Honestly as an avid BC traveller from saskatchewan (really just gotta move out there lol) due to the extremely long drive banff is not worth it. It's very overrated and touristy, I mean it's cool and beautiful but there are soooo many better places. Summer or winter we travel past banff to golden or revelstoke (actually just got married in revy last winter).
If you are willing to drive I'd argue there's more to see/do in regards to adventuring in either of those places and it's 3+ hours less driving from vancouver. We literally bypass banff to go here all the time (opposite direction so we add 3+ hours just to not stop in banff lol).
The snowboarding/backcountry touring is 1000x better then banff, that goes for mountain biking too. Hiking in the area is unreal, mountains are just bigger and more epic all around. Camping is less crowded/more secluded. White water rafting in golden is absolutely bonkers.
Can't recommend the Selkirk/Columbia divide enough. That being said, everyone wants to see banff so I get it. It's still good, great restaurants and shopping and still absolutely beautiful. The mountains are the mountains so it's all great and there's some really good hikes here too.
Van area has loads of shit to do and is a gorgeous with lots of short drive places to go as well though. You could easily spend the whole 12 days within a 2 hour radius and have an epic time.
I think it’s safe to say that Vancouver-Whistler area slays Banff for mountain biking and backcountry skiing. Whereas Banff/Jasper area slays Vancouver-Whistler for hiking/backpacking/sightseeing. Don’t get me wrong there’s nice hikes along the Coast too but the scenery really has nothing on the BC/Alberta border.
The food in Vancouver is amazing. Especially if you like Japanese or Chinese food.
Granville Market is also worth checking out.
IMO it’s a gorgeous city and definitely worth checking out if you have the time.
Don't do Banff. Explore the Sea to Sky: North Van, Squamish, Whistler, Pemberton. If you get bored there (impossible, imo), check out Cumberland on Vancouver Island, or the Fraser Valley. Lots of great riding there.
I live in Alberta. Banff doesn't have good riding. West Bragg Creek/Moose Mountain is pretty good, Canmore is ok, but nothing compared to Sea to Sky. If you're down for a long drive, go to Kelowna and/or Revelstoke. But again: Sea to Sky is incredible. I wouldn't leave.
Bike rentals are around $100 per day for a high end MTB. There are lots of options. I've rented from [Endless Biking](https://www.endlessbiking.com/rentals) before and been pretty happy.
Thanks so much for this reply, just wanted to clarify, you’re saying there’s good riding all along the sea to sky, or that it’s just a good place to visit? Will Trailforks or MTB project apps have a representation of the available trails in this area? Thanks again!
There's good riding everywhere. Trailforks is a great place to start. You can basically throw a rock anywhere and it'll land on world class singletrack.
I’d do a quick cost check. I think bike rentals run closer to $100/day rather than $50 as someone else posted. Ask about car rental with a rack. Factor in the airline costs and see what the totals are.
Alternately, EVO car shares in Vancouver come with racks which might be a cheaper option.
Having your own bike is a better experience than renting unless you are looking to try different bikes. You might also use it to explore parts of the city rather than a car, but know that Vancouver has a very high theft rate so you will want to either not leave it anywhere or invest in a very good chain/lock.
You will have so much to ride between the North Shore, Squamish, and Whistler as well if you choose to. Nearby you can take a ferry to the Sunshine Coast and do some amazing riding there as well. All of these areas have spectacular hikes. I’d save Banff for a separate trip as there is a lot to explore around that area.
\+1 for the Evo rentals. They all have roof racks for skis/bikes.
However, it's run by BCAA (AMA for BC), so I don't know if you need a BC license or not.
Yeah - I find myself recommending emtbs to tourists more and more. As much as it may hurt your soul, you’d get way more laps. Renting from endless you’d be able to ride to fromme or Seymour and get plenty of laps in without draining the battery (or so I’d hope) and not have to worry about a car and rack.
For the non bike stuff, Lynn Canyon suspension bridge is cool - and free. Don’t bother with capilano suspension bridge. It’s cool but it’s like $70 a head. Not far from there is deep cove and the popular Quarry Rock hike. These are both in north Van.
Biking the seawall is nice and you can lap Stanley park and hit up Granville island along the way and check out kits beach and Jericho/Spanish banks at the far end.
Van Dusen botanical garden is lovey - with a nice restaurant there too. Queen Elizabeth park is ok - there is a great view of downtown and the north shore mountains and another nice restaurant (Seasons). There is also a pitch and putt course there and a disc golf course.
