Half Nelson Trail Review
Half Nelson… Squamish Mountain Biking
What a palaver! With everyone talking, Half Nelson this and Half Nelson that, I decided to find out first hand why Half Nelson is the biggest thing to hit Squamish in living memory. Although something did happen in February…. What was that? No matter, I forget.
So I got on my (new) Santa Cruz and headed up the Park Road to check it out. The Half Nelson trail spits you out at the corner of the Park Road and the Ring Creek FSR. To access the trail you need to pedal up the FSR to the SORCA shack. Then take a right and climb up to the top of Recycle about 10-15mins.
Upon arriving at the new shack I was immediately impressed with the information shack and the work that had gone into this trail. The more I thought about it, Half Nelson has been very well planned and executed. Its location means that is enough of a climb to ensure that it doesn’t get too trashed by the shuttle lizards but close enough to allow that people can easily park at the bottom of the trail and do several laps on it in an afternoon, if that’s your shtick…
Half Nelson is accessible to all levels and riders. You could ride the whole trail on just about any kind of bike. In fact it is regarded as a pump track. It’s certainly fast and smooth with super fun corners and some tighter ones too. All the jumps are well spaced and can be taken at your own speed, suiting both big hitters and beginners alike. The wooden bridges are awesome as the trail twists through older growth forest.
I would say my only criticism would be that it was a bit short. Prepare to be disapointed that the fun has come to an end when you get to the bottom of the trail. All up a super fun ride and highly recommended with something for all levels and abilities.
The second half of the video below (1m:15 onwards), was shot on Half Nelson by the very talented Coastal Crew of the Sunshine Coast. The first half of the video is of a common route taken to the Half Nelson trailhead by the big bike crowd, 19th Hole.
Knolly Bikes - Squamish from The Coastal Crew on Vimeo.
Thanks for the post Andrew. Yeah, it is exciting! This is just the first stage of the development of the Full Nelson in Squamish. Stay tuned.
Andrew - I think you're right and that they might build the top half to the trail.
Great Write Up. Sounds like a fantastic Trail. I can't wait to get up to Squamish and ride the trail myself! Did I hear correctly when I heard that they are thinking of building an upper section to make it 'Full Nelson' ?
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