Dig out your ATV related parts and accessories to sell/swap/trade or bring your mad money to pick up some neat new stuff for your ATV life.
Bring a table and chair to setup to sell your stuff or browse for great deals on ATV gear.
Bring a chair and stay for food provided by the club and social until 9pm.
Some of the items ready for the Swap Meet
Another great trip, this time the fun started at 4:00pm from King Eddy and made along the very dusty roads and trails to Lassie Lake Rec Site around 8:00pm to set up camp in the dark.
We were aware of the 1315m elevation of the recreation site so expected a few degrees cooler than the valley bottom but someone’s device registered -5C overnight and there was a layer of frost on everything come Saturday morning.
Next stop was Beaverdell for fuel and food but the town was abuzz because it was Farmer’s Market day and the Show N Shine. After a good stop the ride continued to Goat Peak then through a tight trail to Beaver Creek Road, Christian Valley and east to meet with riders from the Grand Forks ATV Club that we finally met in Renata.
Everyone was excited to camp on the beach at Renata so quickly got to work on setting up their tents then met at the campfire ring for a few hours of story telling before turning in for the night.
Sunday was going to be a long ride so with everything packed up riders headed north for food and fuel in Edgewood, a brief stop on the beach then tackled the tight trail to the Galloping Hills side. A brief stop at Mt Scaia then down to Kettle Valley and Harris Creek home wrapped up a dusty but fun 600km adventure.
The dates are set for the fall overland trips consisting of 2 nights camping, 3 days riding approximately 600kms from King Eddy with stops in Beaverdell and Edgewood for food and fuel.
Overland Trip 1
Overland Trip 2
The two rides will not be clones of another as we have a number of trail options and will mix it up to keep it interesting. If you’re interested in taking part contact the club by email info@vernonatvclub.ca
A lot of riders have expressed interest in taking part in a future Beaverdell Edgewood ride so here’s your chance to pick a date that works for you.
Camping is always better with a campfire but we’re currently under a campfire ban so to help inform your choice of dates we’ve compiled data on rainfall and temperature for the last five years. The chart below contains 2017-2021 data from Environment Canada’s Vernon weather station for:
600km in 2 days was a bit much so for the next ride we're planning a 2 night/3 day ride to allow for a more leisurely pace, to add in a few more fun trails and to account for shorter fall daylight hours.
Beaverdell and Edgewood are both ATV friendly which greatly reduces the amount of food and fuel packed for the trip. We are recommended quads carry 10L of fuel and side x sides bring 20L to ensure reaching the next community for fuel. Riders share items when possible to reduce the amount of duplicate gear packed.
There will be 2 nights of camping so bring a tent, mattress and sleeping bag suitable for fall camping.
As the chart above shows, prepare for cooler temperatures and the increased chance of rain.
Riders must be able to maintain 80kmh for sustained periods as there are a couple of long FSR legs along the route.
We will arrange secure vehicle parking at King Eddy for all the trucks/trailers on the trip.
The survey is now closed and we've chosen September 9-11 and September 23-25. Please email info@vernonatvclub.ca if you have questions or to join one of the rides.
Another perfect day to head to the Mara Mountain Lookout with clear blue skies and warm temperatures. A smaller group than usual (for this ride) started from the Beattie Road staging and enjoyed the tree lined trail vs using the Kingfisher FSR route which is several boring kms of road riding.
After successfully navigating the rock strewn trail to the lookout, the group enjoyed the view for 30 minutes before making way for a couple of Jeeps climbing the switchbacks to the lookout.
This is always the most popular ride of the year because the views from the lookout can’t be beat.
For those wanting to tag along from Vernon we convoy from the Tim Horton’s parking lot on 58th Avenue (opposite Walmart) at 7:30am for Enderby where we meet at the Enderby Tourism Visitor Centre (turn right at the RCMP detachment and continue straight to Railway Street where you turn left and park).
Vernon Tim Horton’s (58th Avenue) to Enderby Tourist Visitor Centre
https://goo.gl/maps/iCiZ4Zx6y17vqqqu5
Enderby Tourist Visitor Centre to Beattie Road Staging
The second leg of the road trip leaves Enderby at 8:00am for the staging area on Beattie Road.
