Trails in British Columbia
16 mapped routes in British Columbia: 5 scenic drives, 4 hiking trails, 4 cycling routes and 3 off-road 4x4 routes. Together they cover 768 km with 9,142 m of climbing, and the highest point reaches 1,706 m. Every route has a GPX download, elevation profile, gradient and surface analysis.
- Mapped routes
- 16
- Total distance
- 768km
- Total climbing
- 9,142m
- Highest point
- 1,706m
- Water crossings
- 4
Destination guide
About trails in British Columbia
British Columbia's routes range from the North Shore Mountains above Vancouver to the dry Interior. The Hanes Valley Trail to Grouse Mountain is a hard 22 km crossing from Lynn Canyon to the Grouse summit, with a steep boulder field. On Vancouver Island, the Galloping Goose Trail Ride and the Lochside Regional Trail Ride follow former rail lines out of Victoria, and the Sooke Hills offer rougher hikes and a dual-sport ride.
The Interior is drier and higher. The Deadman-Vidette Road Cariboo Route is a 122 km gravel run north of Kamloops Lake, climbing to about 1,700 m, and the Penticton Three Blind Mice MTB Ride uses a popular trail network above Okanagan Lake. The Terrace to Prince Rupert Yellowhead Drive follows the Skeena River to the northern coast, and the Whistler Westside MTB Ride offers technical riding in the Coast Mountains.
- Best time to go
- July to September is best for mountain hikes such as Hanes Valley, which holds snow into early summer. Coastal paths can be ridden year-round, but October to April is wet; Interior routes are hot in summer.
- Terrain
- Terrain runs from sea-level coastal trails to rugged mountain routes near 1,700 m. Difficulty is spread fairly evenly, with steep, rooty singletrack on the North Shore and in Whistler and gravel forest roads inland.
- Permits & access
- Forest service roads are active logging roads, so give way to industrial traffic and carry a spare tire. Many provincial parks, including Tetrahedron, have no fees for day use, but check for seasonal closures and wildfire restrictions.
Ways to explore
Activities in British Columbia
Difficulty spectrum
How hard are trails in British Columbia?
- Easy
- 25%4 trails
- Moderate
- 44%7 trails
- Hard
- 31%5 trails
Signature routes
Limitless routes in British Columbia
Interactive map
Map of trails in British Columbia
Scenic drives in British Columbia
View all 5 →Hiking trails in British Columbia
4Cycling routes in British Columbia
44x4 & off-road routes in British Columbia
3Keep exploring
More regions in Canada
Take it offline
Navigate British Columbia with TrailX
Download any route as GPX, or open it in the TrailX app to follow it on the trail and record your own.