By Keith and Heather Nicol
With our kids, Michael
and Kristie visiting from Vancouver we decided to show them a bike loop that
they hadn’t tried before in Seal Bay
Nature Park. Although there are a number of access points
to this 10 km loop we opted for starting at the main Bates Road Parking area which
has parking for lots of cars. Seal Bay Nature Park is a large park in the Comox
Valley and is a great place to explore within its 1585 hectares. Most of the
trails in scenic Seal Bay Nature Park are meant for walking but the outer Horse-Bike Loop is perfect for mountain biking. Although you could do the trail on a
bike with no suspension we find that a basic hard tail bike is perfect this
route since there are some roots and rocks in places.
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| Kristie riding past through the tall douglas fir |
We recommend
riding counter clockwise and it helps to pick up a trail map at the before you
start. Otherwise you can use your phone and download the maps you need at
comoxvalleyrd.ca/sbtrails The map comes
in handy at several junctions where you might not be certain which fork to
take. There is a shorter Horse-Bike loop
which is 7 km if you want a shorter ride.
The route has a firm gravel surface for the most part which makes for a
good riding. Because of the lack of technical riding features and generally
smooth surface this would be classed as an easy mountain bike loop suited to a
wide range of riders and we saw one family having a great time on this trail. The trail winds
through an open forest with a sword fern understory and there is some
undulation to the trail. The downhills are fun as you weave between the trees
and we saw 3 groups of cyclists riding the opposite way on our mid week trip on Tuesday, August 20. Since cyclists go both directions it pays to ring a bell if you ride around
blind corners. Also we came across several dog walkers so the bell warns walkers as well. We took abit more than 1
hour to do the loop which included time for a few pictures.
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| Some sections of the trail allow for side by side riding |
Since there are not
many easy mountain bike trails in the Comox Valley so check these trails out if
you are looking for a new place to ride. For more info see: https://www.comoxvalleyrd.ca/parks-recreation/comox-valley-parks-trails/seal-bay-nature-park
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