All photos courtesy Wilderness Tours

Picture this: you’re floating down one of Canada’s most legendary whitewater rivers, getting pummeled by Class V rapids, when you glance up at the forested hillsides towering above the Ottawa River. Now imagine ripping down those same slopes on your mountain bike, carving through 25 kilometers of purpose-built singletrack.

That’s exactly what’s happening at Wilderness Tours, where a 50-year-old whitewater institution decided to expand beyond the river. What started as a simple two-trail addition has exploded into a 25-kilometer bike park that’s doubling in size every single year.

50 years of guiding the Ottawa River

“I’ve been with WT since 1996,” Matt McGuire told us. “I’ve been on [the Ottawa River] a very long time. I found myself here because of my love of whitewater kayaking.”

Kayaking took McGuire around the world. He’s organized and competed in multiple kayaking world championships and world cups — so many that he couldn’t give an exact count. Today, he serves as the Marketing and Sales Director for WT. 

McQuire was clear about one thing: at WT, whitewater is their thing. He explained how the Ottawa is a sought-after river by whitewater kayakers and rafters. For those familiar with this world, he likened the Ottawa to whitewater river destinations such as the Zambezi and White Nile in Africa, or the Yangtze in China. 

Over the years, WT established itself as the premier kayaking and rafting outfitter on Ontario’s Ottawa River, developing its guiding service into a full-fledged resort. But in recent years, WT decided to venture beyond the water, adding mountain biking to their adventure portfolio.

What started a handful of years ago as two trails is now a bike park, with more singletrack being added every year. The catalyst for the bike park was simple: they bought elevation.

“In 2015, the owner here bought a competitor,” McGuire shared. “And it was the 15-year plan to move resorts. Then the pandemic hit, and we had no idea what was going to happen, and the owner said, ‘Well, let’s just pull the bandaid off and move resorts now.’”

This new location wasn’t far from WT’s location. However, it was roughly 300 feet higher. While employees scrambled to move locations — including entire buildings in some cases — it was hard not to notice the sloped hillsides running into the woods and down to the river. 

After the move, WT started by adding two mountain bike trails. That was three years ago, and McGuire shared that they have more than doubled every single year since. And there is more to come.

The Wilderness Tours Bike Park is doubling its trail count every year

In a way, the Wilderness Tours Bike Park can be seen as an addition to the existing local trail systems in the area. The local trail organization, the Beachburg Off Road Cycling Association (BORCA), is involved with several local trail systems, including WT. McGuire told us that the organization hosts an annual XC race, with some of the course on WT’s system. WT takes the partnership a step further by giving BORCA members free access to the bike park.

Initially, WT’s bike park started with two trails — River Runner and Kessel Run — both of which are there today. McGuire described River Runner as more of an old school-style trail, with techy bits that you can find flow in, if you know the lines. Kessel Run is a more modern flow trail with the expected berms and tabletops. They’re rated black and blue, respectively.

These two trails laid the foundation of what is now the Bike Park at Wilderness Tours. In total, WT has roughly 5,500 acres, with a current 500 acres dedicated to the bike park. The park currently offers about 25km (~16 miles) of singletrack, with more on the way. The mileage is spread across over 40 trail segments, with many being branches and connectors off a main trail.

“And we have room for another dozen or so enduro-style trails,” McGuire told us, speaking of the 500 acres they’re working with. “That is what we’ve mapped and planned for the next two seasons of building.”

While the trails may be on the shorter side — McGuire told us their longest DH run is about three-quarters of a mile — WT’s bike park makes up for it in topography and terrain. A 300-foot elevation drop is just enough for a proper park with trails this length, and WT worked hard to find features within the natural terrain to incorporate into their builds. 

One such feature is a 60-foot rock roll on a double black trail dubbed “Gladiator.” McGuire mentioned other rolls in the park, along with natural janky tech and steep, loamy chutes. For the flow trails, they have just enough clay in the soil to pack hard, fast trails that are easily shaped.

When shovels first hit the dirt a few years ago, McGuire shared that it was difficult not to set off and build the gnarliest trails. They knew they needed to create a park for all skill levels, and that beginner and intermediate trails would need to be prioritized. “So we now have built out everything from greens for beginners to ProLines at this point,” McGuire said.

He also shared that by this time next year, they will have completed a cross-country loop around the property, stretching 12-13 miles.

A season that stretches

Those okay with pedaling up the climb trails or the return road (e-bikes are allowed) can do so for $15. WT offers a shuttle service, with a six-minute turnaround time, for $50/day. However, it is important to remember that they also offer an all-inclusive resort. Many riders choose to stay at the resort, spend a day or two on the water, and then spend a day or two in the bike park as part of their resort package.

Since WT is primarily a whitewater outfitter and resort, unlike other bike parks across North America, there is no early closing to prep for ski season. This means that the bike park is usually open for a more substantial part of the year.

“It depends on the freeze/thaw,” McGuire explained. Eventually, the park does shut down, but McGuire said that may be as late as November, with opening dates sometime in the early spring.

For mountain bikers looking to combine their riding with world-class whitewater adventures, Wilderness Tours offers something genuinely unique in the North American MTB landscape. With their aggressive expansion plans and lengthy riding season, WT is proving that the best MTB parks might just be the ones built by people who already know how to show visitors a good time.