+ 70
Meadow of the Grizzly -> Pseudo-Tsuga Loop
Mountain Biking Trail
Hard
9.9 mi
2,534 ft
A stunning intermediate flow trail of epic proportions!
While Squamish is home to plenty of ultra-gnarly lines, the key ingredient that makes this mountain bike destination a true crowd-pleaser is the diversity of its mountain biking offerings. This flow trail ride combining Meadow of the Grizzly and Pseudo-Tsuga really drives home just how hard Squamish has worked to make its trail system so diverse.
There are two ways to ride this route: either as a loop by climbing the Stl'lhalem Sintl' climbing trail or by shuttling to the top via the Garibaldi Park Road. While undoubtedly some locals frown on shuttlecocks, with such a well-maintained road running all the way to the top of the trail, it's clear that plenty of people take advantage of it. Make your own decision about how you'd like to access this descent.
The scale of Meadow of the Grizzly is truly incredible! This flowy machine-built trail drops almost 1,500 vertical feet in less than two miles, swooping and flowing through the forest before breaking out into expansive clear cuts that provide gorgeous views of Squamish below and Howe Sound in the distance. This entire trail was designed to be an intermediate flow trail that everyone can enjoy.
However, at the time of this writing in 2022, Meadow of the Grizzly has turned into a bit more challenging of a descent due to massive erosion in the upper section. In many spots, what was obviously once a beautiful flow trail is now a deep, eroded trench running straight down the mountainside, which can be quite spicy in places. This isn't the entertaining type of erosion but rather a flow-destroyer that's a real downer.
There are probably multiple reasons for this erosion (possibly including shuttlecocks), but a big part of the reason is that this trail was built much too steeply. It's clear that the sections that have eroded away were just too damn steep and unsustainable and that they couldn't handle both the moisture and the traffic.
That's what you get when you don't build your trails sustainably when they're guaranteed to be hammered by traffic. For what was obviously a very expensive machine-built trail, which was crowdfunded by over 550 donors, it's sad to see that this is the result less than 5 years after it was opened. Hopefully this trail will be rebuilt soon and it will come back better than ever.
What makes this erosion such a downer is that SORCA obviously knows how to craft fantastic, sustainable flow trails that will hold up to hundreds of thousands of mountain bike tires, and the next section of this descent—Pseudo-Tsuga—exemplifies that trail building prowess.
Pseudo-Tsuga is a top-tier flow trail that has held up exceedingly well to its fame and subsequent traffic over the years. This berm-filled descent offers a few small jumps, but it's not as jump-focused as nearby Half Nelson. Instead, the trail experience offers high speed swoop and flow through the forest that's guaranteed to put a grin on your face.
This trail is such an absolute gem, and it's kind of incredible to think that Squamish has many other trails of similar quality to Pseudo-Tsuga just scattered across its forested mountainsides. The quality and caliber of this trail are higher than you'll find in most bike parks, and it's just out here, hidden in the heart of Squamish's expansive trail system. It's a fantastic way to finish this top-to-bottom intermediate flow trail romp. Written by Greg Heil
While Squamish is home to plenty of ultra-gnarly lines, the key ingredient that makes this mountain bike destination a true crowd-pleaser is the diversity of its mountain biking offerings. This flow trail ride combining Meadow of the Grizzly and Pseudo-Tsuga really drives home just how hard Squamish has worked to make its trail system so diverse.
There are two ways to ride this route: either as a loop by climbing the Stl'lhalem Sintl' climbing trail or by shuttling to the top via the Garibaldi Park Road. While undoubtedly some locals frown on shuttlecocks, with such a well-maintained road running all the way to the top of the trail, it's clear that plenty of people take advantage of it. Make your own decision about how you'd like to access this descent.
The scale of Meadow of the Grizzly is truly incredible! This flowy machine-built trail drops almost 1,500 vertical feet in less than two miles, swooping and flowing through the forest before breaking out into expansive clear cuts that provide gorgeous views of Squamish below and Howe Sound in the distance. This entire trail was designed to be an intermediate flow trail that everyone can enjoy.
However, at the time of this writing in 2022, Meadow of the Grizzly has turned into a bit more challenging of a descent due to massive erosion in the upper section. In many spots, what was obviously once a beautiful flow trail is now a deep, eroded trench running straight down the mountainside, which can be quite spicy in places. This isn't the entertaining type of erosion but rather a flow-destroyer that's a real downer.
There are probably multiple reasons for this erosion (possibly including shuttlecocks), but a big part of the reason is that this trail was built much too steeply. It's clear that the sections that have eroded away were just too damn steep and unsustainable and that they couldn't handle both the moisture and the traffic.
That's what you get when you don't build your trails sustainably when they're guaranteed to be hammered by traffic. For what was obviously a very expensive machine-built trail, which was crowdfunded by over 550 donors, it's sad to see that this is the result less than 5 years after it was opened. Hopefully this trail will be rebuilt soon and it will come back better than ever.
What makes this erosion such a downer is that SORCA obviously knows how to craft fantastic, sustainable flow trails that will hold up to hundreds of thousands of mountain bike tires, and the next section of this descent—Pseudo-Tsuga—exemplifies that trail building prowess.
Pseudo-Tsuga is a top-tier flow trail that has held up exceedingly well to its fame and subsequent traffic over the years. This berm-filled descent offers a few small jumps, but it's not as jump-focused as nearby Half Nelson. Instead, the trail experience offers high speed swoop and flow through the forest that's guaranteed to put a grin on your face.
This trail is such an absolute gem, and it's kind of incredible to think that Squamish has many other trails of similar quality to Pseudo-Tsuga just scattered across its forested mountainsides. The quality and caliber of this trail are higher than you'll find in most bike parks, and it's just out here, hidden in the heart of Squamish's expansive trail system. It's a fantastic way to finish this top-to-bottom intermediate flow trail romp. Written by Greg Heil
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