Toronto’s Don Valley trails have been a cornerstone of Ontario’s mountain biking scene for decades. With an estimated 65 km of trails, the rumour is they started as motocross paths in the 1980s before morphing into mountain bike singletrack. The trails remain unsanctioned, with no governing body overseeing their development, leading to a unique, if chaotic, building environment. As veteran trail builder Ben Aylsworth explains, this lack of organization is a double-edged sword.
Building trails without permission
Aylsworth has been building trails in the Don Valley for over a decade, without city permission. While this freedom allows builders to create without interference, it also leaves them vulnerable to the city tearing down trails without notice. Aylsworth recounts how the city recently removed bridges on a trail built in 2018, leaving the takeoff and landing, creating new, potentially unsafe gaps. The removal likely resulted from complaints, but with no communication from the city, it’s anyone’s guess.
“I’ve always built without permission, and sometimes they rip it out, sometimes they don’t. It’s a mystery,” Aylsworth says.
The joy of trail building
For Aylsworth, building trails is a passion, sometimes even more enjoyable than riding. He notes that the lack of oversight allows for creative freedom, but it also means that anyone can build—often with disastrous results. Rogue builders without proper knowledge of trail design, erosion control, or flow have created unsafe and unsustainable sections, leading to complaints within the community.
“There are people building jumps that don’t understand flow or erosion. It drives me crazy to spend time undoing someone’s bad work,” Aylsworth admits. However, he acknowledges that sometimes these unsanctioned builds can surprise him with their ingenuity.
The graffiti of trail building
Aylsworth likens trail building in the Don Valley to graffiti or an art installation—temporary and to be enjoyed while it lasts. With no formal approval process, trails can appear and disappear quickly, but that’s part of the charm. “It’s there for a moment. You don’t know how long it’ll last, so enjoy it while you can,” he says.
The future of Don Valley trails
Despite the lack of formal oversight, the Don Valley trail system continues to grow. Aylsworth is excited about the increasing number of gap jumps, which he sees as a sign that the Don Valley is keeping pace…
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