Where to cycle in the Southern Interior

Photo: J.P. Squire

Colleen MacDonald and her husband, Ian, model her new Let's Go Biking cycling tops during a trip to the Okanagan to check out more trails. She also produced Let's Go Biking neck tubes several years ago.

Without question, the most common query received by the Sheriff and Constant Companion Carmen during their 27 years of outdoor recreation adventures is: "Where do you go?"

It doesn't matter whether it's hiking, biking, kayaking, horseback riding, snowshoeing, downhill or cross-country skiing, all people want is for the Sheriff to tell them where to go.

The Sheriff (and now CCC) have travelled to numerous other countries, thanks to the travel bug inherited from the Sheriff's mother—visited more than 80 countries and have written two self-published travel guides.

Photo: Colleen MacDonald

Lower Mainland author and outdoor enthusiast Colleen MacDonald has self-published a guidebook entitled Let's Go Biking Okanagan and Beyond which is available at numerous Okanagan outlets.

To date, their visited countries include numerous trips to the continental U.S., Hawaii, Mexico, Central America, South America, Caribbean, England, France, Italy, Spain, Portugal, Greece, Egypt, Thailand and Cambodia. The pair are always looking for sights and sounds not found in the Southern Interior. There are so many unique places around the world, from the Grand Canyon, Bryce and Zion national parks to Rome's Coliseum, Egypt's Pyramids and Cambodia's Angkor Wat. But, descending on the Okanagan Connector or flying into Kelowna, that first sight of the Okanagan Valley always brings a tear.

People from across Canada and other countries who come to the Okanagan have often commented that this is one of the most beautiful places in the world and the Sheriff has come to truly appreciate the chamber of commerce nickname—the “Four Season Playground.”

So far, the couple have not found anywhere they have travelled where there is this same variety and scope of outdoor activities as the Okanagan.

Since the Sheriff moved to “paradise” in 1980, there has been an ever-increasing focus on outdoor recreation. Samples include the historic Myra Canyon (the best section of the Trans Canada Trail), the Okanagan Rail Trail, Shuswap North Okanagan Rail Trail and Trail of the Okanagans, just to name a few world-class features. And in the winter, what other region has a dozen downhill and cross-country ski areas within a two-hour drive?

The Sheriff has the enviable position of enjoying all this playtime while writing this Making Tracks column (since 1983) and telling like-minded people where to go.

They often suggest he write a guide book. Well, he did and you can find it chapter by chapter in the Castanet archives (https://www.castanet.net/news/Making-Tracks/).

For instance, during the summer of 2023, he revealed Secret Okanagan Spots in his SOS series. During the summer of 2024, he listed his favourite trails.

However, those only scratched the surface. So the Sheriff has planned a new series for this year of exploration, a listing of the best Southern Interior trails: city by city, regional district by regional district. So, if that doesn't get you out...

For newbies, as well as experienced cyclists, the best starting place is the popular guide book, Let's Go Biking Okanagan and Beyond, by Lower Mainland author Colleen MacDonald.

"I wrote the book I would want to buy for myself to discover the Okanagan," she explains.

"I knew many of the routes but wanted to know where the locals ride. With the help of dozens of people throughout the Okanagan and beyond, I had fun putting together a great gathering of easy and fun routes."

She initially started an online blog, Let's Go Biking, with 10 easy rides after a friend asked where could they go biking (in the Lower Mainland) with their kids?" Her website, letsgobiking.net, grew to more than 200 rides, so she self-published, Let's Go Biking Around Vancouver, in 2018. MacDonald didn't stop there. In 2022, she wrote a guidebook for Vancouver Island, the Gulf Islands and the Sunshine Coast.

She's now started Let's Go Biking Around the World with the first two rides in the Dolomites (northern Italy).

Let's Go Biking Okanagan and Beyond has 36 easy-to-follow maps and 108 routes with turn-by-turn instructions, surface conditions and level of difficulty. Of course, it has the most popular routes—the Kettle Valley Rail (KVR) Trail, Myra Canyon, Mission Creek Greenway and Okanagan Rail Trail, for example. But it also has new routes such as East Kelowna – Vistas and Vines, the Similkameen Valley, Summerland Loop and the Fur Brigade Trail and Exploring Oliver and Osoyoos.

Let’s Go Biking Okanagan and Beyond retails for $19.95, and is available at Mosaic Books on Bernard Avenue in Kelowna; Chapters and Coles stores in Penticton, Kelowna and Vernon; Books ‘n' Things in Penticton; Davison Orchards, Olympia Cycle and Good Gracious Gifts in Vernon; and Otter Books in Nelson. It is also sold at local wineries, farms, bike shops and gift shops.

Photo: Colleen MacDonald

If you need someone to tell you where to go, Colleen MacDonald's Let's Go Biking Okanagan and Beyond has details on 108 routes in the Southern Interior, above. Her guidebook has 36 easy-to-follow maps with turn-by-turn instructions, surface conditions and level of difficulty.

This article is written by or on behalf of an outsourced columnist and does not necessarily reflect the views of Castanet.