I’ve overlooked the height of land known as Mt.Riordan with regard to publishing it’s trails in the pages of SweetSingletrack.ca, despite having ridden it countless occasions. 
Generally speaking, I’ve treated Riordan as a mere traverse between Nickelplate Lake and Beaconsfield Mt. (“Apex”) or as a quick route from Nickelplate Lake to The Circle.  This chapter means to change this oversight.  Click the image above to see an enlarged version of the map.

Mt.Riordan, located immediately northwest and adjacent to the Apex Ski Resort (Beaconsfield Mt.) hosted the original ski lifts (rope-tow) way back in 1960, care of the hard work and ambitions of Jack Stocks (thus, “the Stocks chair”) with the Beginner’s Chair and Fall-Away runs.  Later, a T-Bar, then a double chairlift appears to have graced its slopes, the last vestiges of which was removed in the early 80’s.

Mining Mt.Riordan: plans have been afoot for decades with regard to mining operations on the summit and various slopes of Mt.Riordan.  It turns out that this small height of land hosts the world’s highest density of a valuable mineral called garnet.  The summit of Riordan is referred to as “Crystal Peak”, not Mt.Riordan, within mining circles, and numerous areas around the summit and beyond has been extensively drilled and core-sampled.

Of the many mining evaluation holes drilled, the average density of garnet on Riordan is in the neighborhood of 80% (!).  That might be good news for miners, but ‘not-so-much’ for the general public, which enjoy the recreational aspects of Riordan.  Time will tell if greed wins out over recreational values and environmental impacts…   Further info about this aspect of the mountain is available here.

For the time being however, we have the opportunity to explore Riordan Mt. via a variety of dual and singletrack trails, in all seasons ~ I’ve snow-shoed Riordan nearly as often as I’ve hiked or biked it.  If one sticks to the dual-track roads, Riordan’s terrain can be considered as ‘experienced-beginner’ (dark green?), but as soon as one heads onto the singletrack, the required balance and overall skill level requirements increase.  This is mostly due to embedded rocks enroute as well as some challenging pitches.

As you can see from the companion map and GPS / Google Earth files, there are numerous access routes to the summit of Mt. Riordan.  The access that you chose will depend on the form of transport that you choose.

My two cents worth: if you are hiking this area, you can select any access route that you wish.  There is no ‘black diamond’ hiking shown in the companion maps.

If you are mountain-biking this height of land, you need to choose more carefully, due to the relentless climbing that you’ll face.  I’d suggest that you may wish to ride the road up and singletrack down if you access it from the upper parking lot / Powerline Road side; the Good / Bad / Ugly is Apex property and has some formidable pitches when ascended.  Apex has become access-intolorant since last fall’s quad-lawsuit…

If riding, and accessing the route from the Nickel Plate Lake side, ride roads / singletrack up and anything you like down.

If accessing Riordan using an eBike (which I did on the last two occasions) you can choose any route up you like, except for Lolipop Lane, which is too steep in several places, even for an eBike. You will also likely do a push-bike on the section marked "switchback needed".

No matter what loop you put together, be sure to summit Riordan, as the vistas are pretty decent.  I also suggest a visit to the Three Ponds, just across Hedley-Nickelplate Rd., which are small but tranquil.  And if you’re feeling keen, visit Nickel Plate Lake as well.  Trail details are available on this site under “Apex Resort - Winter Trails”. Despite the title, know that the route around Nickelplate Lake is an all-season route. It just happens to have been stuck in the Winter Trails chapter.

You may have figured out that I love this area late spring through late fall, and all winter long.  Early spring is kinda’ mushy / muddy.  Please do your part and kick a rock / flick a stick / prune a branch – there is no “Mr.Ranger” or “Mom” maintaining these trails; it’s all on us.

Low: 1842m | High: 2102m | Length: Varies | Water: None | Cell Access: Full