Vernon ATV Club
Friday the 13th is a great excuse to get up to some fun so we’re inviting everyone to come for some food, banter and a movie.
The club will provide the food/drink and the movie, you just need to bring a camp or lawn chair and let us know via email by 5pm Wednesday March 11 so we know how many to plan for.
Doors open and food available at 5:30pm, the movie starts at 7:00pm
ATV First Aid Course from 10:00am to 2:00pm on Saturday April 11, AGM from 2:00-3:00pm.
The first aid course is for members only and is first come, first served with limited spots available. This is not a certificate course, it’s an information course with no test at the end.
The course instructor grew up with ATVs/dirt bikes and uses that experience to tailor the course to the types of injuries you may encounter ATVing and in the backcountry.
Send an email to info@vernonatvclub.ca to register. The course is open to club members (join to attend if you’re not a member) and there are a limited number of spaces available so don’t delay.
The Club’s Annual General Meeting will follow the first aid course, food and drinks provided by the club.
We’re introducing an amazing organization for our street legal off-roading cousins, meet our friends at The Four Wheel Drive Association of BC (4WDABC). You’ve probably seen their stickers on Jeeps and all manner of 4WD vehicles, let’s find out more about this hard working crew.
As “Stewards of British Columbia’s Backyard” since 1977, 4WDABC puts a positive foot forward for motorized recreation by hosting cleanups, training new wheelers to off-road safely and responsibly, maintaining fire towers, shelters and recreation sites, through advocacy for off-road 4WD use across the province, and so much more.
To see what 4WDABC stands for you should check out their website and facebook page and in the Okanagan check out the Okanagan Region Facebook Group.
Wheelers of Tomorrow is a youth initiative to educate future off-roaders by exposing children to the outdoors to meet other kids, play games, etc.
If you want to geek out on 4WDABC:
We all know there is strength in numbers, for only $30 you can be a member of 4WDABC to show how many people support the work of important organizations like 4WDABC!
A bunch of members of 4WDABC came from across the province to the Mother of All Trail Cleanups held by Vernon ATV Club, Okanagan Forest Task Force and 4WDABC June 3-5, 2022 where over over 4 tons of trash and recyclable material was pulled out of the forest.
Bring everything you throw in/on your quad or side x side when you go riding. We’ll review each person’s kit to check things like your first aid kit, recovery gear, emergency supplies and whatever else you bring along just in case.
We want you to have the supplies you need should you have a flat tire, get stuck, cut yourself with a saw, get jabbed by a branch, etc.
Please let us know by email if you’re coming by 9:00pm Thursday December 4 so we can have enough food for everyone. We’ll probably grab pizza but are open to suggestions.
Bring the entire family including your pooch for a BBQ lunch, Treat Trail, Pumpkin Carving, Costume Contest and more!
Please RSVP by 5:00pm Friday October 24 to info@vernonatvclub.ca or text 250-550-5290 so we have enough food, treats and pumpkins for everyone.
Get your headlights ready for this spooky venture into the forest. Ride starts at 4:00pm at King Eddy FSR Staging on Highway 6 and will go until 7-8:00pm, well after dark!
Come prepared for all weather and bring a snack as we’ll try to have a campfire somewhere along the ride.
Riders from as far away as 100 Mile House, Fraser Lake, the Okanagan and the West Kootenay converged on Christina Lake Saturday September 20 and Sunday September 21 to join members of the Grand Forks ATV Club to ride the Columbia & Western Trail.
Randy Ellenchuk from the Grand Forks ATV Club lead the group of 18 machines and 25 riders on a ride that started at the Santa Rosa parking lot on the Columbia & Western Trail. The ride headed west over the majestic 505′ long Smitten Trestle across the Kettle River to Cascade Falls with a number of stops along the way to share information about historic events and the area.
After time to enjoy the amazing scenery of Cascade Falls and history of what once was Cascade City, the ride retuned east back over the Smitten Trestle then climbed the mountains east of Christina Lake to ride the Green Tunnel and Fife Road area trails.
Download the track for the Christina Lake Trails with GFATV ride.
Rain had dampened the trails overnight resulting in a different mix of 18 machines and 24 riders showed up for the ride to Castlegar along the Columbia & Western Trail.
Jonas from the Public Land Use Society (a group dedicated to preserving public access to crown land in BC) joined the ride to show support for the Columbia & Western Trail and talk about his group’s efforts to preserve access and restore funding for the trail.
Again starting from the Santa Rosa parking lot, the ride headed north 10km to the Lafferty Link Road where the first of the new warning signs has been recently installed to warn users they are entering the section of the trail the government is no longer maintaining.
Proceeding along the trail the ride passed through a tunnel then under the Paulson bridge, past a number of information kiosks and picnic shelters then stopped for lunch at the Bulldog picnic shelter where we met a number of other recreation users on ATVs, motorcycles, Jeeps and cyclists from England and Germany on a months long trip of BC.
After passing through the 1km long Bulldog Tunnel (for the first time for many on the ride) it’s 30km to Castlegar passing through more tunnels and over impressive trestles. The Castlegar end of the trail has a large staging area that is always busy with ATVs, cyclists and hikers.
The return ride to Christina Lake was a mad dash when a storm blew in off Arrow Lake with strong winds and drenching rain.
Download the track for the Christina Lake to Castlegar ride along the Columbia & Western Trail
Recently installed warning signs found when entering the section of the Columbia & Western Trail where the provincial government has ended maintenance.
Please lend your name to the petition to restore stewardship of the Columbia & Western Trail between Christina Lake and Castlegar
Check back as we’ll be adding rides throughout fall to take advantage of the unmatched riding conditions.
Have a Ride Suggestion?
Contact the club if you have an idea for when/where to ride or if you’d like to lead a ride.
PLEASE NOTE: we’re asking for people to contact the club to let us know if you’re coming for this one because the meeting point is the bush and we don’t feel like trying to hunt people down. If you’re attending email info@vernonatvclub.ca and we’ll fill you in on the details.
We will be leaving our usual Tim Horton’s meeting spot on 58th Avenue (opposite Walmart) at 8:00am.
Ride length will be approximately 150km, most machines will go that far on a tank but if you have fuel anxiety you’ll want to bring some extra gas.
This will be an all day ride, bring food and gear for a day on the trails.
Ride Recap
What a ride, thank you to Stephen and the Kelowna ATV Club for taking us on a tour of the Westside trails.
We staged from the parking lot across from Parker Cove and met at the junction of Whiteman Creek Rd and Sugarload Mountain Rd. From there we went south to the White Elephant Mine near the Valley of the Sun development then headed west and north to the Brett Mine for lunch.
After lunch a short stop at Bouleau Lake then the plan was to continue to Pinaus Lake but somehow a rock got stuck inside the radiator fan on one machine, every time the fan came on the rock would wear deeper into the radiator until it finally wore through dumping all the coolant.
A really fun ride through the haunting beauty of an area burnt by forest fire and the amazing recovery taking place. There are a couple areas where the trail is being compromise by runoff and a creek undercutting the trail so you have to be on your toes if you download this track from the Vernon ATV Club Trail Share.
A social get together where the ATV Club provides the main course and non-alcoholic beverages, you bring a side dish, lawn chair and your best ATV stories. Food will be served from 6:00 to 7:30pm.
Lakeshore Park & Beach is on the shore of Okanagan Lake near Kin Beach, has direct lake access and grassy areas where large groups can hang out.
Registration is required by 5:00pm Monday August 11 using the form below or email info@vernonatvclub.ca