An Outdoor Adventure Seekers Paradise Awaits in Golden British Columbia Canada Road Trip
What to do and Where to Eat when Visiting Golden
How to Spend Two Days in Golden BC - Golden is an outdoor adventure seeker's Paradise. With a life time's worth of adventures to be had, it is really hard to decide how to spend two days in Golden BC. There are over 185km of epic downhill and cross-country mountain biking trails. The Kicking Horse River has some of the best whitewater rafting in Canada! With 6 national parks nearby there is no shortage of paddling, fishing and hiking to be had. Adrenaline seekers will like the Golden Skybridge or going hang-gliding, and paragliding. Wildlife enthusiasts will love the bird watching, visiting the wolf sanctuary and meeting Boo at the world's largest Grizzly Bear Sanctuary. Not to mention, that Golden is one of my favourite mountain towns with locally owned and independent shops, a craft brewery and cool restaurants. So many choices. Here is how we spent two days in Golden British Columbia Canada.
How to Spend Two Days in Golden BC
You really can't go wrong spending two days in Golden BC. Actually, scratch that the only mistake that you can make is to only spend two days in Golden British Columbia. With two days were able to do a little bit of a lot of things, however we could have spent a lot more time at each activity. If you are like me and want to go on as many adventures as possible when you visit an area, then you will need more time. Don't get me wrong, we had so much fun during our short stay. It was perfect, really. So perfect, I could easily move here and spend a lifetime enjoying all of Golden's outdoor adventures. #GoldenRules
What to do in Golden British Columbia
How we spent two days in Golden BC. Our primary goal for this trip was to go mountain biking on the Moonraker Trails. We have never biked this trail system before and it has been on our radar for years. Next we wanted to hang out in town because we both really enjoy Golden's adventure seeking spirit. Our third must-do activity was to eat breakfast at our favourite spot, Big Bend Café. The rest of our adventures were unplanned. However, we knew that whatever we ended up doing and where ever we ate it would be great.
Downtown Golden BC
Exploring downtown Golden British Columbia is a great way to spend an afternoon. Discovering local artisans, independently owned shops, and outdoor adventure stores, like Higher Ground Sports is always fun. If you need a new gear for your outdoor adventures, Higher Ground Sports is the place to shop. There several great restaurants to enjoy a bite or a drink at. Making the most of Golden's fantastic mountain scenery, most eateries have an outdoor patio. The beautifully crafted Golden Pedestrian Bridge is in the heart of downtown connecting with the Rotary Trail that loops through town.
Golden Mountain Biking - Moonraker Trails
Golden has four cross-country and down hill areas plus Kicking Horse Mountain Resort. There are over 185km of trails of singletrack cross-country mountain bike trails to suit all experience levels. The Moonraker Trail system has 50km of these trails. With a mixture of easy and intermediate trails reputed to be smooth, fast and flowy I was looking forward to this mountain biking adventure. If you are a mountain biker, then your 'How to spend two days in Golden BC' could very easily be spent riding the Moonraker Trails. You'll need even more time if you want to add on the other mountain bike trail networks in town.
Kicking Horse Mountain Resort
In the summer Kicking Horse Mountain Resort becomes a massive lift assisted bike park. The hill has over 50km of trails, 31 runs, 120 drops and wooden features. They even built a 2km uphill climb for those that want to skip the lift. There are a variety of easy, intermediate and advanced trails to pick from. The resort also offers rentals and lessons.
There are other Kicking Horse Mountain Resort adventures to highlight is the world's largest Grizzly Bear sanctuary in the middle of the hill. The sanctuary is home to Boo the Grizzly Bear. There is lift access to see Boo that is available to pedestrians. You don't need to be a mountain biker to enjoy the views from the top of the hill. The gondola also leads to the Eagle's Eye Restaurant. At 2,347m (7700 ft.) this is Canada's highest restaurant.
If you are looking for more of an adrenaline rush than downhill biking and bears, then there is a Via Ferrata that should fix that itch. Once again, your 'How to spend Two days in Golden BC' trip could be entirely spent at Kicking Horse Mountain Resort.
Golden Skybridge
The adrenaline doesn't stop with mountain biking and via ferratas in Golden. Canada's highest suspension bridge can be found across the valley at Golden Skybridge. Adventure seekers and adrenaline junkies will both love this attraction. At 150m (492ft) long and 130m (426ft) high, this suspension bridge isn't for the faint of heart. Then again, most of the attractions at Golden Skybridge will test your nerves. Like, whipping across the canyon on the 305m zipline or braving the Giant Canyon Swing over the canyon. These are only a few of the activities here. There is so much to see and do for the whole family, that it is best to plan for a full day here.
Wapta Falls Yoho National Park
Visiting Wapta Falls in Yoho National Park BC is one of my favourite waterfalls in the park. It is a short 2.3km hike through the forest to reach the falls. This trail has a high reward to effort score. Other than a few roots and muddy sections the trail to the top of the falls is pretty flat and easy. It does get a little bit trickier after that as it descends 60m to the base of the falls. The waterfall is just over a 30 minute drive from Golden making Wapta Falls a great day trip option. However, if your 'How to spend two days in Golden BC' trip involves exploring more of Yoho National Park or checking out the other 5 national parks within a 2-hour drive of Golden, then you'd better plan to spend a few extra days here.
Where to Eat in Golden BC
All this fresh air and outdoor adventures are bound to work up thirst and an appetite. Thankfully, there is no shortage of fine eateries in Golden. Most serve fresh, homemade meals inspired by the mountains in which they are located. So the food is delicious enough to satisfy the foodie adventure seekers out there. In fact, you could probably just plan for the foodie's "how to spend two days in Golden' just to be a food crawl. Thirsts will be quenched as cocktail culture and the craft beer scenes have reached Golden too. We enjoyed a nice and refreshing cocktail on Reposados patio downtown and an after dinner flight of craft beers on the patio at Whitetooth Brewing.
Big Bend Café in Golden BC
Winners of the Best Breakfast in Golden award for the past 5 years and the Best Breakfast in the Kootenay Rockies for the last 2 years, Big Bend Café is the place to go for a hearty breakfast. Their healthy breakfasts are ideal for fueling up for a days worth of outdoor adventures. I love their pancakes, they are always perfectly light and fluffy.
Reposados Tacos in Downtown Golden
In the heart of downtown Golden is a cute little restaurant with a nice patio called Reposados Tacos. They specialize in creating amazing fusion dishes inspired by the flavours of Mexico. As expected, they make delicious tacos, burritos and cocktails. True to Golden's mountain biking culture, Reposados delivers take out by bike.
Whitetooth Brewing in Golden BC
Whitetooth Brewing Co. in Golden BC Canada specializes in small batch craft beers with Belgian and west coast flavours. Whitetooth has a great selection of craft beers to try. They have a massive dog friendly outdoor patio. We really enjoyed the Blower Pow IPA. This one has yummy grapefruit, passion-fruit and resinous citrus flavours. In case you are wondering pow is short for powder. Golden BC is part of the powder highway meaning that it is also a winter adventure seekers paradise.
Golden BC is an Outdoor Adventure Seekers Paradise
Apparently, there are endless ways to answer the question, how to spend two days in Golden BC. But, the one thing they all have in common is that two days won't be enough because Golden British Columbia is an outdoor seekers paradise.