The Menzies Trail makes for a gorgeous mountain bike ride through BC's Golden Ears Provincial Park. One of the Fraser Valley's gems, Golden Ears Provincial Park is only 60 short kilometers from Vancouver and a great escape from the hustle and bustle of the city. The park draws people in for all sorts of activities such as swimming, boating, camping, and hiking, and bikers and horseback riders are allowed on the park's mulit-use trails, too.
The Menzies Trail is a multi-use, multi-direction trail in the heart of the park. The start (north end) begins from the West Canyon Trail a few meters in from the parking lot. This end is more often used as the beginning because it is so close to all the campgrounds. The trail is wide, and for the most it part follows the bottom of the mountain across creeks and through thick forests.
While hiking the trail is very easy, some erosion and a lack of maintenance has made some of the steeper sections more difficult on a bike. The trail climbs in either direction, and both ends of the trail are roughly the same elevation. A large portion of the steeper sections are three-quarters of the way to the south end. The elevation gain brings you up to a lookout where a couple of benches mark a resting point. While pretty, the view here is not that stunning; the big draw is the waterfall toward the end of the trail. Refreshing and beautiful, a natural waterfall fed from the mountain streams flows down and is collected in a man-made pool before it spills over and continues down to the lake. From here the trail is mostly downhill to the other end at Mike Lake Road.
Ride the trail back for a different perspective on the beautiful old-growth forest with its lush ferns and moss-covered trees, or link up to a few more trails around the Mike Lake area for a day of fun before you head back.
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