Checking out the Hammerfest Bike Trails near Parksville

 By Keith and Heather Nicol

We normally ride the great trails at Cumberland in the Comox Valley but are always interested in trying out new trails. So on a recent trip to Rathtrevor Park in Parksville we decided to check out the Hammerfest Trails which are nearby. We used the AllTrails app which showed us a couple of the more popular loops to try. A nice bonus of this app is that you can download the routes ahead of time and then use the routes off line while you are on the trails. The routes we downloaded were “Locomotion , Jughead and the Link” and “Pit 2 Pit, Daryl’s, Jughead and Dem Bones” . 

 

We also used the AllTrails app to direct us to the parking area which is another bonus of this app since we would have driven right past the area since the starting area is not well sign posted. Unlike the trails at Cumberland where there is a large sign at the beginning showing the trails – here there is a sign showing that logging is on going and not to use the area before 3:00 pm during the week. Since we were riding after 3:00 pm on Monday, Sept 19 we headed off on the Pit 2 Pit loop. There are very few signs showing trail names so the app really helped keep us on track. The up track starts off nicely with a good grade for climbing. But near the top the route (Daryl’s) becomes very steep and I ended up pushing my bike up the trail. This route climbs 224 meters  over 3.8 km but then levels out and the route down starts on “Jughead” which is a fun twisting descent.   And “Dem Bones” delivers you right back to the road where you parked. Over all the 7.6 km route took an hour of cycling and overall I saw just 2 other cyclists. 

 

The next day I cycled the “Locomotion , Jughead and the Link” route and this loop climbs abit less – 185 meters and is slightly shorter at 7.4 km. Again the AllTrails app came in handy since their were so few trail signs. I had hoped that this route might be abit easier but again had to push my bike up some the steeper portions before I reached Jughead for the descent.  Overall this route took about an hour since I explored a few side trails enroute to the top. I really liked the trails here – I can see why Jughead is one of the most popular trails here but a good up trail would make cycling here that much better. Also you can see where new road building for logging has cut across Jughead so I hope the rest of the trails stay intact. Another bonus of this area is that they seem to have quite a few green trails which would be a good for the rider that wants smoother trails to ride.  For more info on the AllTrails app see:
https://www.alltrails.com/