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- Cedar Lake Trailhead. Park on your left. Canyon Creek trail up Talus Creek FSR (Road).
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- Stay right at the 4.7km mark.
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- Doubletrack ends at 5.5km.
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- Stay left at the 6.5 km mark.
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- Start of descent.
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- Karma Box.
Detailed trailhead description
To Cedar Lake Trailhead: Access to the Moonrakers via bike is on the CBT Mainline Trail, which starts immediately left after crossing the Columbia River Bridge on the Kicking Horse Trail Road (ski hill road). Or drive 6.5 km up Kicking Horse Trail Road, turning left on to the Cedar Lake Road and travelling 2 km. Once you arrive at the Y take the left branch and you will immediately see the Moonraker trailhead parking area; washrooms are available. The road to the trailhead at Sander Lake (via Nicholson) is now closed to biking related vehicle traffic until further notice; however, washroom facilities are available for use. There is also a trailhead (no services) parking lot on the right at the end of Canyon Creek Road at the bottom of the Canyon Creek Trail.
Cedar Lake Trailhead to Canyon Creek Trail: Ride up the Talus Creek FSR (doubletrack fire road). At 2.1 km Y intersection stay straight. At 3.9 km Y intersection continue straight (look for sign). Once you reach 4.7 km cross the new power line cut and continue right up the old doubletrack (not the gated power line access road). At 5.0 km a sign tells you to continue going, and at 5.5 km you will approach a clearing on the doubletrack – the singletrack begins after a sharp left in the clearing and there’s a year round wet section to navigate through. At 6.5 km stay left into a short up to the first incredible viewpoint. The descent that follows is nice and flowy – enjoy, but be careful on the exposed edges! Immediately following the new power line cut is a section including 3 VERY tight swithchbacks. It is recommended to stop, turn your bike 180o, and continue riding, unless you are very skilled. At 9 km you can take Bear Claw/Moonraker/Klahowya back into the Moonrakers and head towards Cedar Lake. If not, at 10 km take the wide singletrack on the right (signed with a black diamond and arrow) for a VERY steep descent (final 50m) to the finish. Finish- Canyon Creek Trailhead (parking lot on the right at the end of Canyon Creek Rd).
Options
This trail provides you with a couple of options:
1. Park at Cedar Lake, ride Canyon Creek to the bottom to a second vehicle parked there.
2. Park at Cedar Lake, ride Canyon Creek 9 km to the intersection with Bear Claw/Moonraker/Klahowya and ride back through the Moonrakers.
3. Drop down to Canyon Creek Trailhead and head back up to the aforementioned junction just to say you did the whole trail.
4. The expert workout: Park at Canyon Creek Trailhead ride up Canyon Creek to the top (5 km one way) and then down again. It’s quite a push to get your bike up the first 50 m, but pretty much ride-able the rest of the way.