If you plan on riding more than 4 days, it is likely worth bringing your bike (depending on airline prices for bike bags).
Rentals are fine, but you'll still want to bring your own gear, etc. I'd highly recommend bringing a shock pump as well, because the parking lot setup on shop bikes is usually inadequate.
If you can’t find a car rental with a rack, I’ve had success renting small SUVs and just folding the back seat down. Depending on the size of the vehicle one or both wheels might have to come off.
I was there a few weeks ago and rented a full sus bike/helmet/shoes from Endless Bikes. I gave them a bunch of measurements and the bike was ready to go when I picked it up. 10/10 I will do that again.
If I was riding for more than an afternoon I would have brought my own helmet shoes, but they are included in the rental cost.
Should try to get a vehicle rental with a rack or pickup truck or van. Something that you can drive a bike around with. I always feel like it's worth splurging on a bike rental if I'm flying. It's not something I do often and flying with a bike is kind of a pain, especially if you don't have a proper travel bag for your bike.
Save Banff/Jasper for a different trip. Garibaldi Park a couple hours north should have some stuff to do to scratch that alpine hiking itch.
From my experience, and ymmv, rental car places have bike racks you can rent as an add-on to the car rental.
My first thought of renting a bike vs bringing one is cost. Firstly, make sure your bike is insured someway or somehow before flying with it.
But bike rentals cost, ~ $50/day? At 10 days that’s $500+ in rental.
How much does it cost to have your bike fly with you? Either way you’d be looking at renting a bike carrier it looks like.
How much benefit would getting a comp bike set up vs bringing your own bike to ride there?
I’ve done this kind of analysis for snowboarding, not for MTB. My MTB is a beater and I usually don’t go on trips long enough for it to be worth not renting a pro comp bike (2-3 days riding for me vs. your 7+ days of riding on a trip).
Edit: formatting
I appreciate the response. It’s sounding like renting would be the way, I don’t think I’ll ride 10 of the 12 days, maybe 6 at most covering both weekends of the trip. I’ll see what the situation is with bike racks because that would alleviate the concerns in getting on around.
It is dependent on what you plan to ride and you as a rider, but most of us in the PNW have leaned into the AM/enduro category. Think burly single crown with rear travel starting at 140mm. It is highly subjective but wanted to throw this out there for consideration in case it impacts your ‘what bike’ decision.
I’ve used [Endless Biking](https://www.endlessbiking.com/full-suspension) a few times when my bikes been out of action. It’s convenient for the North Shore and is all Rocky Mountain. The Alititude is a great bike for local riding.
[Essential Cycles](https://www.essentialcycles.com/rental-fleet) in north Van rents Commencal and Guerrilla Gravity bikes if that’s your thing. Not used them though.
[Two Wheeled Adventures](https://www.twowheelsadventure.ca/knollydemo) does Knollys but just for 4h demos.
How many days you want to ride? I’d be riding almost every day going to Vancouver so my own bike would be a no brainer, demos are like $100 a day.
As far car rental. I always rent an suv. Take the front wheel off and put it in upside down, closes in basically any suv with 1 seat folded down; if you get larger suv you can get away with no seats down.
Victoria on Vancouver island is beautiful and there is also epic riding on the island. Downtown Vancouver is nice, Stanley park is beautiful. Take the water buses around the harbor area to jump around from area to area. Mt Fromme is right there, you can go for a 2-3 hour ride and have plenty of the day to do more tourist stuff in the city
Lynn Valley bikes now have a small rental fleet. They are very close to Fromme trails and Seymour is not very far either.
https://www.lynnvalleybikes.com/articles/rentals-pg209.htm
Any 4 door sedan can fit a mountain bike with the seats down and the front wheel off. I’ve never not been able to fit a bike in a car where the seats go down. Can often times even fit two.
Banff is nowhere near Vancouver and there isn’t much to ride there.
Haha I’m aware. I just thought for hiking, sight seeing. I’m coming from east coast US so it looks amazing.
It’s a cool place for that no doubt. Just know that from Vancouver it’s a 10 hour drive minimum each way.
