The Southern Interior region of BC holds an ecological cross-section of the province with alpine meadows, arid Douglas fir grasslands, damp cedar and hemlock forests of the Columbia Mountains and the warm expanse of Shuswap Lake.
Not only a feast for the eyes, the diverse terrain creates endless possibilities for mountain bike trails with a landscape dotted with historic farm breweries and orchard cideries conveniently located for that post-ride bevie.
Along with an abundance of flow, Vernon has more technical trails on offer with expansive trail networks at Predator Ridge, Ellison Provincial Park, Kalamalka Lake and the King Eddie Plateau which boast the 54 km Killer King Route—linking the two aforementioned networks on nearly continuous singletrack.
Marten Brewing in downtown Vernon even serves up a Killer King Blonde Ale which channels money directly back to the trails. Oh, and let’s not forget the Bike Park at Silver Star and Cambium Cider Co, located conveniently at the base of the mountain.
A short drive north, Salmon Arm is the main hub for mountain biking where there’s two choices of riding: low angle and fast and steep and fast with easily accessible stacked loop trail systems at South Canoe or long, epic traverses deep into the mountains.
The manicured trails are directly supported by the Barley Station Trail Ale IPA along with two cideries—Shuswap and Northyards—to wet your whistle. For growler takeaways, Crannóg Ales has been serving up high-quality beer for 22 years and was Canada’s first organic brewery—and one of only a handful of organic and zero-waste breweries worldwide.
Learn more about Shuswap, Vernon, the Southern Interior Ale Trail and Mountain Biking BC.
Credits: Ben Haggar @benhaggarphoto and Mike Gamble @MikeGamble
Featured Breweries: Barley Station Brew Pub, Crannóg Ales, Marten Brewing, Shuswap, Northyards and Cambium Cider.
Featured Trails: Killer King Route.
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