Hey y’all.

Before I begin today’s blog about Kelowna, I just wanted to make a special note of how this blog works, as I’ve had some confusion lately from a reader or two. I am currently writing about Kelowna and Kettle Valley (Week 3.5) while I am on Week 14 of the trip, sitting in a Nanaimo Airbnb and sipping iced coffee. So no, this blog is definitely not up to speed with where we are at currently, but instead it heads back in time to relive the activities of the past.

Hope that clears it up, and that being said: if you’re coming to the Vancouver Island within the next week, feel free to reach out! Even if it’s just for recommendations on hidden or not so hidden gems on the island, it’s never a bad idea.

Let’s hop back into Kelowna, and if you need to catch up on Week 3, see link here: Rainy Revelstoke & Hot Springs Hunting, Week 3.

Arrival in Kelowna

We ended up with a very cute Airbnb in Kelowna, walking distance to Lake Okanagan. I was a little bit stressed on being so close to the Ogopogo, the resident sea monster of the lake (think Loch Ness Monster, but in Canada), but Becca assured me it would not be able to get the 2 blocks from the shoreline. Phew.

In recent years, Kelowna has been a city where multiple friends have moved, making it a must-stop when we’re out West. This is my third time since graduating Carleton that I’ve been to Kelowna, and each time I’ve developed more of a love for the place. Also, between the climate, cycling, wineries, water activities and forest fires, it truly feels like the California of Canada.

Lakeshore Cycling

One of the musts in Kelowna cycling is Lakeshore Road. It runs along the South-East side of Okanagan Lake, smoothly paved with nice hills and fast turns. A biker’s paradise. Becca and I cruised this road on May 20th, the day after our arrival in the city, and what a beautiful day it was.

We ended up doing about a 60km ride this day, extending Lakeshore Road over to Knox Mountain with the intent to complete the road climb to the summit. Knox is another must in the Kelowna cycling scene, but alas, the mountain’s access roads were completely shut down! A drag race was taking place up the mountain, for the entire May 2-4 weekend. Which is also the amount of time we were spending in Kelowna. I wasn’t too happy about this, as I was looking forward to getting the ‘King of the Mountain’ title on Strava on the overall Knox climb. Or at least top 1000.

Also more on this in a later blog, but this is the first of two times that a old-school vehicle event has stopped an adventure for Becca and I. Safe to say, we’re now protesting vehicle events. Hot take but it must be done.

Post-ride, we also met up with our friends Oaken and Georgia at their new place in Kelowna and enjoyed a beer around the pool. This topped off a thoroughly enjoyable day under the hot Kelowna sun.

Hiking Spion Kop in Lake Country

Spion Kop had been another recommendation by many Kelownians. The next day, Becca and I made the 35 minute drive North into Lake Country for this 6.5 km, 360m elevation hike that offers gorgeous views of the surrounding countryside. From the summit, Wood Lake, Okanagan Lake, and Ellison Lake are all clearly visible, and you can get a slight view of Kalamalka Lake as well. Surprisingly impressive for a shorter, only 2 and a half hour hike.

The drive also brings you through Lake Country. Lake Country resides on the outskirts of Kelowna and is home to many wineries (and lakes, of course). Another pleasant place to either cycle or venture by vehicle, with great tourist spots along the way.

What about the Food?! What about the Wine?!

I can’t talk about Kelowna without giving some good recommendations for both food and wineries. While our time in Kelowna was relatively short for this stay, I’ll pull on some information from older vacations as well as this stay to create a solid list.

Food and Bakeries:

• Mad Mango, hole in the wall Asian Fusion spot. First place I ever tried Laksa, and the spice and flavors were incredible.
• Sprout Bread, a nice home-style bakery serving up delicious bread and treats.
• Karat, a boutique café specializing in chocolate desserts.
• Thai Terrace, some of the best pad-thai I’ve ever had!

Bonus as well, all these different spots are just a stroll around either downtown or the cultural district of Kelowna!

Wineries:

• Summerhill – One of the most popular wineries in Kelowna with a cool pyramid to explore. Discovered Gewürztraminer here, quickly becoming one of the only wines I could actually tolerate!
• Vibrant Vines – 3D glasses, art, and a wine buzz. What more could you want?
• Frequency Sound 528 Winery – I’m putting this on here for its strangeness. This winery tries to prove how different types of music (classical, metal, etc.) played during the ageing process of wine changes the flavouring of the wine. Sounds a little hokey, but it doubles as a studio for bands to record music.

Brett, the Tour Guide of Kelowna Cycling

Quick introduction for Brett: he is an old buddy from Carleton who after finishing up university moved out to Kelowna to begin his career in the HVAC engineering field. Like I said earlier, this was my third trip out to Kelowna, and it’s always great when Brett can tour me around the city highlights.

His main cycling haunt is Lakeshore Road, which is the first ride I actually went on in the city! He had let me borrow his extra road bike back in August 2021 and dragged me up and down the slopes. That was also the first time I had ridden road bike tires, so a new experience all told.

Well, with me being ever the gravel cyclist, Brett decided to change up the field and take me on the Kettle Valley Rail Trail on this trip!

The Kettle Valley Rail Trail

The Kettle Valley Rail Trail (KVR) in B.C. runs from Midway, B.C., to Hope, B.C., also stretching up across the province towards towns like Kelowna and Merritt. This old railroad has been turned into a Rail Trail for biking, walking, and overall touring. A nice aspect of the rail trail for biking is that it was previously used for trains, meaning that the grade of slope never increases over 2.2%.

