Our drive into the beautiful Vernon, BC, had us excited about the types of trail we might find in the Okanagan. With a wide range of vegetation types and geology, we guessed there would be plenty of variety to be had riding in the region. We were not wrong.
The build took place on the aptly named Lookout Trail, which begins with a steep double track grind up to a stunning ledge overlooking Kalamalka Lake Provincial Park. The effort to get up to the top is absolutely worth the view (check out the gallery for riding shots of the new trail) but the descent back down is an ultra-fast fall line descent, likely started as a cow path, and is over in the blink of an eye.
The Lookout Trail reroute was a portion of a larger project which will take the trail away from the fall line to build a rolling contour benchcut trail along the hillside; not only making the trail much more sustainable, but also providing a much longer descent. The best part of the reroute in Kal Park was simply exposing the beautiful terrain and viewscapes with the trail, including many rock outcroppings.
The success of the build and our time here can largely be credited to a professional and ambitious club, the North Okanagan Cycling Society (NOCS), and to the positive relationship that NOCS has cultivated with BC Parks. We also had excellent help from seasoned trail builders out of Silver Star Bike Park, who were able to take time out of their very busy pre-season preparations to lend their expertise and efficiency during the work session. A very big thank you to everyone who came out to make the week such a great success.