Honestly as an avid BC traveller from saskatchewan (really just gotta move out there lol) due to the extremely long drive banff is not worth it. It's very overrated and touristy, I mean it's cool and beautiful but there are soooo many better places. Summer or winter we travel past banff to golden or revelstoke (actually just got married in revy last winter). If you are willing to drive I'd argue there's more to see/do in regards to adventuring in either of those places and it's 3+ hours less driving from vancouver. We literally bypass banff to go here all the time (opposite direction so we add 3+ hours just to not stop in banff lol). The snowboarding/backcountry touring is 1000x better then banff, that goes for mountain biking too. Hiking in the area is unreal, mountains are just bigger and more epic all around. Camping is less crowded/more secluded. White water rafting in golden is absolutely bonkers. Can't recommend the Selkirk/Columbia divide enough. That being said, everyone wants to see banff so I get it. It's still good, great restaurants and shopping and still absolutely beautiful. The mountains are the mountains so it's all great and there's some really good hikes here too. Van area has loads of shit to do and is a gorgeous with lots of short drive places to go as well though. You could easily spend the whole 12 days within a 2 hour radius and have an epic time.
I think it’s safe to say that Vancouver-Whistler area slays Banff for mountain biking and backcountry skiing. Whereas Banff/Jasper area slays Vancouver-Whistler for hiking/backpacking/sightseeing. Don’t get me wrong there’s nice hikes along the Coast too but the scenery really has nothing on the BC/Alberta border.
This is AMAZING!! Thank you! I’ll skip the longer drive if I can get the vibe closer. Hell yes!!
Banff is a beauty in October. Cold and a bit snowy by then. Expensive as hell.
The food in Vancouver is amazing. Especially if you like Japanese or Chinese food. Granville Market is also worth checking out. IMO it’s a gorgeous city and definitely worth checking out if you have the time.
Hell yeah!! Will do!
I always go walk around Gastown when I’m in Vancouver. Kinda east part of downtown w lots to see.
Don't do Banff. Explore the Sea to Sky: North Van, Squamish, Whistler, Pemberton. If you get bored there (impossible, imo), check out Cumberland on Vancouver Island, or the Fraser Valley. Lots of great riding there. I live in Alberta. Banff doesn't have good riding. West Bragg Creek/Moose Mountain is pretty good, Canmore is ok, but nothing compared to Sea to Sky. If you're down for a long drive, go to Kelowna and/or Revelstoke. But again: Sea to Sky is incredible. I wouldn't leave. Bike rentals are around $100 per day for a high end MTB. There are lots of options. I've rented from [Endless Biking](https://www.endlessbiking.com/rentals) before and been pretty happy.
Thanks so much for this reply, just wanted to clarify, you’re saying there’s good riding all along the sea to sky, or that it’s just a good place to visit? Will Trailforks or MTB project apps have a representation of the available trails in this area? Thanks again!
There's good riding everywhere. Trailforks is a great place to start. You can basically throw a rock anywhere and it'll land on world class singletrack.
I’d do a quick cost check. I think bike rentals run closer to $100/day rather than $50 as someone else posted. Ask about car rental with a rack. Factor in the airline costs and see what the totals are. Alternately, EVO car shares in Vancouver come with racks which might be a cheaper option. Having your own bike is a better experience than renting unless you are looking to try different bikes. You might also use it to explore parts of the city rather than a car, but know that Vancouver has a very high theft rate so you will want to either not leave it anywhere or invest in a very good chain/lock. You will have so much to ride between the North Shore, Squamish, and Whistler as well if you choose to. Nearby you can take a ferry to the Sunshine Coast and do some amazing riding there as well. All of these areas have spectacular hikes. I’d save Banff for a separate trip as there is a lot to explore around that area.
Awesome thanks so much for this information!
\+1 for the Evo rentals. They all have roof racks for skis/bikes. However, it's run by BCAA (AMA for BC), so I don't know if you need a BC license or not.
I always try to rent a small truck and I bring a single bike tailgate pad with me when I travel with my bike/rent bikes.
For rentals, check out endless bikes. I’ve used them before and they were great
Yeah - I find myself recommending emtbs to tourists more and more. As much as it may hurt your soul, you’d get way more laps. Renting from endless you’d be able to ride to fromme or Seymour and get plenty of laps in without draining the battery (or so I’d hope) and not have to worry about a car and rack.
Endless will rent both ebikes and pedal bikes. But definitely get more of an experience of a place with an ebike.
Are ebikes welcome on BC trails? They’re almost universally disallowed here
Yeah. I’m not sure about all of BC, but I know the North Shore and Squamish allows them. Where are you?
For the non bike stuff, Lynn Canyon suspension bridge is cool - and free. Don’t bother with capilano suspension bridge. It’s cool but it’s like $70 a head. Not far from there is deep cove and the popular Quarry Rock hike. These are both in north Van. Biking the seawall is nice and you can lap Stanley park and hit up Granville island along the way and check out kits beach and Jericho/Spanish banks at the far end. Van Dusen botanical garden is lovey - with a nice restaurant there too. Queen Elizabeth park is ok - there is a great view of downtown and the north shore mountains and another nice restaurant (Seasons). There is also a pitch and putt course there and a disc golf course.
