Westside Rd / Vernon

Route Summary

Westside Rd/Vernon

Westside Rd (BC DH11 or DH11)

Salmon River Rd (BC DH64 or DH64)

- 140 km approx 2 1/2 hrs
- excitingly beautiful (not for the faint of heart)

Highlights
- The road!! The scenery!!
- Historic O'Keefe Ranch
- Kalamalka Lake "the lake of many colours"

Optional
Salmon River Rd to Salmon Arm. More awesome roads and scenery.

- total ride 230 km approx 4 hrs

Westside Rd

(BC DH11 or DH11)

https://youtu.be/TI_7lRNI7i4

We have some bad news. The best part of this DH lies in the 50-kmh (30-mph) zone that has spread like a cancerous tumour almost halfway up Okanagan Lake. And the speed tax collectors who cruise the developed southern part of this road are anything but benign. Fortunately, this DH’s symptoms include a narrow, shoulderless stream of curves situated high along the unguarded cliffs of the lake’s west side. Unfortunately, pavement quality can be unstable as you cut along tumbling embankments and pine-forested bluffs. Although frequent water views are excellent, you’re probably too busy picking your line through the next corner to notice. This aggressive road doesn’t really go into remission until you reach the top third—a lazy respite through flat country fanning out beside the lake’s northern end. If our prognosis is correct, this life-threatening DH is just what the doctor ordered.

Salmon River Rd  

(BC DH64 or DH64)

https://youtu.be/cGc4LtNN42c

Don’t be fooled by our Twistiness rating. This surprisingly smooth secondary road has some of the best curves around-- at least south of the midway point where the route esses continuously along the river. But north of Silver Creek, the road changes its name from Salmon River Road to Salmon Valley Road. Not a good sign. No longer forced to follow the capricious river, the road straightens with a vengeance, finishing in a series of long beelines, interspersed with 90-degree turns, across the fertile valley floor. Still, if you’re migrating between the Okanagan and the Shuswap, it’s a great way to go. Even if you’re not, this DH is well worth the expenditure of a little rubber.