Mobile Menu

  • Destinations
    • Canada
      • British Columbia
        • Vancouver Island, B.C.
        • Okanagan
        • Lower Mainland, B.C.
        • Northern B.C.
        • Interior B.C.
        • Kootenays/Rockies
      • Alberta
      • Yukon
      • Northwest Territories
    • U.S.A.
      • Alaska
      • Washington
      • Oregon
      • California
    • West Coast Galleries
  • Experiences
    • Things To Do
    • Staycation Secrets
      • Canada
      • U.S.A.
    • Adventure
      • Adrenaline
      • Beaches
      • Biking
      • Camping
      • Fishing
      • Hiking
      • Hunting and Fishing
      • Rafting
      • Skiing
    • Sip & Savour
    • Family Activities
    • Indigenous Tourism
    • Accessible Travel
    • Travel Tips & Advisories
  • West Coast Galleries
    • Nature Photography
    • Wildlife Photography
    • Cityscapes
  • Contests
    • Hotel Zed Contest
    • It’s A Shore Thing Summer Getaway
    • Camel’s Hump Guest Ranch Getaway
    • Raft. Relax. Recharge
  • About
    • The Armchair Traveller Newsletter
    • Explore our travel guides
    • Impressive West Coast
    • West Coast Partners
    • West Coast Traveller Directory
    • Join Our Team
    • Contact Us
    • Explore West Coast Traveller on TikTok
  • Search
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Twitter
  • YouTube
  • TikTok Icon
  • Flickr Icon
  • Menu
  • Skip to left header navigation
  • Skip to right header navigation
  • Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to secondary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer

Before Header

  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Twitter
  • YouTube
  • TikTok Icon
  • Flickr Icon

West Coast Traveller

  • Destinations
    • Canada
      • British Columbia
        • Vancouver Island, B.C.
        • Okanagan
        • Lower Mainland, B.C.
        • Northern B.C.
        • Interior B.C.
        • Kootenays/Rockies
      • Alberta
      • Yukon
      • Northwest Territories
    • U.S.A.
      • Alaska
      • Washington
      • Oregon
      • California
    • West Coast Galleries
  • Experiences
    • Things To Do
    • Staycation Secrets
      • Canada
      • U.S.A.
    • Adventure
      • Adrenaline
      • Beaches
      • Biking
      • Camping
      • Fishing
      • Hiking
      • Hunting and Fishing
      • Rafting
      • Skiing
    • Sip & Savour
    • Family Activities
    • Indigenous Tourism
    • Accessible Travel
    • Travel Tips & Advisories
  • West Coast Galleries
    • Nature Photography
    • Wildlife Photography
    • Cityscapes
  • Contests
    • Hotel Zed Contest
    • It’s A Shore Thing Summer Getaway
    • Camel’s Hump Guest Ranch Getaway
    • Raft. Relax. Recharge
  • About
    • The Armchair Traveller Newsletter
    • Explore our travel guides
    • Impressive West Coast
    • West Coast Partners
    • West Coast Traveller Directory
    • Join Our Team
    • Contact Us
    • Explore West Coast Traveller on TikTok
  • Search
You are here: Home / Travel / Mountain bikers lining up for Hartland’s newest trail

Mountain bikers lining up for Hartland’s newest trail

January 28, 2021 //  by Travis Paterson

Share this:

As a black diamond run, the newly redesigned section of Organ Donor trail at Hartland-Mount Work mountain biking park is not for everyone.

But the lineups of bikers at the top of Organ Donor show just how popular the trail is, and how badly needed it is at Mount Work, located on the Saanich Peninsula, just outside Victoria.

(And yes, the mountain bike trails have extreme names, ranging from off-colour humour, such as Birth Control, Lumpy Pants and Who’s Your Daddy, to the subtle, such as Small Craft Warning and Bubble Wrap.)

“Now that it’s open, everyone is enjoying it and sharing that stoke around the community, they are so happy to have this kind of trail in our community,” says Alon Soraya, vice-president of the South Island Mountain Biking Society.

What’s significant about Organ Donor, which has long existed but has had a significant reroute, with a new design, is that this style of flowy trail with built-up jump-style features has not been allowed in Mount Work park until now.

In the past, there were legal issues that limited the building of ‘features’ such as jumps and drops, not just in Greater Victoria but across B.C. However, in the past decade trail building elsewhere has undergone a boom and has put places such as Cumberland on the map with Whistler as one of the fastest-growing mountain biking destinations.

Now the stewards who oversee trail building at Mount Work are working to catch up. In the spring, the South Island Mountain Biking Society signed a licence agreement with the CRD, the result of several years of negotiations between CRD staff and a number of the society’s board directors.

“It supports us to do work like this and continue improving the park,” Soraya said.

There’s a long history of trail building, including recent work, however, it’s mostly unsanctioned, and the CRD will often step in to close trails.

Once South Island Mountain Biking Society had permission this summer, longtime volunteer and local mountain biker Jesse Jubinville couldn’t wait to build.

The work started in September with more than 1,000 volunteer hours in total and officially opened on Jan. 17.

“Hartland for years hasn’t had a progressive-style trail and has been left behind in comparison to other [parks] which have flowy, fun trails with drops and jumps. When I set out to build something, I wanted something for the community that all levels of riders can have fun on,” Jubinville says.

