As an avid mountain biker based in Toronto, I’ve become accustomed to travelling with my bike. I’ve flown it to Mont-Sainte-Anne in Quebec and to Vancouver’s North Shore. These areas are pilgrimages for off-road cyclists, where a single ride can take you from the high rocky alpine terrain into lush ancient rain forest, an impossible feat in Southern Ontario. South of the border, networks such as Kingdom Trails in Vermont and Pisgah National Forest in North Carolina had been annual favourites. That is, until they weren’t – geopolitically speaking.
When I was asked to visit Northern Ontario – specifically, the Hiawatha Highlands Conservation Area, a short drive north of Sault Ste. Marie, Ont., I was intrigued. Admittedly I had to ask, “for mountain biking?”
As it turns out, the passionate cycling community at the southern end of Lake Superior has been hard at work. A combined investment of $3.7-million has been funnelled into the local trail network, from federal and provincial grants along with the city and its tourism organization.
“We have geography that is unique – the combination of inland lakes, beautiful views and expansive forests give you a feeling that you’re miles away from civilization even though the trailhead is 15 minutes from downtown,” says Travis Anderson, the director of tourism and community development for Sault Ste. Marie.
When we arrive at Kinsmen Park, just inside the Hiawatha Highlands, it’s hard to spot a single car or truck without a bike rack. Licence plates from Quebec and Michigan fill the lot. Anderson notes that before they started developing in Hiawatha, mountain bikers would cross the border into Michigan to ride in Marquette and Copper Harbor.
“Now people are staying home to ride, and we’re attracting Americans, too,” he chuckles, pulling his bike out of the bed of his truck. The park is the hub for the four distinct networks: Crystal Creek, Farmer Lake, Red Pine and Pinder.
The 60-kilometre network of trails includes gems like the fast and flowy loop trail, Swamp Donkey. It’s named after the local moose, a common trailside sighting. This run starts off with massive corners, or berms, twice as big as anything I’ve seen in Southern Ontario. As I pick up speed, I glide over a series of table-top jumps and down a small rock drop.
Eventually, we stop to take photos of a granite stairway protruding from the trail, each coarse step looming two metres over the next. Looking back at my camera roll later makes me feel like I’ve been transported to the West Coast, but instead these runs are an eight-hour drive away from my home.
I also loved Soonami, which plummets riders down a 1.2-kilometre roller coaster of dirt at speeds of more than 30 kilometres an hour. The well-manicured berms jet out of the trail like waves in the forest, daring you to keep off your brakes and maintain speed. Often less than a metre wide, the cascading single-track demands focus from even the most experienced mountain biker. It’s one of a few double black diamond runs in the Crystal Creek trail system, and is named after the city’s nickname, the Soo.
The trail ends up a long, rocky and rutted climb, a chance for our legs to pump out the adrenalin built up from the opening descent. Anderson, who leads our small group, suggested we pause for a break at Crystal Falls, where white water tumbles between slabs of granite into pools 20 metres below.
Anderson grew up here, and back in the 1990s, he helped build the area’s original trails before leaving for university. He was lured back by the north’s rugged and untapped landscape almost 20 years later. Now, he hires crews that use mini-excavators and tampers to move more land and create trails that are smooth and exciting.
The old-school trails are slower to ride and feel tight. They twist back and forth relentlessly, and hug each natural contour. Riders can find these in the Red Pine and Pinder trail areas. Spending the day darting through trees and navigating the root-laden trails brings its own set of challenges compared with the thrills of Soonami. I enjoyed trying not to put a foot down as I slowly plodded up and over the thin knots of the pine trees the region is known for.
Chunks of shaded forests opened up into huge amphitheatres of bright green hip-high ferns, a plant that thrives in Northern Ontario’s climate. Ploughing through this section I was immediately reminded of the temperate rain forests of Mount Fromme, north of Vancouver, a top-tier destination for mountain bikers.
Another scenic ride is the 14-kilometre Farmer Lake loop, a relatively fast and mellow trail that surrounds a series of much shorter, steeper and more technical trails. About halfway through, we rolled onto a massive rock slab that disappeared into the small and serene lake the trail is named after, a perfect stop for a snack.
Cindy Price, the director of communications for the Sault Cycling Club, was also along for the ride. She pointed out it’s not all drops and jumps in the Sault. Trails like Myles to Go can be a warm-up for a big ride for one rider, or an introduction to a new sport for another. “We really have something for everyone,” Price says.
Hoping to attract more trail users, a new recreational bridge at Wishart Park was installed in March, a long-awaited connection from the Hiawatha trail system to the city’s paved hub trail: a 22.5-kilometre loop that allows riders to leave their cars in the city.
Before heading back down the highway to Toronto, we attended the third annual Salty Marie Trails Fest – the tagline, “Race hard, hang out harder!” It’s a weekend-long competition and party that’s growing in popularity.
I met Jan Roubal, who owns one of the local bike shops, Vélorution. Roubal won the marquee event, a gruelling 50-kilometre race, and was quick to credit the expanding trail network for the region’s growing success. Put bluntly, “If your town sucks, people won’t stay,” he says with a massive grin.
Aurora Aho rides around a berm at the pump track, in Crystal Creek trail network.
If you go
Sault Ste. Marie, Ont., is on the Canada-U.S. border, more than a seven-hour drive northwest of Toronto and 14 hours east of Winnipeg. Flights from Toronto and Winnipeg arrive daily.
Bring a mountain bike with front and rear suspension to make the most out of the variety of trails in Kinsmen Park (on Fifth Line off the Trans-Canada Highway going north out of Sault Ste. Marie). The trails are free to ride and well-marked but familiarize yourself with their trail map ahead of time. If you can, follow a GPS route on your phone or bicycle computer.
After your ride, head downtown to Georgie’s Shawarma on Elgin Street. It’s a simple Syrian lunch spot serving loaded chicken and falafel wraps, and take some hummus to go.
The writer was a guest of Tourism Sault Ste. Marie. It did not review or approve the story before publication.
Special to The Globe and Mail
