Adventure Bay Trail
About Okanagan Valley
The Okanagan Valley in British Columbia, Canada is filled with incredibly diverse landscapes and thus offers many different hikes for locals and visitors alike. The hike we’re featuring today is called the Adventure Bay Trail, which is located in the Vernon area and is a newer and lesser-known hike. It is the perfect trail for those looking to escape the other more popular hiking areas and see some incredible views all while getting a great workout in the process.
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Okanagan Lake, British Columbia, Canada
About Adventure Bay Trail
Adventure Bay Trail is not well known, even to locals and I know this because I’ve lived in the area my whole life and just found out about it recently. That’s coming from somebody who has hiked almost everything in the North Okanagan Valley. The hike is easy to follow and getting lost shouldn’t be an issue. It is fairly short (1.5 hours) there and back, but can definitely be challenging and steep in some areas, so anybody with physical limitations might have difficulties making it to the top.
How to Get There
To get to the trailhead from Vernon start by heading towards Kin Beach to Tronson Road. Once you're at Kin Beach it’s about a ten-minute scenic drive out to Adventure Bay. You will make your way around the tip of the peninsula enjoying fantastic views of Okanagan Lake the whole way out. You will make a right turn onto Tavistock Road, follow the road up to the corner and you’ll see the signage marking the trailhead.
Map of Adventure Bay Trail
Just a few minutes into our hike we were greeted by beautiful views and it only continued to get better as we made our way up the mountain. I could also tell that this trail was gonna be a good workout by the way my legs felt only a few minutes into the hike. There are a few steep inclines along the way that could pose issues for some people.
Adventure Bay Trail, Okanagan Valley, British Columbia
About one-third of the way up, there is a somewhat flat plateau to take a break and a picture with the lonely little pine tree. Across Okanagan Lake, on top of the mountain, you can see the popular golf resort destination Predator Ridge, as well as the classy spa resort Sparkling Hills.
The Okanagan Valley can be a dry and hot place throughout the summer, but if you're lucky enough to visit in spring you will be treated to an array of colorful flowers and greenery like the ones you see on the Grey Canal Trail We hiked the trail at the end of April and got to enjoy nice spring flowers and decent temperatures.
Spring flowers of the Okanagan Valley
There were Saskatoon Berry bushes in full springtime bloom. These plants are abundant in the region and in no time this bush will be packed with delicious berries that are reminiscent of Blueberries, only slightly less sweet.
Saskatoon Berries in Okanagan Valley
Almost to the top we got to see a perspective we hadn’t seen before and spotted several small lakes on top of Turtle Mountain, that we didn’t even know were there.
Okanagan Valley, British Columbia, Canada
Finally, after a calf burner of an ascent to the top, we took in the incredible views we were entitled to. The weather then took a slight turn for the worse as spring can sometimes do, but the nasty clouds made for a neat pic and we made the best of it. We weren’t dressed for a downpour, so we hurried down the mountain to try to escape the impending bad weather.
Top of Adventure Bay Trail, Okanagan Valley, British Columbia, Canada
Conclusion
Adventure Bay Trail is well worth a visit if you're in the area. It has everything you need in a hike, beautiful views, a scenic drive, a good workout and to top it off a quiet and less congested trail, compared to some of the other trails in the region. I highly recommend this trail for a nice short, but intense day hike.
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