ADVOCACY IN ALBERTA
When most riders think of Canadian mountain biking, a short list of destinations comes to mind: the root webs of the North Shore, Squamish slabs, Whistler’s gravity playgrounds, Canmore’s alpine flow. Edmonton — the provincial capital parked in the middle of prairie farmland — usually doesn’t make the cut.
And yet, tucked into the steep river valley that slices through the city, Edmonton has been building something extraordinary: a grassroots, volunteer-driven trail system that now stretches more than 75 km, woven into old-growth forest, sandstone bluffs, and meandering creeks. It’s a network that defies the stereotypes of the flat prairies — and it’s about to add a signature piece of infrastructure that puts the city squarely on the Canadian MTB map.
Bird’s-eye view of the Edmonton Bike Park.
Cory Montemurro hitting the wallride on the freeride line.
A Hidden Singletrack City
Edmonton’s river valley is billed as the largest urban parkland in North America. But for decades, much of it was a no-man’s land of desire lines, unsanctioned trails, and unofficial features built by riders under cover of secrecy.
In the early 2000s, a handful of volunteers began organizing under what would become the Edmonton Mountain Bike Alliance (EMBA). With little more than shovels, advocacy letters, and persistence, they started cutting through red tape to win approvals for existing trails. Progress was slow, but over 15–20 years the group established a maintenance agreement with the City and carved out a role as steward of the valley’s singletrack.
Today, EMBA maintains about 75 km of approved trail. It’s not Whistler Bike Park. It’s not the North Shore. But for a city of a million people in the middle of the prairies, it’s shockingly good: loamy forest corners, sandstone ridgelines, punchy climbs, and tech that surprises even seasoned travelers. Riders visiting from Calgary or Vancouver often walk away saying, “I had no idea.”
Tall Birch trees and fall colours make for scenic backdrops on Edmonton’s trails.
Cory Montemurro seems very adept at finding airtime.
The Volunteer Engine
If there’s one thing that defines Edmonton’s MTB scene, it’s sweat equity. With no lift access, no commercial operator, and no steady City funding, nearly everything comes down to volunteers.
Every season, hundreds of riders donate evenings and weekends to brush back vegetation, fix drainage, repair wooden features, and reroute fall-line braids. The work isn’t glamorous, but it’s consistent. EMBA has turned what was once a ragtag underground scene into a sustainable, sanctioned trail network — one the City now openly promotes in its park maps.
It’s a model of citizen-led stewardship. But the next chapter asks a bigger question: can a community that’s thrived on hidden singletrack also build something visible, central, and iconic?
One of the many amazing flowy singletrack trails in Edmonton (Andre’s trail).
The Bike Park Vision
The answer is now taking shape in Queen Elizabeth Park, perched just east of Edmonton’s Walterdale Bridge. Here, on a hillside with the skyline as a backdrop, EMBA is building the Edmonton Bike Park — a $1.235M project that blends pump track, skills area, and progressive flow/jump lines.
It’s Edmonton’s first purpose-built, sanctioned bike park, and it’s entirely community-driven. The budget has come together through a Community Facility Enhancement Program (CFEP) grant, City support through the RPFIP program, private donations, and corporate sponsors. EMBA itself committed $177,000 worth of volunteer hours, materials, and equipment — a requirement to secure provincial funding.
Construction is now underway. Professional trail builders are shaping the dirt alongside EMBA volunteers, hauling rock, carving berms, and setting transitions. By summer 2026, the park will be open with features ranging from rollers and small tables for kids, up to doubles and hips designed to challenge advanced riders.
The vision is simple but powerful: give riders of all levels a safe, sanctioned place to progress, and reduce the pressure on unsanctioned trails scattered through the valley.
Volunteers stand on the Whale Tail feature at the new Edmonton Bike park after a hard day’s work.
More Than Jumps
For Edmonton, the Bike Park is more than just a recreation facility. It’s a proof of concept: that a volunteer non-profit can deliver a million-dollar piece of infrastructure in partnership with the City.
It’s also an urban design statement. The park will sit minutes from downtown and Whyte Avenue, directly connected to paved commuter routes and the singletrack network. That means a kid in central Edmonton can ride from home, session the pump track, and roll back without ever loading a car. It’s a vision of everyday access to dirt.
And it signals something to the broader Canadian MTB community: mountain biking isn’t confined to the mountains. With imagination and persistence, even a prairie city can create a legitimate riding destination.
The best view of the city skyline now includes Edmonton Bike Park’s jump lines.
Edmonton doesn’t have the tourism dollars of Whistler, the alpine cachet of Banff, or the deep history of the Shore. What it has is a river valley, a critical mass of riders, and a culture of rolling up sleeves.
The Iconic Helix structure at the drop-in of the blue trail “Cooper’s Hawk, at the top of the Bike Park Flow trails.
The Spirit of Edmonton
If you ask EMBA volunteers why they’ve poured thousands of hours into this, you’ll hear the same answer: because no one else was going to do it. Edmonton doesn’t have the tourism dollars of Whistler, the alpine cachet of Banff, or the deep history of the Shore. What it has is a river valley, a critical mass of riders, and a culture of rolling up sleeves.
That’s the real story: not just that Edmonton can build singletrack and bike parks, but that it did, against the odds, because a community refused to wait for someone else.
By next summer, when the grand opening ribbons are cut and the first kids pump through the rollers, Edmonton’s reputation may shift. Riders across Canada might pause, look north, and say: “Mountain biking… in Edmonton? Yeah, and it’s legit.”
Volunteers testing out the bike park after some quality trail work.
Who doesn’t get excited about hitting a quality wall ride?
Edmonton Bike Park — Fast Facts
• Location: Queen Elizabeth Park, just east of the Walterdale Bridge in Edmonton’s river valley
• Budget: $1.235M total project cost
• Funding: Provincial CFEP grant, City of Edmonton RPFIP ($407K), private donations, corporate sponsors, and EMBA’s $177K in volunteer labour + in-kind support
• Community Contribution: ~120 unique volunteers contributing 1,800+ hours (and counting)
• Features: Pump track, skills area, flow trails, progressive jump lines, wayfinding and safety signage
• Opening Timeline:
• Fall 2025 – earthworks, drainage, shaping
• Spring 2026 – surfacing, compaction, signage install
• Late June 2026 – phased soft opening
• July 2026 – official Grand Opening
•
Legacy:Edmonton’s first sanctioned bike park and one of Canada’s largest community-led urban MTB projects
Looking out over the Edmonton River valley.