March 29 , 2015, and we headed to (the still frozen) Lake Minnewanka in Banff National Park, to mountain bike the 30 km (return) singletrack that follows along the north shore of the huge lake. Since the slope faces south, drains well, and stays relatively low, it's a great early (or late) season ride. Winds were pretty stiff from the west, which gave us a great tail wind on the leg out. The way back, you're really having too much fun to notice the headwind.
This outstanding route is closed July 10 through September 15 to bikes - essentially because of berries along the trail that bring in the bears. And since a few of us have had encounters with bruins before, we make noise along the way, and try to stick together.
The Great Flood of June 2013 chewed out some of the creek bed crossings, but they were dry and easy to get through. We sawed a few of the trees that fell across the trail during the winter - but one or two big guys remain. As we had a few riders that hadn't been on bikes much this season, we turned around at the warden's cabin (15 km). But the trail does continue to Devil's Gap (27 km) if you are really fit. But, it could have a lot of deadfall, and tends to be a lot rougher. Overall, Minnewanka is a great destination!
