This beautiful little singletrack loop is tucked away against the western banks of Okanagan Lake, on the eastern edge of West Kelowna (nee; "Westbank"). Its diminutive size had kept it off my radar until this past week, when I ventured out after work to take a closer look.

Though small in size, at a mere 4km if one circumnavigates the outer loop - 5km if you throw in the interconnecting trails, the Kalamoir trail network offers some of the most interesting and visually appealing singletrack in the immediate area.

As you can see from the images above (click the image to enlarge it), the trail is composed of two main sections interconnected with a variety of sub-trails. The aptly named Upper, Lower and Mike Passmore Memorial* trail (middle section) offer beautiful views over Okanagan Lake for the balance of their extent.

The upper trail network offers numerous steep, challenging sections and frequent zones of very exposed, steep side-hill as it passes through open grassland, popping in and out of stands of pine trees.

The middle / connector trails are often steep and potentially intimidating to novice cyclists, while the bottom trail is nearly flat, with very brief sections of rise before dropping back down to lake level. You frequently cross small wooden bridges enroute.

I'd suggest that this trail network would be enjoyable for intermediate to advanced mountain bike riders and all level of hikers - but isn't likely suitable for equestrians due to extreme side-hill exposure and heavy hike / bike traffic.

Though additional sub-trail connectors exist between the upper and lower sections, I've elected to omit most of them from this overview due to their deteriorated condition and steep nature.

Numerous entry / exit points to the trail loop exist, including:

- The end of Sunnyside Rd. at the southern extent

- King Rd., near the beginning of the upper trail (eroded)

- Collens Hill Rd., crossing both the upper and lower trails

- Benedick Rd., at the northern end of the trail network

As this is a Regional Park system, it sports many amenities not usually found along trails described in this website. These include:

- A beachfront with sandy beaches and swimming areas

- Washroom amenities on the lower trail section

- Signed dog beaches

The park is open during spring, summer and fall daylight hours. The parking area on Collens Hill Rd. is closed during winter months.

Dogs must be kept on a leash within park boundaries, with the exception of the dog beach areas.

I'll place you at the Collens Hill Rd. parking area, but feel free to start / end at your chosen spot. In West Kelowna: turn off of Highway 97 onto Boucherie Rd., (Mac's convenience store, an Esso service station and Friend's Pub are on this corner). Follow it for 2.25km, turning left onto Douglas Rd., then right onto Thacker Rd., and left again onto Collens Hill Rd. The parking area is at the bottom of Collens Hill Rd.

* Mike Passmore was a local athlete who lived nearby and used this trail network for his training sessions for many years.

Low:342m | High:436m | Length:4km | Water:None | Cell:Full

(Click to enlarge)