Brett and I geared up for a 150km trip from Kelowna to Naramata on Sunday, May 22nd. Thankfully, we travelled by car up to the KVR, because the KVR resides about 900m above the city of Kelowna, over a 20km span. Not the way to start a 150km day of biking, I’d say.

KVR – Myra Canyon Trestles

We began the trip at the Myra Canyon parking lot and started the day cruising over 18 different trestle bridges on our way to Chute Lake Road. Becca set off with us initially to see the trestles in Myra Canyon, then headed back after the first 30km of the ride.

Myra Canyon is also home to some very neat tunnels that bore through the sides of nearby mountains. These tunnels exist up and down the KVR, but the combination of trestles and tunnels make the Myra Canyon a hot tourist destination.

Final side note on Myra, if you’re in the area and don’t have your own bike, you can rent bikes at the top of Myra and take them for a spin on the trestles. The rentals are mostly hybrid bikes, so don’t go trying any 150km trip – but it is definitely worth a look for your next visit to Kelowna!

KVR – Chute Lake Road

Chute Lake Road is both part of the route of the KVR but also an overlanding section for 4×4 vehicles. One of the top moments of the entire ride was on Chute Lake Road, where during a rest stop, two different jeeps passed us. As Brett and I started rolling again, we slowly gained on the jeeps as they were traversing the dirt road until we were directly behind the vehicles, with us braking to not smash into the rear end.

Once we were sure the jeeps knew of our presence, we decided that we would “drop a gear and disappear” out front (thanks Brett for the quote), putting them in our rearview and never looking back. Just proves yet again that bikes are the superior form of travel!

But I don’t discriminate for recommendations in this blog, so if you’re a dirt biker, ATV’er, or the most notorious, a Jeep owner, go hit up Chute Lake Road. Pretty gorgeous views of the surrounding countryside, as well as Chute Lake Lodge with good food, lodging, and many like-minded people for your fill of off-roading stories!

KVR – Naramata

Naramata is a nice little town situated on Okanagan Lake, a perfect bike destination from Kelowna. The descent from the top of the KVR to Naramata is also about 800m over the span of 35km. Sounds nice for the way down, but when you turn around to ascend, that is a constant 1-2% grade uphill for 35km! The grade itself isn’t bad… but when you put it over 35km, it becomes an excruciating effort. I’m glad Brett didn’t leave me in the dust here, as we do NOT get that type of training in Ontario.

Naramata is also home to a few cute cafés and a general store. The original idea, being the gas station cyclists that Brett and I aspire to be, was heading to the general store for some gummies and a coke. A new spot caught our eye and we called the audible, changing ideas from general store to sandwiches and a freshly baked treat at Grape Leaf Café. Would return here, and also highly recommended to a friend – their fresh baked focaccia bread was worth the 150km round trip in itself.

KVR – Other Attractions

Aside from just the tunnels in Myra Canyon, there are a host of other tunnels along route which the KVR runs through. The tunnel closer to Naramata, known as ‘Little Tunnel’ has an incredible viewing platform that gives gorgeous views of Kelowna, Penticton, and of course the Okanagan Lake.

Another tunnel that is off the trail by a few hundred meters runs perpendicular to the KVR. This tunnel is called the Adra Tunnel, which is actually the longest tunnel along the entire KVR (from Midway to Hope)! The entrance is open and visitors are able to walk about 100 metres into the tunnel before the way is barricaded for safety concerns. If you’re inclined to check it out, a high powered flashlight is recommended. The phone flashlights really don’t touch the extreme dark in the wide expanses of the tunnel.

Along with tunnels, there is a few historical rock ovens around the area that may be worth checking out. Brett and I decided to forgo this due to some time constraints, as after all, the 150km took us about 8 hours (elapsed), with 5 hours and 40 minutes of actual moving time. That’s a long day in the saddle for anyone!

KVR – The End

I’m just glad I was able to survive this ride. Exhausted, hot, sweaty, all understatements to how I felt rolling the last few kilometres of the KVR. The one major benefit on the way back to Kelowna was a steep, mixed gravel/paved descent route into the city, a ton of fun after a full day of rail trail.

Thanks again to Brett for the tour, I don’t think he could’ve picked a better Sunday ride!

Brett’s also in the midst of starting up a cycling club in Kelowna, so I’ll give a shoutout to @tempocycleclub on Instagram, TCC for the cool kids. Can’t wait for my fourth trip to Kelowna where I get dropped by the entire TCC!

Post-ride fuel included pizza and ice cream, the dinner of champions who are trying to replenish calories as quickly as possible.

The Next Day – Okanagan Mountain Hike

I’m a glutton for punishment. 150km bike ride the day before, and now we have a hike up Okanagan Mountain planned. Why am I like this?

Oh, right. It’s the last full day in Kelowna, and I want to make the most of it. Can’t be missing out on anything!

We attempted the Coyote Ridge hike on All Trails, a group of Becca, Brett and myself. Once we got to a section of the hike that required some route finding about 3km in, we decided to bounce and go get burritos. Best decision we had made all day, as all of us were sore from the day before – more food, and a nap, were calling.

Departing Kelowna

It’s always sad to depart Kelowna. It’s a vibrant and fun city with a younger population, creating a great culture. They are also pleasant to cyclists and have proper cycling infrastructure for the most part, which is exceedingly rare in most cities.

But we were on the move yet again, with hope that our next spot in Pemberton would be equal, if not better to the vibe of Kelowna. Half an hour north of Whistler, in the shadow of Mount Currie, Pemberton had been on our bucket list for quite a while, and we were really looking forward to spending the next month exploring the area!

I’ll start diving into Pemberton on the next blog, so thanks for reading and have a great rest of your day!