Message from the President – Smythe Drive / Gillies Creek

I’ve recently been involved in discussions with the management team of the Sublot 18 area, better known to all as upper Smythe Drive / Gillies Creek or “areas above the Skaha Bluffs parking lot”. Said party were under the mistaken impression that our club had been developing trails in their protected lands, and "called me into the office" as it were :-)

Sublot 18 is of importance as it’s a protected area jointly managed by BC Parks, the Ministry of Environment, M.O.E. Sheep Advisory Committee, City of Penticton, Okanagan Wild Sheep Recovery Team, The South Okanagan Similkameen Conservation Alliance, Okanagan Region Wildlife Heritage Society and the Climbers Access Society of BC. The Nature Trust also has adjacent interests.

Over the past two years the area has become littered with trails up, down and across the valley. While this is seen as a blessing by mountain-bike riders in the valley, it’s viewed as a catastrophe by the above noted land management team.

As such, they called upon PACA to determine what can be done about the situation, short of closing it off from access altogether. I’ve spent a lot of time in the area and have ridden / hiked and GPS’d all of the region’s (many) trail systems. Based on the International Mountain Bike Association trail sustainability guidelines, I have recommended that they allow us to keep Ward 1, Bordin and the Rock Oven trails open.

I was surprised that they were agreeable to this, but the management team seems determined to find a common ground with mountain bikers and it looks like we will be able to sign and maintain these trails in the future. Its not set in stone just yet, but the potential for a working partnership with the stake holders looks very promising.

Many of you reading this may be aware of the location of the Rock Oven trail, and some may know where the Bordin and Ward 1 trails are located as well. If you look at our ‘Mapping’ page, you will be able to download and view these routes.

As such; I strongly urge you to avoid riding the “Kraut” / “Haverkamp” trail on the north side of the valley, as well as the “K.D” trail above it, also on the north side. These trails are interesting, but they feature many sections which are simply too steep and soft to survive the effects of erosion in the long term, and are already becoming "V-groove trenches".

The trails that we ride are not invisible to the management team as they are avid hikers and bikers themselves and have been witness to the excessive erosion on the north side trails. I further urge you to refrain from the creation of any new trails within the Sublot 18 parcel of land.

If you are keen to build trails, the Penticton & Area Cycling Association is more than happy to assist you physically and provide reams of literature, multimedia material and hands-on training in order to teach you how to go about it in a sustainable manner. We are also aware of a great many locations external to the Sublot 18 parcel that are suitable for trail development.

For those in the dark about the extent of Sublot 18, I’ve provided a link to the Sublot 18 parcel outline in our Mapping section

Thank you for your cooperation and understanding in this matter. Working cooperatively with this particular group of land managers will go a long way toward securing trails in the future as well as keeping what we already have.

This group of stakeholders have shown great understanding and patience and I look forward to negotiating future land access agreements with them.

Andrew Drouin / PACA