Lake Country celebrates grand opening of new bike park

May 5, 2025

Type(s)

Community News

New Lake Country Bike Park ribbon-cutting event brings together mountain biking community

Lake Country, BC – The District of Lake Country proudly celebrated the grand opening of the new Lake Country Bike Park Saturday with a community gathering that featured speeches, demonstrations, and family-friendly festivities in a stunning natural setting overlooking Okanagan Lake.

The $500,000 purpose-built park, designed for riders of all ages and abilities, is a major milestone in the community’s efforts to enhance outdoor recreation and support healthy, active lifestyles. The event included remarks from Mayor Blair Ireland and Brad Pederson of MTBCO; with the ribbon cutting including Council members Cara Reed, Bib Patel and Michael Lewis, along with key partner representatives Cam Sorenson of Contour Trails, Mitch Wolsey, Wolsey Construction, and Caleb Pike MTBCO and Lake Country Cycle.

“We are thrilled to open this incredible new amenity,” said Mayor Blair Ireland. “The Lake Country Bike Park offers a safe, inclusive space for everyone – from beginners to pros – to build skills, enjoy the outdoors, and connect as a community. This project is a shining example of what can be accomplished when the community and the municipality come together to create something meaningful. This park will be a hub for recreation, skills development, and adventure tourism, benefiting residents and visitors alike while contributing to our local economy.”

The park’s development was guided by strong community input, including the 2023 Sports and Recreation Needs Assessment, which identified a bike park as a top priority. It was brought to life through the collaboration of Contour Trails, Wolsey Construction, and support from local mountain biking organizations like Lake Country Riders, who later amalgamated with Mountain Bikers of the Central Okanagan (MTBCO).

Located on unceded territory of the squilx”/syilx (Okanagan) peoples, the park was recognized during the event as a place that promotes stewardship, inclusion, and intergenerational connection to the land. The site also celebrates the region’s vibrant mountain biking culture, which continues to grow and flourish in the Central and North Okanagan through organizations like MTBCO and NOCS.

The opening coincided with International Women’s Mountain Biking Day, a fitting backdrop for showcasing a diverse group of demonstration riders, including youth, seasoned professionals, adaptive athletes, and local female leaders in the sport.

Among the featured riders were:

Emerson, age 8, a nationally ranked BMX racer;
Vanessa Hair, (BOLD), a professional PMBIA Level 2 mountain biking coach and MTBCO member;
Josh Dueck, Paralympian and adaptive trail advocate;
Liam Wilson and Brayden Barrett-Hay, freestyle pros known for spectacular tricks and global impact;
As well as local mountain biking community leaders and members of MTBCO like Kim Rose, Courtney, Alicia, and Brogan McCluskie, who highlighted the family-oriented and inclusive nature of the sport;
Brett Rheeder, freestyle mountain bike pro, surprized the crowd by dropping in to participate in the bike park feature showcase.

Attendees enjoyed rider demonstrations, hot dogs provided by the Rotary Club of Lake Country, and opportunities to connect with local biking friends and organizations. Community members were invited to try out the new bike park along with the demonstration riders and reminded to ride safely and within their skill level, with first aid services on standby at the event thanks to the Lake Country Fire Department.

“I want to extend a heartfelt thank you to everyone who participated and helped bring this project to life, and to all who came out to celebrate the opening. From Josh Dueck to the pro riders, and especially the families and kids who joined in—it was a day to remember,” said Mayor Ireland. “Watching the large group ride together with Josh on the adaptive trail was truly a special and moving moment.”

The District of Lake Country extends its sincere thanks to all the partners, volunteers, and riders who made this park—and this celebration—possible.

The Lake Country Bike Park is located at 8865 Okanagan Centre Road West.

For more information:

Karen Miller, Communications Officer kmiller@lakecountry.bc.ca

Steve Petryshyn, Parks and Landscape Planner spetryshyn@lakecountry.bc.ca

250-766-5650

ribbon cutting to open new Lake Country Bike Park

Lake Country Bike Park grand opening ribbon cutting (L-R) Councillor Cara Reed, Caleb Pike (MTBCO and Lake Country Cycle), Cam Sorenson (Contour Trails), Mitch Wolsey (Wolsey Construction), Brad Petersen (MTBCO), Mayor Blair Ireland, Councillor Michael Lewis, Councillor Bib Patel

May 3, 2025 Demonstration rider introductions:

Everyone will have time to ride; and to provide some inspiration we’d like to introduce our demonstration riders to show us some of the features of the Lake Country Bike Park May 3.