If you’re not ready to join the convoy then you need to study the directions so you can find your way there.
https://goo.gl/maps/WeXy8ACcHqrDqecaA
There will be a short safety meeting before the 9:00am ride start.
Ride Details:
This ride starts from the gravel pit on Durnin Road off the Trinity Valley Road. Durnin Road is 3km from the bridge over the Shuswap River on Trinity Valley Road. There is a gravel pit that is normally (always?) open for parking a short distance after tuning off the paved road.
https://goo.gl/maps/ZKqaS3BUDjc4RRrg7
There will be a short safety meeting before the 4:00pm ride start.
Ride Details:
Jim is really enjoying his new Polaris Ace so has offered to lead a ride to Pinaus Lake and Tuktakamin Mountain Sunday morning. The ride starts early to beat the heat and you should bring a jacket because the Tuktakamin Mountain summit is at 1775m (5825 feet) elevation so it may be cool at the top.
The forestry fire lookout that lived atop Tuktakamin Mountain from the 1950s to 2005 now resides at the Falkland Museum & Heritage Park on the left as you enter Falkland heading west toward Kamloops. Lookouts were always placed to provide a commanding view of as much terrain as possible so the view from the top is amazing.
Ride Staging Area
See the images below for directions to the staging area. Google Maps calls it Pinaus Lake Road but the FSR is named Ingram Creek Rd. Drive 1km up this FSR to where you find a wide area to park.
DO NOT PARK AT THE KML MEAT PROCESSING PLANT ROAD which is also called Pinaus Lake Road – this is not the staging area.
This is what the turnoff looks like as you are heading west toward Westwold.
Everyone attending the ride must complete the online waiver – https://atvbc.ca/resources/waiver/waiver-online/
The ride will be approximately 4-5 hours long and 60-70km distance.
There are outhouses at Pinaus Lake and there will be a couple of short breaks for snacks and to enjoy the views and lake.
This ride does not enter the White Rock Lake Forest Fire Motor Vehicle Closure (PDF Map viewable in Avenza Maps app).
Inspired by the success of the North Island 1000 that visits multiple communities on northern Vancouver Island, we wanted to explore the concept of a multiday offroad route that incorporates smaller communities that are open to ATVs accessing fuel and amenities.
A handful of machines left King Eddy at 8:00am on Canada Day on the first leg of the journey on familiar trails regularly used for club rides. Once past Ideal Lake the ride ventured onto trails only used by the club on the Epic 250km ride a couple of years ago, then the route turned onto Okanagan Falls/201 FSR where it was all new terrain. There are two legal road crossings (with stop signs on either side of the pavement) for Big White Road and Highway 33.
We arrived at Beaverdell 4 hours after leaving King Eddy but made the mistake of trying to access Beaverdell along the KVR from the south and encountered a boulder placed at a bridge blocking ATV access (locals informed us to come in on the KVR from the north to get into town). Each machine was packing extra fuel (40L for side x sides, 20L for quads) so we skipped the planned Beaverdell fuel and food/grocery stop and continued south where we encountered the third legal crossing back over Highway 33 to start heading east.
The temperature was climbing and all the roads were freshly graded so Taurus (Bull) Lake Recreation Site provided a welcome break from the heat and dust and an opportunity to meet locals fishing for the day.
The afternoon portion of the ride took the group down to the Christian Valley where we had approximately 5km of pavement riding before getting back on the FSR that went up, down, up and down again before arriving at Gable Creek Recreation Site, a beautiful campsite at the confluence of Gable Creek and Granby River.
Riders quickly converted into campers, setting up their tents, getting the campfire going and supper underway. While sitting around the evening campfire we watched two bears cross the bridge over the Granby River then disappear into the forest opposite our campsite.
After approximately 275km of riding sleep came quickly with the cool breeze and soothing stream sounds providing the perfect antidote even for seasoned insomniacs.
A group of riders from the Grand Forks ATV Club stopped at the rec site just as we were heading out Saturday morning, they were on the annual ride on a favourite trail and shared their knowledge of the area.
The first objective was Renata on the shores of Arrow Lake and we were all smiling ear to ear after enjoying the absolutely amazing trails maintained by the Grand Forks ATV Club. Renata is a slight departure from the shortest route to Edgewood but the view from the beach makes you want to plunk down in the sand and enjoy a sunny afternoon.
