For gravel riders looking to get off the beaten track and out of the lower mainland, Clinton BC is an excellent choice. For this trip, we wanted to ride something a bit different than the lower mainland has to offer, and Clinton does exactly that.
Homebase
We chose the Tutti Gravel Inn as our home base. It is located right on the main street in Clinton, and is run by a super friendly couple who will cook pizza for you using a traditional pizza oven after your ride if you request it. The property held our group of 9 comfortably, with many of us getting our own rooms. In the back yard there is a bike wash and work stand, a covered pool table, and fire pit. You can also buy basic spare parts from the Tutti Gravel Inn, such as tires and tubes if need be. The Inn itself is very fairly priced as well.
As a mountain biker who is friends with lots of gravel riders, I did not own a bike, but was able to get an excellent rental from Cycle BC Vancouver. I rented a Norco Search and it did the job flawlessly. It handled everything I threw at it without a hiccup.
We got into town around 4 pm, and managed to squeeze in a 45km ride before dinner. This route started off with a single-track climb, and then we cruised on various condition logging roads before descending back into town. The pub is right across the street from the Gravel Inn, so we grabbed some post-ride burgers and pints.
A Big Day
First thing in the morning, we got up for our big ride day. Like the previous day, lots of the elevation gain was right at the beginning of the ride. We climb up to our cruising altitude on a mix of gravel road, single-track and double-track. Once up to elevation, we were able to sit back and enjoy the views. We rode through a wide variety of terrain from valleys, to ridgelines, to lakeside grasslands, and were treated constantly with mountain views. The ride was quite challenging, and I would recommend being a fairly serious gravel rider or mountain biker before attempting this loop, however, it was well worth it. We even saw a pack of wolves across one of the lakes we rode by. We finished the ride by going by the canyon in Chasm. If you have not seen this and are in the area, you need to check this out. It looks like a smaller version of the Grand Canyon. From there, we rode downhill all the way back to Clinton, where tall cans and fresh pizzas awaited us.
Gravel Paradise
I would highly recommend this ride for riders looking for an awesome adventure. The area has many more routes you can take, ranging from 20km all the way to 200km+ rides, so there is something for every gravel rider. Next year we may be back to try some higher mileage routes.
-Submitted by: Ryan Adams