The Three Amigos
If there was ever an Ontario bikepacking route worthy of a dropper post and squish, it’s this one. The Three Amigos route combines a trio of the best trail hubs in southern Ontario – Hydrocut, Guelph Lake, Puslinch – into a longer distance mountain bike oriented tour. There is roughly 70 kilometers of singletrack included in the route so this is certainly no standard gravel grinder.
To connect these trail networks, the route makes use of community paths, forest trails and roads with bike lanes as much as possible.
Need to Know
1. For navigation, this is a route file that contains various Points of Interest that can be used on the Ride with GPS mobile app (https://ridewithgps.com/help/mobile/) as well a devices like Garmin and Wahoo. It’s useful to have so you can determine where various services are along the route.
https://ridewithgps.com/routes/43985856
2. With the sheer volume of trail, this is a route designed to be tackled with a mountain bike set-up. Even a full suspension ride would not be out of place. You could ride the route on a monster cross (drop bar with fat tires), but you should have experience riding mountain bike trails with this.
3. If you are new to these trail networks navigation can be a bit tricky. Not all trails are signed, especially in Puslinch. Some patience and extra time might be needed to properly orient yourself on the trails. If you have a paid membership, it can be handy to have the Trailforks app (https://www.trailforks.com/apps/map/) up and running with the trail network loaded. This way you can better see what trails you are on. In this pdf document, I’ve listed the trail order the route follows for each of the three main trail networks based on Trailforks trail namming. You may find it helpful to print this off or download it on your phone for reference.
| threeamigostrails.pdf |
4. The designated start and finish point of the tour is the village of St. Jacob’s, but you can certainly commence the journey at any point along the route you wish.
5. It’s possible to complete the route in one day, but it will be a long one. Bringing along night lights is advisable in case you need to ride after sunset. A 2-day pace allows for a more relaxed journey. But pack light to make the trails easier to ride.
6. This is a dry weather route. Please don’t ride the trails when there has been a significant amount of rain.
7. For the most part, all trails have “easier” lines when there are obstacles present like ramps and jumps.
More questions? Use the contact form to send me your questions.
It must be stressed that the route is entirely unsupported and unsanctioned with no insurance provided. All riders are responsible for their own well-being on the Three Amigos route and ride at their own risk. The route developer takes no responsibility for personal injury, damage to personal property or any other circumstance that might happen to individual riders cycling the Three Amigos route. There is no guarantee of route conditions at any given time and the route developer takes no responsibility for disrupted route conditions. You are entirely responsible for your own safety and decisions that are made including accommodation and necessary detours. It is advised to study the route map and make note of your supply options as well as some possible detours (these are marked with a Control Point symbol). If you are not comfortable riding a section of the route take any necessary alternatives. Planning and due diligence is imperative as is riding within your means. People "racing" the route do so at their own risk.
5. It’s possible to complete the route in one day, but it will be a long one. Bringing along night lights is advisable in case you need to ride after sunset. A 2-day pace allows for a more relaxed journey. But pack light to make the trails easier to ride.
6. This is a dry weather route. Please don’t ride the trails when there has been a significant amount of rain.
7. For the most part, all trails have “easier” lines when there are obstacles present like ramps and jumps.
More questions? Use the contact form to send me your questions.
It must be stressed that the route is entirely unsupported and unsanctioned with no insurance provided. All riders are responsible for their own well-being on the Three Amigos route and ride at their own risk. The route developer takes no responsibility for personal injury, damage to personal property or any other circumstance that might happen to individual riders cycling the Three Amigos route. There is no guarantee of route conditions at any given time and the route developer takes no responsibility for disrupted route conditions. You are entirely responsible for your own safety and decisions that are made including accommodation and necessary detours. It is advised to study the route map and make note of your supply options as well as some possible detours (these are marked with a Control Point symbol). If you are not comfortable riding a section of the route take any necessary alternatives. Planning and due diligence is imperative as is riding within your means. People "racing" the route do so at their own risk.