So while the trail is fast, it is a bit wider than the usual single track, and it covers the craggy roots and rocks that make Hartland “technical” and difficult, but fun. It also has opportunities to slow down where other black diamond trails don’t. There are also “rollable” options next to the bigger jumps, gaps and drops, so moms and dads can go easy while the kids go big.

This spring the CRD is expected to produce a draft management plan for Mount Work that the society hopes will include an expansion of the bike trail boundaries. That could open the door to build more trails, or even sanction some trails that are lesser-known and go back to the guerilla trail building days of the 1990s, but were marked outside the boundary when CRD implemented a management plan.

To get there:

From Victoria, follow the Pat Bay Highway (Hwy. 17) to West Saanich Road exit. Turn right on West Saanich Road, then turn left on Hartland Avenue to the park entrance on the right.

Learn more, including trail map and ratings, at simbs.com/trails

***

Please note that Provincial Health Protocols currently advise against travelling outside your region to help prevent the spread of COVID-19.

Plan your future adventures throughout the West Coast at westcoasttraveller.com and follow us on Facebook and Instagram @thewestcoasttraveller. And for the top West Coast Travel stories of the week delivered right to your inbox, sign up for our weekly Armchair Traveller newsletter!

Share this:

Category: TravelTag: Adrenaline, Biking, British Columbia Destinations, Canada, Mountain biking, Saanich, Saanich Peninsula, Things to do, Things to Do in Vancouver Island, Victoria, WCT Intro

Related Posts

You may be interested in these posts from the same category.

Life-sized sculptures bring ‘the wild’ to downtown Victoria

Things will get wild on the streets of Victoria this month with life-sized driftwood animal…

Life-sized sculptures bring ‘the wild’ to downtown VictoriaRead More

Travel on the Fly: Snowbirds, beautiful blooms + other spring delights

Spring’s arrival brings more than longer, sunnier days coaxing leaves from the trees. It’s the…

Travel on the Fly: Snowbirds, beautiful blooms + other spring delightsRead More

Where is California’s ‘hardest to book’ campground? Not in a famous park

California has one campground among the nation’s 10 most difficult to book, according to a…

Where is California’s ‘hardest to book’ campground? Not in a famous parkRead More

Washington’s Mount Rainier National Park to go cashless on entry fees and camping

By Jared Gendron, The News Tribune Beginning May 26, Mount Rainier National Park will only…

Washington’s Mount Rainier National Park to go cashless on entry fees and campingRead More

What to bring on a hike: WCT Travel Guide

Knowing what to bring on a hike can make all the difference between a wonderful…

What to bring on a hike: WCT Travel GuideRead More

You could spend a lifetime paddling here! Endless kayaking adventures await on southern Vancouver Island

Southern Vancouver Island is a world-class kayaking destination, with options along its endless, meandering coastline…

You could spend a lifetime paddling here! Endless kayaking adventures await on southern Vancouver IslandRead More

Travel on the Fly: A slushy good time spring skiing; Mountain-top beer festivities+ more!

From a Kootenay Beer Festival to a slushy end to a long, snowy spring ski…

Travel on the Fly: A slushy good time spring skiing; Mountain-top beer festivities+ more!Read More

Golden’s boy Boo boogies out of bed

The first day of spring isn’t officially until March 20, but for residents of Golden,…

Golden’s boy Boo boogies out of bedRead More

Take an Alberta roadtrip in the footsteps of ‘The Last of Us’

The HBO TV series The Last of Us has not only made many Albertans proud…

Take an Alberta roadtrip in the footsteps of ‘The Last of Us’Read More

Previous Post: « Osoyoos microbrewery shows there’s more to the Okanagan than wine!
Next Post: Photographers capture the West Coast in picture-perfect detail »

Primary Sidebar

Things To Do

Life-sized sculptures bring ‘the wild’ to downtown Victoria

March 22, 2023

Travel on the Fly: Snowbirds, beautiful blooms + other spring delights

March 21, 2023

Where is California’s ‘hardest to book’ campground? Not in a famous park

March 21, 2023

Washington’s Mount Rainier National Park to go cashless on entry fees and camping

March 21, 2023

Recent Posts

Life-sized sculptures bring ‘the wild’ to downtown Victoria

March 22, 2023

Travel on the Fly: Snowbirds, beautiful blooms + other spring delights

March 21, 2023

Where is California’s ‘hardest to book’ campground? Not in a famous park

March 21, 2023

Washington’s Mount Rainier National Park to go cashless on entry fees and camping

March 21, 2023

Footer

The West Coast Traveller has an immense social media footprint, with eight social media sites and and 125,000+ social followers.

Join us on social media and Join Our Community by sharing your stuff!

Get Inspired

News Media Groups

Black Press Media
Sound Publishing
Oahu Media Group
Alaska
Boulevard Magazines
Used.ca

Let’s Get Social

West Coast Traveller
I Love British Columbia
I Love Alberta
I Love Yukon
I Love Northwest Territories
I Love Washington
I Love California
I Love Oregon
I Love Alaska

Visit Our Companion Sites

I Love Saskatchewan
I Love Manitoba
I Love Nunavut
I Love Ontario
I Love Quebec
I Love Newfoundland and Labrador
I Love Nova Scotia
I Love New Brunswick
I Love Prince Edward Island

Site Footer

  • Facebook
  • Flickr
  • Instagram
  • Twitter
  • YouTube
  • TikTok Icon

Copyright © 2023 West Coast Traveller and · All Rights Reserved