Knowing that we still had nearly 300km of riding ahead we headed back out on the FSR. Burnt trees from the previous years forest fires lined the roads most of the way to Edgewood. It’s possible to make good time on the wide and well maintained FSRs in this area but you also have to keep it somewhat in check because going off the road would send you a long, long way down the steep hillside.
We arrived in Edgewood in the early afternoon and headed straight to the Edgewood General Store to line up at the fuel pumps and grab some lunch then stopped at a roadside ice cream truck before heading back onto the trails.
This section of the trail from Edgewood to Kettle Valley had a big question mark on it because we’ve been told a trail exists but that it was steep and narrow. It turns out it is passable by 64″ side x sides (even with cargo racks and rooftop tents) and we found the steep section which is a 20′ slippery rock face which was a reasonably easy climb in a side x side but most will want to winch up on a quad.
Once back out of the tight forest and incessant buzzing of mosquitoes, the group started making miles on the higher elevation FSRs near Mt Scaia and Lightning Peak. A refreshing break was taken at the Kettle River Recreation Site before the final blast along Harris Creek FSR then a mix of our regular trails on the Aberdeen Plateau to finish up back to the King Eddy staging area at 9:00pm.
The ride was approximately 600km in length and forms one possible backbone that can provide a nearly unlimited number of jumping off points for side trips to lakes, mountain vistas, recreation sites and access into other communities.
600km is a fair amount of ground to cover in two days but can be done by maintaining 80kmh where possible on the FSR. This loop could easily be turned into a three to seven/ten/fourteen? day trip by exploring more side trails, stopping more often and basing your camp at one of the countless recreation sites for further exploration of an area.
We found our machines could go further on fuel than we gave them credit for but it’s nice having the option of accessing fuel in Beaverdell and Edgewood. We definitely recommend bringing extra fuel equal to what your fuel tank holds (40L for side x sides and 20L for quads) so you have the flexibility to explore further.
Beaverdell and Edgewood are open to ATVs riding into town to access services provided you ride responsibly and with respect or we all could lose access.
The route was developed on GaiaGPS using a combination of satellite and road layers vetted by reviewing public tracks shared by other users. Now that we’ve ridden the route there are a few modifications we’ll make for future trips, partially to simplify or improve the route but also to take in new sections of trail and see different areas.
Get in touch with the Vernon ATV Club if you’d like to know more about this route or to join us on future rides of this and other trails.
The weather may not have cooperated but that didn’t stop a huge turnout from members of 4WDABC, Okanagan Forest Task Force, Vernon ATV Club, local paragliders and citizens from heading out to the bush to clean the forest.
As folks arrived Saturday morning the crowd grew under the assembled tents as rain threatened. After a safety meeting groups were giving their pre-scouted dump site assignments so fanned out across the King Eddy/Aberdeen Plateau to retrieve all manner of trash ranging including household waste, appliances, paint, tires, mattresses, pallets, steel, wrecked cars, pallet fire nail caches and so much more.
With over 4 tons of junk in the garbage bins graciously provided by LRM Contracting, the triumphant cleanup workers were rewarded with a big BBQ with burgers, corn on the cob, chips, salad and more followed by a night around the campfire for those who brought campers to stay at the cleanup site.
A big thank you to everyone who gave their weekend to clean the North Okanagan backcountry we all love!
We just got the news that Okanagan Forest Task Force, Vernon Off Road Motorcycle Club and Vernon Fish and Game Club are going to be cleaning up the burnt RVs at Noble Canyon this Saturday.
It would be greatly appreciated if you can lend a few hours of your time to help clean up that area and we may spread out and see what other dump sites have sprung up over the winter.
Okanagan Forest Task Force has a self loading truck and a bin for all the RV steel but with people being people there probably is other junk out there… and who knows what the party spot/shooting gallery under the powerlines looks like!
What to Bring:
Signing the Waiver – because this is a club organized event, all participants will be required to sign the waiver saying you won’t sue the organizers or the club if you are injured at the event. If you’d like to sign the waiver ahead of time please visit the ATVBC website and bring a copy of the email or a screenshot on your phone Saturday.