Meadows · trails · climbs

The Valley

A granite valley with a river along its floor, a 581 m waterfall at its head and snow peaks beyond. Meadows and pine woods to run through, and four climbs to ride.

Thunderhead Falls: 581m
of the Jade River: 6.9km
of roads and trails: 47km
up Echo Canyon, the longest climb: 394m

A meadow at sunset, looking up the valley past the river to granite walls lit warm by the low sun.

The walls

Granite on every side

Sheer walls up to a kilometre high, with snow peaks standing beyond them. At sunset the valley floor falls into shadow while the head wall glows.

A creek crossing a meadow towards a tall thin waterfall dropping from a slot in a granite wall.

The water

Two waterfalls, a river and a tarn

Thunderhead Falls drops 581 m to Thunder Pool, where the Jade River begins. Silverthread Fall feeds a creek that joins it, and Looking Glass Tarn lies still under the head wall. Stone bridges carry the roads and paths across.

A narrow tarmac lane crossing a hillside meadow high on the valley's north side, the walls beyond.

To ride

A loop and four climbs

A 10 km loop of the valley floor, and four climbs off it: the hairpins to the Grand Viewpoint; The Old Grade, 140 m up in 1.5 km with ramps of 15 %; North Bench Road, a steady 6 % for 5 km; and Echo Canyon Road, 394 m up in eighteen hairpins.

A faint trodden path through meadow grass beside the river, granite walls and the head of the valley beyond.

To run

Riverside and woodland trails

Follow the river to the foot of the falls on either bank, cross it by three footbridges, wander under the trees, or cut across the meadows. From 3 km to a marathon, starting at Riverbend.

From the air