May 20, 2011
It is fun to mix business and pleasure and since we had to go to Vernon to take care of some business, we decided to take our mountain bikes and go for a ride in the area afterwards.
I am very new at Mountain Biking so although I like to find something challenging, I'm definitely in the 'beginner' category. We were told to try Kalamalka Lake Provincial Park.
What a beautiful place. The trail system is well developed and with more than 3700 hectares, the trails vary from wide trails to accomodate cyclists, hikers and horses and also offers single lane trails for mountain bikes.
We were gone for over two hours and the trails went from easy, to steep uphill to scary, fast single lane downhill (well for me it was!) - but what a thrill, I think I'm hooked. Along the way, there are benches placed strategically to enjoy the most spectacular views of Coldstream and Vernon and the lake. Our start point was The Red Gate but there are other parking areas within the park to choose from.
It is always fun to try a different area; the scenery there is quite different than what we're used to in the Kootenays, but we loved it.
The best time to see wildflowers is early spring to June and the Arrow-leaved Balsamroot (Spring Sunflower) was in bloom everywhere. (click on picture to make it bigger).
We found that there was something for everyone there and if you stay on the wider trails, most of them are not too difficult.
If you venture in the single lane trails, then there are some definitely more difficult, steeper and challenging trails. Bring lots of water!
I can't wait for our next mountain bike ride.
Til then, happy trails.
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