First, our youngest demo rider today is 8 year old Emerson. Emerson has been on a bike since he was two. He is a nationally ranked BMX racer and an avid mountain biker and has been racing since he was four. He would rather spend time on two wheels than two feet any day!
Accompanying Emerson on the Pump Track is BOLD Mountain Biking coach Vanessa Hair. PMBIA Professional Level 2 Mountain Bike Coach, Vanessa is a true force of energy and a former Downhill Alberta Champion and Female Athlete of the Year. Vanessa saw that mountain biking can change lives and mountain biking creates unique and effective tools for her clients as they explored the mental, physical, and mechanical skills on the trails. Vanessa believes development is a journey, and every mountain biker can improve their skills and techniques!
You might have noticed this Park’s adaptive mountain bike trails named: All Ore Nothing and Sedimental Value. Today we are fortunate to have Josh Dueck, paralympic champion, inspiring athlete, public speaker, and local Okanagan dad here with his son, to celebrate the importance of family outdoor activities. From humble beginnings in a small mountain town to casually sitting on top of every major podium, from the Paralympics to the X Games, his story of triumph through tragedy is anything but conventional. Josh and his wife Lacey strive to redefine the rehabilitation process for those living with life altering injury. His motto is passion + perseverance = possibility.
Kim Rose is a mountain biker, snowboarder and dog lover. Kim rediscovered her childhood passion for mountain biking 8 years ago. Since relocating to the Okanagan, she has become very active in the local community, from attending trail days, volunteering at events and leading group rides. With today being International Women's Mountain Bike day today, she even lead one of the women's rides this morning with MTBCO at Crawford. She is excited to see this skills park and other similar parks being constructed in our communities, and love how they are safe places to advance skills and try new things! Kim enjoys spending most of her time on the black and double black dirt jumps at this park.
Courtney rides for the love of fitness, but her greatest joy has been watching her daughter Ali grow and progress on the bike over the years. She loves adventuring with her family, traveling around B.C. to explore new trails. This season, Courtney is setting her sights on conquering some of the bigger jumps right here at Lake Country Bike Park!
Alicia! She may be just 11 years old, but don’t let her age fool you—she’s been riding since she was 3 and has big dreams of going pro. Alicia is all about Enduro and downhill racing, and the bike park is hands-down her favorite place to ride. This year, she’s working on adding more style to her jumps, and with Lake Country Bike Park close by, her skills have gone next level!
Brogan McCluskie’s greatest joy in riding has been watching his daughter Ali progress on the trails. He’s spent countless days towing her up the mountain since she was little, sharing every step of her journey. Brogan loves capturing those moments behind the lens, snapping photos of his family in action—and lately, he’s been dialing in his own jump style, too!
Liam Wilson is a dedicated and passionate slopestyle rider - building skills through consistent practice and competition. He loves being part of the mountain biking community; and some of his key tricks include front flip, backflip tuck no-hander, double tail whip, 360 tail whip, double bar spin, knack knack, and superman seat grab. Let’s watch Liam and see what he’s got for us today.
Brayden Barrett-Hay continues to make moves in the mountain bike world. Brayden’s riding doesn’t just involve contests and film projects. He’s even brought freeride mountain biking to the Cirque Du Soleil stage. Originally from the Toronto area where he spent a lot of time at the Joyride indoor facility, in 2021 Brayden moved to the Vernon area to enjoy the mountains of Western Canada and take advantage of an abundant mountain bike scene with his dirt jumper, downhill, and trail bikes.
As a special bonus to everyone in the cycling community that came out to check out the new bike park in Lake Country and practice some new skills after watching the demo riders, Brett Rheeder dropped in and casually made tricks on all the jumps look effortless. Brett Rheeder, is a professional freeride mountain bike rider, seven time Crankworx champion and Red Bull Rampage winner in 2018. He now lives in Vernon BC and maintains his incredible skill level by riding his backyard features. Together with Brayden Barrett-Hay, he has co-founded Bookyrslf -- a platform for sharing experiences with a global community. The goal of the platform is to allow individuals to create and book sessions, virtual classes and interactive experiences - anytime, anywhere. Rheeder and Barrett-Hay were recently named among the 12 semifinalists in the Okanagan Angel Summit in the running for $180k put up by investors in a competition co-ordinated by Accelerate Okanagan.

Thanks to all of these fantastic riders for showing us what this park is all about and what practice, determination and community support can inspire.