Best Bike Camps in Ontario for Kids

If your kid loves to bike or is eager to learn, Ontario is the perfect place to enjoy a two-wheeled adventure. Improving cycling skills promotes independence, a sense of adventure and pride in accomplishment. Whether your little ripper is just starting to feel comfortable on a bike or wants to advance their mountain biking skills and expand their bag of BMX tricks, there’s an Ontario bike camp perfect for them. The following list will provide some of the best options for classes, camps and skill improvement within the province.

Bike Camps and Courses for Beginners

Before learning to shred, kids have to learn to pedal. These Ontario bike courses focus on the basics and are the perfect starting place.

Discovery Routes, North Bay

In the North Bay area, Discovery Routes offers a Learn To Ride course, which is a 1.5-hour class covering the basics of balancing, pedalling, turning, protective cycling equipment and more. Once children have learned the basics of riding a bicycle, Discovery Routes offers Cycling Basics And Core Cycling Skills, a course dedicated to improving confidence and on-road abilities for cyclists who are eight years old and older. Their Back to School By Bike program is a special interest program providing group lessons to students in grades 4 to 6, helping them to travel to and from their school confidently.

CAN-BIKE, Sudbury

Sudbury is one of Ontario’s greatest bike-friendly cities. With a clear commitment to improving the infrastructure for those who prefer to travel by bike, the city has implemented a series of bike lanes, free transportation for bikes on buses and more. The Greater Sudbury Area offers a series of cycling courses, including the CAN-BIKE cycling skills program, to train and educate young cyclists and instructors throughout Canada. From brand new cyclists to those looking to become certified instructors, CAN-BIKE offers something for all skill levels. Five years old and up.

Pedalheads, Multiple Locations, Ontario

Since 1986, Pedalheads has prioritized a fun learning environment for children looking to improve their bicycle skills. Pedalheads has locations all over Ontario and Canada for kids learning to ride a bike for the first time and those interested in specialized camps, such as introductory mountain biking.

Safe Cycling, Thunder Bay

Safe Cycling in Thunder Bay offers a range of learn-to-ride courses for kids looking to learn crucial skills, such as checking equipment, balancing and signalling. Their 1:1 teacher-to-student ratio ensures each new cyclist has the full attention of their instructor as they develop introductory skills.

Bike Camps and Courses for Intermediate and Advanced Riders

Once children possess beginner cycling skills, their interests typically diversify as they look for new ways to push their boundaries, learn new skills and have new experiences. The camps and courses listed below will help kids with specific interests in mountain biking, road cycling or trick riding grow their skills.

Adventure 365, Sudbury

Near Sudbury, Ontario, Kivi Park is a world-class mountain biking trail facility. With 55.7 km of mountain biking trails, there’s something for every skill level. Adventure365 offers rentals, clinics, courses and camps for all ages. Their Sprockids Mountain Bike Camp is focused on improving skills and teaching kids to mountain bike safely.

Bakkers Trailblazers, Kanata

Bakkers Trailblazers mountain bike camp welcomes campers aged 5 to 13. Kids are placed into one of five ability groups and learn the fundamentals of mountain biking, including braking, descending, log hops and singletrack riding. The weeklong camp runs throughout summer, from early July to the end of August.

Blue Mountain Skills Camp, Collingwood

Offering weeklong camps in July and August, Collingwood’s Blue Mountain Bike Skills Camp is geared towards kids 8 to 14 years old. Coaches teach kids the core skills involved with mountain biking, and then they spend the week practicing these skills on beginner-friendly singletrack.

Camp Timberlane, Haliburton

For kids inclined to pursue extreme sports, Camp Timberlane in Haliburton, Ontario, is a one-stop shop for outdoor adventure. With a range of outdoor sports for children to participate in, they offer a BMX park program that provides campers with professional instruction. Though lessons run throughout the summer, they have a specialized program called the Evolve BMX Camp that runs for two weeks in August to improve intermediate and advanced riders’ skills. Find out more about camp registration here.

Sault Cycling Club, Sault Ste. Marie

Due to its rugged terrain and vast sections of forest, Sault Ste Marie is becoming a hub for Ontario mountain bikers. Thanks to a love of the sport and a wealth of volunteer effort, the Sault Cycling Club has maintained trail systems for mountain bikers and provided the community with cycling programs for years. Their Kids Shredding Single Track (KSS for short) is a way for children to learn to ride difficult backcountry terrain in an educational, safe and supportive environment.

Motive Athlete Development, Thunder Bay

Mountain biking is an incredible way for children to experience adventure while improving physical stamina and learning to develop a sense of risk calculation. For kids who show a natural ability or have a deep passion for off-road biking, Motive Athlete Development in Thunder Bay offers a series of Mountain Bike Coaching courses to help youth take their skills to the next level with off-road instruction and safety training.

North Bay Mountain Bike Association

For kids with intermediate bike riding skills, the North Bay Mountain Bike Association hosts yearly courses to help youth feel comfortable and knowledgeable about mountain biking. To learn more about the course and to stay updated on their next spring registration, visit their website here.

Ontario Cycling

Dedicated to a range of cycling events and races in Ontario, Ontario Cycling hosts large races throughout the province for advanced adult cyclists and racers. However, the organization also offers options for youth riders aged 9-16 to participate in the Youth Development Road Series and Youth Development Mountain Bike Series. With speed, safety, etiquette and skill in mind, this series exists to help younger riders improve upon existing skills to pursue competitive riding events on the road or the trail.

Research or Register for 2024

With so many unique lessons and course options for kids looking to improve their skills or to learn to ride a bike for the first time, there is an Ontario bike camp or lesson for everyone. Help your kid gain confidence on two wheels and feel the independence of bike riding by finding the course or camp that is right for them next riding season.

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