Parking
Parking and vault toilets at the Elephant Lake Road trailhead, about 10 km east of Kingscote Access Point.
Overview
About Byers Lake Mountain Bike Trail
Why go
- Views of the York River, Gut Rapids and Byers Lake.
- A short forest spur reaches a narrow canyon.
Heads up
- Steep grades, rocks, roots, obstacles and mud can slow the ride.
- Walking permission for the full route is not clearly stated.
Map & elevation
The route
Loading the Algonquin map
Full mapElevation362–421 m
Plan your hike
Before you go
Parking
Best time to go
Safety
4 active Algonquin alerts
- ClosureProvoking Falls Bridge ClosedThe Provoking Falls bridge on the Highland Backpacking Trail is closed because of safety concerns; the bridge has been removed. - Use the posted reroute, which adds 2.5 km.Official details
- CautionLow Water on Backcountry Canoe RoutesOntario Parks currently lists low-water alerts for six backcountry canoe-route sections: - Varley Lake from Carl Wilson Lake - Latour Creek north of Rosebary Lake - Carcajou Creek north towards…Official details
The highest, rockiest slopes around here are a summer buffet for grizzly bears.
Algonquin Tour Guide
Your drive to Byers Lake Mountain Bike Trail, narrated.
Parkwolf is a GPS audio tour guide for Algonquin Provincial Park. As you drive, it chimes in with what’s ahead: hidden gems, upcoming stops, history, geology, and wildlife, right through your car’s speakers.
See the Algonquin audio tourMore stories near here in the app
- Kingscote Lake Launch and Walk-in Campsites
- 107 audio storiesacross Algonquin’s roads, triggered by GPS as you drive
- Wildlife heatmapsfor Moose, Eastern Wolf, Black Bear, and 13 more
- Works offlinemaps, 39 trails, 66 places, and audio download before you lose signal
- CarPlay readysimple controls built for the drive
“Fantastic app with many points of information… It’s great to just turn on while you’re driving and it gives you an audio tour of the national Park. We love it!!!!”
Trail guide
Hiking Byers Lake Mountain Bike Trail
The rideByers Lake Mountain Bike Trail is a rugged out-and-back from Elephant Lake Road to Byers Lake:…
Byers Lake Mountain Bike Trail is a rugged out-and-back from Elephant Lake Road to Byers Lake: 6.5 km each way, or 13 km round trip. It offers views of the York River, Gut Rapids and the lake. The park rates it moderate; steep grades and descents, rocks, roots, obstacles and muddy sections can make riding slow. The park describes the full route as a mountain-bike trail, and current permission for walking it is unclear; confirm with Ontario Parks before hiking. Plan around 2.5 hours for the ride, longer with the spur or stops.
Gut RapidsA separate walking spur leaves the bike route and passes through humid spruce and balsam forest…
A separate walking spur leaves the bike route and passes through humid spruce and balsam forest to a narrow canyon. Allow about 20 minutes. Published distances for the spur differ, so treat its mileage as approximate; it is separate from the 13 km main-route round trip.
Wildlife
Wildlife in Algonquin
1,237 sightingsMooseMost seen around 6 AMSighting map
245 sightingsEastern WolfMost seen around 7 PMSighting map
331 sightingsBlack BearMost seen around 7 PMSighting map
604 sightingsLoonMost seen around 6 PMSighting map
110 sightingsBald EagleMost seen around 11 AMSighting map
192 sightingsRiver OtterMost seen around 6 PMSighting mapSighting maps show where each species has been reported across Algonquin. Wildlife moves, so no sighting is guaranteed.
