Mara Mountain Lookout Ride

Ride Recap – Perfect weather conditions welcomed the largest ever turnout for a club ride, somewhere between 36-50 quads, side x sides and motorcycles (depending on who was counting at what time during the day) assembled from all parts. Riders from neighbouring clubs and around the interior of BC, other provinces and territories joined the procession up the mountain.

After weeks of rain Sunday delivered a sunny scorcher, good thing because at the lookout elevation it cools off quickly when clouds covers the sun.

Riders exhibited excellent trail etiquette both by staying on the trail at all times and by being courteous to the other trail users which included a hiker and some dirt bikers.

A little surprise for most in attendance, national ice cream day meant ice cream sandwiches were served after lunch.

Doug is ok!
Thanks to the search and rescue and medical personnel that were along on the ride who jumped into action when a rider wasn’t feeling well. After assessing the situation the call was made to press the button on Kevin’s inReach to summon the chopper.

A number of club members helped move Doug to safety so the bulk of the group could head back down the mountain while the medical crew hung around for the helicopter to arrive.

The big bird arrived and within minutes Doug was whisked away and wants everyone to know he’s recovering and appreciates everyone’s help.

9:00am Sunday July 21 Vernon / 9:30am Enderby / 10:00am at Kingfisher FSR

A ride to the top of the world, Mara Mountain Lookout is 7,382 ft (2,250 m) elevation and was chosen as a lookout site due to the commanding view in all directions. It’s national ice cream day so let us know if you’re coming so we can have an ice cream treat for you.

MUST READ: The number 1 rule when riding in the alpine is stay on the trails, REPEAT – STAY ON THE TRAILS! If you ride off the trail you will be reported to the authorities by others in the ride, it’s that important we stay on the trails.

Back to the fun stuff, it’s a fairly short ride (about 60kms) and it’s pretty rough and rocky in spots but the lake below the lookout and the views from the lookout are well worth it.

Bring your lunch, camera, GPS, bug spray and clothing for all conditions. Hopefully it’s a nice sunny day so we can hang out at the lookout for lunch then laze around enjoying the view. Weather changes fast at elevation and even in the summer it could rain or snow at the lookout.

If you’re coming from Vernon we’ll be leaving the Tim Horton’s parking lot on 58th Avenue at 9:00am then stopping at the Enderby Chamber of Commerce office at 9:30 then on to Kingfisher Forest Service Road at 10:00am and ready to ride by 10:30am.

Vernon to Enderby Chamber of Commerce Office – 25 minutes

Enderby Chamber of Commerce to Kingfisher FSR – 30 minutes

Rides and events are open to everyone, we encourage new riders to come out for a couple of rides to meet club members, find new trails and get a sense of the club before joining.

The Vernon ATV Club promotes responsible all terrain vehicle use. Riders must must carry their driver’s license, vehicle registration, and proof of $200,000 liability insurance for riding on forest service roads. Quad riders must wear a helmet, side x side riders aren’t required by law to wear helmets but we recommend they do.

2 thoughts on “Mara Mountain Lookout Ride”

  1. Is there room at the staging area for the Mara Look Out ride for a motor home pulling an ATV trailer? About 63’ length

    Reply
    • There is lots of room. There are pullouts and wide spots on the roads several kms up the road. We start parking from 0km up to 4-5km and the trail goes off a few kms further up the road. From where you park you may have to go up the road a few kms until you find a large enough junction to turn around.

      Reply

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