Month: October 2021

Halloween Ride, Costume Contest & GPS Candy Hunt

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Ride Recap
We couldn’t have asked for a better day with perfect blue skies and smiling faces.

19 machines and 25 riders did the morning tour that started from 2km on Noble Canyon Road and wandered over toward Dixon Dam then back along the western road before stopping to take in the amazing view over the Coldstream valley and City of Vernon.

Next stop was lunch at The Ponds recreation site followed by the fashion show, awarding of prizes then a quick ride back down to 2km.

Ride Leader Steve was back for his first ride in several months, he took the riders looking for a bit more adventure on one of his favourite rides to Cactus Ridge where the group debated just sitting and enjoying the view and sun for a few hours.

After a few minutes riders were restless again so the group headed east to complete the loop around Bardolph Lake and home.

View and download the track for this ride on Polaris Ride Command.

9:30am start Sunday October 31 @ Noble Canyon Road

It’s a ride, a halloween costume contest and a GPS challenge to find the hidden candy all in one! Come as you are or come in costume, it will be a fun day on the mountain.

Please email [email protected] by 5:00pm Saturday if you’re coming so we have enough food for everyone.

Starting a bit earlier with the 9:30am safety meeting followed by the costume catwalk then off on a ride to a secret location where you use your GPS to find the hidden candies.

Come back from your candy hunt for a BBQ lunch then we head back down and home with plenty of time to get ready for trick or treating with the kiddies.

Prizes for those participating in the costume contest and the GPS candy hunt.

From Vernon: 12.5km east from Aberdeen Road to Noble Canyon Road on Highway 6
Entering Lavington there is a PetroCanada station on the right, it’s 2.5kms from here to turning left onto Noble Canyon Road. We’re staging at 2km up Noble Canyon Road, just after crossing the bridge find a parking spot along the road.

There are outhouse facilities at the Ponds Recreation site where we’ll be stopping for lunch.

Trails are beginner to intermediate difficulty, if you’re a newer ride please talk to us before the ride so we can plan accordingly and pair you up with more experienced riders. Speeds may reach up to 60kmh on the Forest Service Road sections.

A single tank of fuel will be sufficient for the entire day.

Vernon ATV Club events are open to everyone, invite your friends and enjoy a fun day on the trails!

Howl at the Hunter’s Moon Night Ride

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Ride Recap

The forecast said the rain would ease off in the afternoon but the rain persisted through the night. That didn’t stop 10 machines and 15 riders from donning their wet weather gear to hit the trails.

Wet and dark so just this staging area photo!

Thanks to ride leader Allen for co-piloting in the side x side while his arm is healing, Allen knows the Mt Ida trails better than anyone which made for an awesome mix of FSR and tight and twisty trail.

From the Deep Creek Road staging the ride headed south on the FSR in challenging misty conditions with foggy goggles before ducking off on a newer cut block road which joins onto the trail to Silver Creek. A short break at Silver Creek then back on the trails past the lake, down the powerlines then back on the FSR to staging.

We discussed navigation tools and I promised to share the trail and discount links for GaiaGPS:

6:30pm start Friday October 22

Starting from the Deep Creek Road staging area at Mt Ida, the goal of this ride is to hit the trails to enjoy the recent full moon (Wednesday), take in the amazing views of the city of Salmon Arm and tell stories around the campfire.

The forecast currently is calling for rain Friday night so come prepared for all conditions.

Night riding adds an element of difficulty so you need to be sure your lights are working and be confident in your abilities to tackle this ride. The trails aren’t that difficult but things sneak up on you in the dark.

There are a couple of outhouse facilities at Mt Ida, we’re not sure if we’ll be passing them so come equipped to do your business in the bushes.

The ride will be 2-4 hours and a single tank of fuel will be sufficient.

If you have any questions contact the club at [email protected]

Saturday & Monday Thanksgiving Rides

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Ride Recap

Two fun rides on the Thanksgiving long weekend.
The Saturday ride visiting the Trinity Ricardo trail network north of Silver Star Provincial Park. After slogging through a tight trail tangled with blowdown and alder, the ride stopped at the Vernon Snowmobile Association Armstrong Cabin for lunch. After lunch the ride continued to the park boundary then back along the snowmobile trails to the Slide Trail with the ginormous rock overhanging the trail (check Vernon ATV Trail Riders group for photos).

The Monday ride’s mission was to summit Terrace Mountain then wander the area trails. After riding through increasingly larger road deactivations the group finally was at the base of Terrace Mountain, a quick squirt up the switchbacks took the group to the top for a spectacular 360 degree view. Fortunately the sun poked through a few times and the wind stayed down enough to remain atop Terrace Mountain to enjoy the view before descending to continue the ride to explore area FSR and old logging roads.

10:00am Start Saturday for Trinity Ricardo Ride

Trinity Ricardo is a trail network to the north of Silver Star Provincial Park accessed from Trinity Road in the summer and used as snowmobile trails from within the park in the winter.

A convoy will be leaving the Tim Hortons on 58th Avenue across from Walmart Vernon at 8:30am, the next stop is the Enderby Chamber of Commerce at 700 Railway Street. Leaving the Enderby Chamber of Commerce at 9:15am for the gravel pit staging area on Durnin Road. The preride safety meeting will start at 10:00am. Map to meeting locations and staging.

Trinity Ricard reaches 1800m elevation so we may encounter cold, wet and even snowy conditions so come prepared for all conditions.

A single tank of fuel will be more than enough for this ride, trail difficulty will range from beginner to intermediate with speeds reaching up to 50kmh on FSR.

We will be stopping at the Vernon Snowmobile Association Armstrong cabin that has an outhouse.

Pack a lunch, this will be a leisurely ride with a few stops and opportunities to enjoy the views along the way. The ride should be wrapped up by 4:00pm.

10:00am Start Monday for Westside Road Ride

NOTE: Thank you to the BC Wildfire service for discussing our request to access the Whiterock Lake fire closure area. Our request has been declined so we are moving this ride a little further south to Terrace Mountain which is outside the fire closure area.

Our usual convoy leaves the Tim Horton’s on 58th Avenue across from Walmart Vernon at 8:30am for Terrace Mountain Road on the Westside. We will wait at the bottom of Terrace Mountain Road (just past the LaCasa Resort development) until 9:15am then will drive up until we find a suitable area to park and unload safely along the road, the preride safety meeting starts at 10:00am. Map of meeting location to Terrace Mountain Road.

Ride speed with reach up to 50kmh on Forest Service Roads, ride difficulty will be beginner to intermediate with assistance should we encounter difficult obstacles. We may pass recreation sites with outhouse facilities so plan accordingly.

Come prepared for all weather, bring a lunch and your camera as there are lots of vantages and viewpoints along the ride.

Bring extra fuel as we’d like to explore a loop so we’re not riding the same roads/trails on the way out and back. The plan is to be back at the staging area by 5:00pm.