bulldog Mountain.
MY EXPERIENCE
Because much of this trail is former railway lines, the gradient never often exceeds two percent.
This means that the riding is not particularly difficult, but you should be prepared as you can often be over 100km from a town.
Our trip coincided with the heat dome of North American which saw the hottest temperatures ever recorded in Canada. This made it more difficult to ride long distances.
Recently, there has been bad flooding in some areas and the trail has been damaged and needs to be repaired.
check also
Bikepacking the Pyrenees – GPX track and advice
Cycling the Isle of Skye in Scotland