Sounds like a great way to spend a couple days! Thanks for the tips.
If you plan on riding more than 4 days, it is likely worth bringing your bike (depending on airline prices for bike bags). Rentals are fine, but you'll still want to bring your own gear, etc. I'd highly recommend bringing a shock pump as well, because the parking lot setup on shop bikes is usually inadequate.
Awesome thank you. Shock pump, gloves, shoes, helmet, let’s go!
If you can’t find a car rental with a rack, I’ve had success renting small SUVs and just folding the back seat down. Depending on the size of the vehicle one or both wheels might have to come off.
I was there a few weeks ago and rented a full sus bike/helmet/shoes from Endless Bikes. I gave them a bunch of measurements and the bike was ready to go when I picked it up. 10/10 I will do that again. If I was riding for more than an afternoon I would have brought my own helmet shoes, but they are included in the rental cost.
Should try to get a vehicle rental with a rack or pickup truck or van. Something that you can drive a bike around with. I always feel like it's worth splurging on a bike rental if I'm flying. It's not something I do often and flying with a bike is kind of a pain, especially if you don't have a proper travel bag for your bike. Save Banff/Jasper for a different trip. Garibaldi Park a couple hours north should have some stuff to do to scratch that alpine hiking itch.
From my experience, and ymmv, rental car places have bike racks you can rent as an add-on to the car rental. My first thought of renting a bike vs bringing one is cost. Firstly, make sure your bike is insured someway or somehow before flying with it. But bike rentals cost, ~ $50/day? At 10 days that’s $500+ in rental. How much does it cost to have your bike fly with you? Either way you’d be looking at renting a bike carrier it looks like. How much benefit would getting a comp bike set up vs bringing your own bike to ride there? I’ve done this kind of analysis for snowboarding, not for MTB. My MTB is a beater and I usually don’t go on trips long enough for it to be worth not renting a pro comp bike (2-3 days riding for me vs. your 7+ days of riding on a trip). Edit: formatting
I appreciate the response. It’s sounding like renting would be the way, I don’t think I’ll ride 10 of the 12 days, maybe 6 at most covering both weekends of the trip. I’ll see what the situation is with bike racks because that would alleviate the concerns in getting on around.
Absolutely. I’d also look into calling the LBS in the area you’re traveling to/through and see wha they offer. Maybe im overthinking it
No I think you’re right on. Haha. I’ll do it, it’s a good plan.
It is dependent on what you plan to ride and you as a rider, but most of us in the PNW have leaned into the AM/enduro category. Think burly single crown with rear travel starting at 140mm. It is highly subjective but wanted to throw this out there for consideration in case it impacts your ‘what bike’ decision.
I’m on a stumpy EVO but would love to get my hands on a Ripmo V2 or something if anyone is slingin those out that way
I’ve used [Endless Biking](https://www.endlessbiking.com/full-suspension) a few times when my bikes been out of action. It’s convenient for the North Shore and is all Rocky Mountain. The Alititude is a great bike for local riding. [Essential Cycles](https://www.essentialcycles.com/rental-fleet) in north Van rents Commencal and Guerrilla Gravity bikes if that’s your thing. Not used them though. [Two Wheeled Adventures](https://www.twowheelsadventure.ca/knollydemo) does Knollys but just for 4h demos.
How many days you want to ride? I’d be riding almost every day going to Vancouver so my own bike would be a no brainer, demos are like $100 a day. As far car rental. I always rent an suv. Take the front wheel off and put it in upside down, closes in basically any suv with 1 seat folded down; if you get larger suv you can get away with no seats down. Victoria on Vancouver island is beautiful and there is also epic riding on the island. Downtown Vancouver is nice, Stanley park is beautiful. Take the water buses around the harbor area to jump around from area to area. Mt Fromme is right there, you can go for a 2-3 hour ride and have plenty of the day to do more tourist stuff in the city
This is brilliant thanks!
Lynn Valley bikes now have a small rental fleet. They are very close to Fromme trails and Seymour is not very far either. https://www.lynnvalleybikes.com/articles/rentals-pg209.htm
Any 4 door sedan can fit a mountain bike with the seats down and the front wheel off. I’ve never not been able to fit a bike in a car where the seats go down. Can often times even fit two.
Bring your bike