Mount Swansea

Invermere, British Columbia, Canada

Mount Swansea is a fun downhill mountain bike area located just minutes east of Invermere. The trails are intermediate to expert in technical ability, but the dirt road used to access them via a shuttle vehicle is in rough shape. Trucks or SUVs with substantial ground clearance are recommended to shuttle this area. There are a total of seven (7) downhill trails to enjoy. This area is not for the beginner rider, although the two intermediate trails Hula Girl and Meat Grinder might be a good start for a beginner rider with some downhill experience looking to push their riding.

The best time to ride Swansea is in the late spring or early fall. During the summer months this area is very much like a desert; arid and dry, making the trails very dusty and loose. The two intermediate trails are very flowy, made up rocky and sandy slopes, with jumps and a number of technical trail features (TTFs). While the majority of the advanced trails are steep and loose, with berms, TTFs and jumps. The two main attractions are the huge road gap and large step-up. For a short trail description for all seven trails, please scroll down below the photos.

bikepirate rating:

Trail Stats

Distance: Under 10 km
Time: 1 - 4 hrs (shuttling)
Elevation Gain: N/A
Elevation Loss: N/A
Min Elevation: 1,301 m
Max Elevation: 1,656 m
Technical Rating: Intermediate - Expert
Physical Rating: Moderate
Season: April - October
Permit Required: No

Trail Location

Trailhead: Take Highway 93/95 east past Invermere to Windermere Loop Rd. Turn left on to Windermere loop Road, located just past the Valley Alley bowling area/sign. Continue north on Windermere Loop Road, turning left about 50 metres prior to the CertainTeed mining sign and turn off. There is a small sign indicating the turn off for Mount Swansea parking area. Drive past the stop sign into the parking lot of Mount Swanaea.

GPS: N50 28.967 W115 57.062

Downloads

Map: click here
GPS Map (GPX): click here
Google Earth: click here
Columbia Valley Cycling Society: click here
Trail Report: click here

Google Earth trail view only works if you have the program; download it here (free)

TRAIL DESCRIPTIONS

Dirty Monkey (Advanced – Expert)  3.5 km

One of the gnarliest trails on Mount Swansea due to the steep pitch and tight singletrack. The trail starts with a tough 500 metre hike a bike before the start of the descent. The descent itself is super steep, loose and has a few Technical Trail Features (TTFs) thrown in for good measure. Please note, currently the bottom section of Dirty Monkey, at the Autobahn junction (2km down) is getting some love and is closed. Continue down on Autobahn.

Booty Call (Advanced) 1.2 km

This is another steep trail running from the top of Mount Swansea, about 4.5km up the shuttle road.

Steeps (Advanced) 970 metres

A short but fun run with loads of bermed corners all the way down to the intermediate run Hula Girl. The run ends with a large gap jump, otherwise it doesn’t have any TTFs.

Hula Girl (Intermediate) 1.7 km

This is an intermediate run with some great flow and a few fun jumps and TTFs. The run spits you back out at the lower part of the shuttle road where you can connect with Meat Grinder to finish your run, or opt out if you’ve had enough.

Autobahn (Advanced) 540 metres

This is a short and steep advanced run which meets up with Hula Girl once you cross the shuttle road.

Gravy Train (Advanced) 1.4 km

The run begins with a short uphill, for which you can carry your speed from Hula Girl, and then moves towards a technical descent. A tricky steep and rocky section starts you off and sets the tone for the run, followed by a number of rock drops and berms.

Meat Grinder (Intermediate) 340 metres

This is a tight technical intermediate trail with a short, but fun, rock gully to ride through. Mostly boulders and loose rock make up this short descent back to the parking lot.

 

 


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