The Bike Co. - Pemberton and Whistler Bicycle Rentals and Store

Synopsis: Directly across the Pemberton valley from spectacular Mt. Currie lies a small (at least compared to Mt. Currie) knoll that provides some of the best technical singletrack in the Sea to Sky Corridor. The Forest Service recreation site at Mosquito Lake can be accessed by several different routes, and a maze of trails descend back to the valley floor. By connecting different routes, it is possible to ride this area for two to three hours.

Trailhead Access: From Pemberton, ride about two kilometers east, towards the town of Mt. Currie. After crossing a bridge, the highway turns to the right, and a road branches sharply to the left (look for the log home on the corner). Take the left spur, and in a few hundred meters the road enters a small gravel pit. Follow the road through the pit and cross the B.C. Rail lines, to a fork. The left fork, the Ivey Lake road, marks the beginning the climb.

The Ride: From the railway tracks follow the Ivey Lake Road as it climbs up about 600 feet through several switchbacks. The road crests beside some hydro lines, and right at the crest of the hill a road runs off to the left, leadind to such jems as Indy 500, Overnight Sensation, Blood Sweat and Fear, and the McKenzie Cruise. To reach Mosquito lake, ride straight through to another short climb. Just after this second crest the road to Mosquito Lake, marked with a Forest Service sign, branches to the right. The main road dead ends a hundred feet farther along.

Ride down the Mosquito Lake road, and soon you will see one end of the Ridge Trail climbing up to your right. This trail climbs steeply up to the top of the ridge, then drops down to the main Mosquito Lake singletrack descent.

If you continue on the Mosquito Lake access road it will turn to the right and pass a cut block, below on the left. Soon a gravel hydro road will appear on the left, and just past this a fainter roadbed will be visible with a singletrack running up it. This is the Lake Loop, which climbs up under the hydro lines, then snakes through the trees behind Mosquito Lake, back to the access road once more.

Riding a little past the turn off to the Lake Loop will lead you to Mosquito Lake itself. There is a picnic table, dock and a rope swing here, but if you are riding here in May or June, remember that there is a reason it is called Mosquito Lake. Sometimes it is best to just keep moving.

The Ridge Trail can also be accessed from the Mosquito Lake area. Ride past the lake, and in a short distance you will come upon a road that climbs up to the right. Ride up this road for about a kilometer, at which point it turns right and climbs three short, steep hills, then turns left and begins to descend. At this point you will see a singletrack climbing into the trees straight ahead - this is the far end of the Ridge Trail you saw earlier. The Ridge Trail makes its way back along the top of the ridge back towards Mosquito Lake. Along the way it forks at least twice, taking different lines across the hill. In addition, a new descent known as 'Creampuff' now branches left from the Ridge Trail.

Riding Time: One loop requires about an hour , and it is easy to ride for three to four hours around Mosquito Lake.

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