Revelstoke bike community members with a range of abilities will have more widened and easier-to-ride trails to cruise in the coming months as funding targets accessible recreation.<\/p>\n
The Outdoor Recreation Council of BC (ORCBC) has allocated $8,620 to the Revelstoke Cycling Association (RCA) for renovating and widening bridges in its mountain bike network, to make these passages ridable for more users.<\/p>\n
ORCBC\u2019s Outdoor Recreation Fund of BC, established in 2024 through a $10-million provincial endowment, has already benefited more than 325 kilometres of trail improvements across the province the last two years.<\/p>\n
READ: Record-high demand for Revelstoke ReDi Grants sees social services prioritized<\/a><\/p>\n The 2026 funding stream totals $335,000, a 50 per cent increase that will aid 47 community-led outdoor recreation projects in B.C. \u2014 everything from backcountry infrastructure and stewardship initiatives, to trail repairs.<\/p>\n In communities such as Revelstoke, \u201cthere\u2019s a growing segment of adaptive mountain bikers,\u201d RCA executive director Alex Cooper explained.<\/p>\n He said this nearly $9,000 from ORCBC means nine different bridges spanning 62 metres of wooden trail around Mount MacPherson will become ridable for users with various types of mountain bikes.<\/p>\n Cooper recalled one local trike rider a few years ago mentioning that while he could independently navigate most of the Dusty Beaver trail on his three wheels, it \u201chad one bridge not quite wide enough\u201d that forced him to ask other riders for assistance to get around.<\/p>\n \u201cHe asked if we could make the bridge wider so he could ride the trail himself,\u201d Cooper said.<\/p>\n Other bike bridges also needed widening for accessibility, particularly on intermediate trails because \u201can intermediate trail is basically a black trail under adaptive sports standards,\u201d Cooper noted.<\/p>\n During the 2025 mountain bike season, the bridges along Dusty Beaver, Flowdown and other trails were rebuilt from scratch and doubled in width to four feet wide, giving trike riders safe clearance.<\/p>\n Cooper said a nice touch to these improvements on one trail was that an extra foot-wide offcut from the wood planks for the new bridge got installed alongside it as an alternative, higher-skill feature for more advanced bikers.<\/p>\n \u201cIf you want to challenge yourself, there\u2019s this nice black skinny,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n READ: Plan to fund 75 climate-resilient trees takes root in Revelstoke<\/a><\/p>\n To continue enhancing bike bridges across the Mount MacPherson network, \u201cwe applied for extra funding so we can expand our trail crew,\u201d Cooper added.<\/p>\n The ORCBC funding will finance not just four weeks of work this spring for several trail crew members, but also the cedar decking needed to finish the nine new bridges. Despite the work planned, Cooper noted it\u2019s unlikely any trails will have to close for maintenance.<\/p>\n Mountain biking is already well underway for Revelstoke this year, with RCA\u2019s trail crew getting started April 27 and the first race of the 2026 season planned for May 3 on Boulder Mountain, in partnership with Luke Stevens of Daily Dirt.<\/p>\n Going forward, Cooper said the goal for RCA is to make all future bike bridges four feet wide for trike riders and other users.<\/p>\n Also from ORCBC, the Illecillewaet Greenbelt Society is receiving $8,000 for trail accessibility enhancements, including grading a steep bank near Centennial Park to ease visitor access.<\/p>\n Chris Miller, a society board member and local accessibility advocate, explained this upgrade will expand access on his trike for riding one of his favourite trails.<\/p>\n \u201cIt runs alongside the Columbia River at the very edge of downtown Revelstoke and provides a daily dose of my mental health prescription,\u201d Miller said in a release. \u201cThe improvements from this grant will make it so others with mobility issues will have also have access to the mind blowing views of this magnificent valley.\u201d<\/p>\n