You can get choppered to the top of a trail in Europe, New Zealand or Australia but the Pacific Northwest is the only place you can use a floatplane. Here’s what you need to know.

Why not just ride up to the trails?

You get access to more trails, just like on a regular uplift. But unlike a regular uplift you don’t just gain height in a floatplane, you gain distance: a popular floatplane trip from Tyaughton Lake in the Chilcotins, BC, to ‘nearby’ Lorna Lake, takes just 20-30 minutes by air.

The ride back, however, is nine hours of singletrack goodness through some of the most wild and beautiful scenery Canada’s interior has to offer.

Where can I jump on a floatplane and how much will it cost?

Tyaxadventures.com in the Chilcotins, five hours’ drive from Whistler. You can get a charter flight to a range of destinations or they do guided tours too. The plane takes four people with
bikes comfortably… or five uncomfortably.
Prices from C$600.

Sell it to us then

It’s a real adventure — the plane ride alone is stunning, with mountains around and sometimes above you. Then be prepared for the remotest trails you’ve known: beautiful singletrack with no need to share, save for the odd grizzly bear.