How A Trash Dump Became MTB's Mecca

Whistler Bike Park is now the holy grail of mountain biking. Each year, over 100,000 riders descend on British Columbia to ride its world-class trails, iconic jump lines, and gravity-fed terrain. But rewind a few decades, and this mountain mecca was... a dump. Literally.

Dirt, but not the good kind

Back in the early 1980s, Whistler was home to more garbage than gnar. The area that now houses Whistler Village was actually a landfill. Not exactly the dream destination for outdoor adventure.

Fortunately, the Canadian government had a better vision. The dump was relocated, and the town of Whistler was born, quickly becoming a skiing hotspot in the winter months.

Enter the mountain bikers

As skis were swapped for bikes each summer, a handful of early MTB pioneers started hacking their way through the landscape, crafting the park's first trails. They were humble beginnings—far from the machine-sculpted masterpieces we know today.

Then came a game-changer.

Trail builder Patty Kaye had a bold idea: Joyride. It took two years of digging, shaping, and refining. But once complete, the Joyride trail and its namesake event put Whistler on the global MTB map. Riders showed up. The energy was electric.

The big bang

After Joyride’s success, trail development kicked into high gear thanks to Gravity Logic—a group that began expanding Whistler’s network of trails with serious intent. In 1999, Whistler Bike Park officially opened. Two years later, it launched its now-iconic jump line.

Since then, it’s been full send.

Lifts now take riders up 3,000 feet of elevation. Trails range from beginner-friendly flow to double-black tech. And the park has become a blueprint for others around the world, inspiring a global boom in lift-accessed mountain biking.

But nothing beats the original

Sure, there are dozens of great bike parks across Europe, North America, and beyond. But for many, Whistler will always be the bucket-list destination—the park that turned a dump into downhill gold.