Springboard Trail in Belcarra Park: For Seriously Fit Cyclists, or for Those who Seriously Want to be Fit

Springboard Trail in Belcarra Park is only 8 km long, but it’s set in beautiful unspoiled forest, with a hardened surface so you can get some speed up if you want. I would call it the perfect place for a training ride, as there’s a very, very long uphill from the lake. On the other hand, coming back it’s all downhill, which is a lot of fun too.

Surfaces: all natural (soil!)

Distance: just under 8 km, one way

Difficulty level: very challenging, hill all the way (easier on the down lap!)

Safety level: very safe, almost all off road

Type of bike recommended: mountain bike, tricross or hybrid

Suitable for: adults and very fit children

Congestion: very quiet

Getting there from downtown:  Travel east on Hastings Street through Vancouver and Burnaby.  After Sperling Street stay in the left lane to join the Barnet Highway.  Follow the Barnet to Port Moody and turn left at the lights at St. John’s Street.  Follow St. John’s Street though Port Moody and veer left onto Ioco Road (There is good signage to help you navigate to the Park).  Travel along Ioco Road and then turn right when you reach 1st Avenue and then veer left on Bedwell Bay Road.  Turn left when you reach Tum Tumay Whueton Road.  Tum Tumay Whueton Road leads you right into the Belcarra Park.

Average Joe Cyclist Rating: Springboard Trail in Belcarra Park rates a Gold Bike-Star for fitness training and peaceful forest!

For more guides to great bike rides in and around Vancouver, see our Vancouver Cycling page!

By the way, if you want to get really fit with cycling, check out my Average Joe Cyclist’s Beginner Cyclist Training Plan: Phase 1.

GREAT BIKE TRAILS IN AND AROUND VANCOUVER
Tips for Planning a Great Cycling Vacation in Vancouver
Great Bike Rides in and Around Vancouver	The Whistler Valley Trail	Central Valley Greenway	Stanley Park Seawall, Vancouver
Seaside Bike Route, Vancouver	Galloping Goose Trail, Vancouver Island	Lochside Trail, Vancouver Island	Pacific Spirit Regional Park
West Dyke Trail, Richmond	Deer Lake Park Bike Trails, Burnaby	Traboulay PoCo Trail, Port Coquitlam	Barnet Highway, Burnaby
Shoreline Trail, Port Moody	Springboard Trail, Belcarra Park, Port Moody	Lower Seymour Trails, North Vancouver	Osprey Loop, Pitt Meadows
Bike Rentals Vancouver	Second Beach Pool to Prospect Point, Stanley Park	Convention Center to Science World	Whistler village to Green Lake

We stumbled on the Springboard cycling Trail in the beautiful Belcarra Regional Park largely by happy accident (Buntzen Lake was full, so we went to Belcarra).

It is not an easy ride – going up calls for serious cardio fitness, while coming back down calls for some technical skills as there are a lot of switchbacks.

However, the Springboard Trail is broad and firm, and of course there’s always the option of getting off the bike to walk for a while (which I have to admit, we did a couple of times going up). Also, the steepest part of the ascent is the half km or so just above the lake. After that, it’s more undulating, so most people should be able to manage it.

You can access the trail from the parking lot. (Driving directions to the parking lot are here.) It’s on the left hand side of the large recreational/barbecue area, just past the washrooms and concession (truly horrible food, only fit for those committing suicide via eating – take your own food!).

It’s tricky to find the Springboard Trail because the sign only mentions the Admiralty Point Trail, which is not accessible to cyclists.

However, if you just walk your bike a short distance along the Admiralty Point Trail you will come to a dirt road. Here you will find a sign indicating you have found Springboard trail. It follows the dirt road for a very short distance, then veers up the hill and into the deliciously cool forest. The trail stays in the forest most of the time, but does deviate onto the flamboyantly named Tum-Tumay-Whueton Drive for short sections. However, on those sections there is a broad shoulder to ride on, so it’s really not bad.

Once you’ve mastered Springboard Trail, and are ready to enjoy your well-earned picnic lunch, head back to the beach.

There are many spots just a little way away from the main recreational area where you can eat your lunch in relative peace, while enjoying the view of the Burrard Inlet and watching those who get their exercise in other ways.

The only downside to the Springboard Trail is that you pretty much have to use a car to get your bike there because it’s miles from anywhere. That said, it is possible by transit, but it would take a long time.

Bottom line: Beautiful wilderness trail, suitable for intermediate to advanced cyclists, and for those who seriously want to get fitter. Oh, and one of the coolest things about this trail is that not a lot of people actually use it – we saw a total of 2 hikers and 3 cyclists on the beautiful, sunny day we went there.

If you like cycling up hills, you will love the Barnet Highway bike path, reviewed here – although it is entirely on road, not off road.

For many more great bike trails, see Average Joe Cyclist – Great Bike Trails.

Did you like this post or find it useful? If so, please support our blog in one of these ways:

To support this blog, please consider clicking on one of the Amazon links before buying from Amazon. A small commission from Amazon helps pay for our time. It costs you nothing at all except a click. For more information, please see “How Our Affiliate Links Work” in the right-hand side bar (down below if you’re on a mobile) or our Policies page.

If you don’t want to buy anything right now, fair enough – but please consider supporting this blog by SHARING this post (using the Share buttons below) or by LIKING our Facebook page. BEST OF ALL – just SUBSCRIBE to our blog (click on the link below, next to Mrs. Average Joe Cyclist’s lovely face). It makes you part of our community, and makes sure you get free updates about all our posts, once a week. Thanks in advance – reader support keeps us going and makes it all worthwhile!