Williams Lake, BC. The 'River Valley Trail' to the Fraser River

Track starts at a small parking lot, just off the south side of MacKenzie Ave. N, near the foot of Comer Street. It begins with a short descent down a switchback dirt road to the valley bottom. Then follow the "River Valley Trail" to the west, all the way to the east bank of the Fraser River (11-km one-way). The trail crosses back and forth over the "Williams Lake River", which has eroded a small, steep-sided valley through thick formations of sand and gravel deposited at the end of the last ice age. The steep walls of exposed stratigraphy in the valley sides should be of interest to geologists.

If first down on the day, its possible you will disturb resting herds of deer or elk, which may bound off through the river or forest. Bear and cougar may also be in the area.

There is a large connecting network of more advanced mountain bike (MB) trails, some extreme. However, the saved track is wide, easy, mostly light gravel or packed dirt, with a few very-short coarser gravel sections, and only one short caution segment below the starting parking lot (see picture). There are no steep uphill sections provided you come back on the same route. Best with a mountain bike, however any geared bike with sturdy tires should make it.

The saved track finishes with a short vehicle loop around the town of Williams Lake, including the "Barking Spider Mountain Bike" shop where a good quality MB was available for day rental. The ending waypoint is at a small, authentic Italian Bistro.