Watch: Thank these volunteers for a smooth ride along Knox Mountain

• Trail maintenance is required for safe mountain biking
• Park authorities partner with trail associations for help
• More members = more trails

Knox Mountain trails are popular for mountain bikers. The paths are among the first to open and the last to close in the Okanagan, ensuring high ridership in the season.

But without proper care, those trails can eventually become too hazardous to use.

That’s where the Mountain Bikers of the Central Okanagan (MTBco) come in.

A fleet of volunteers equipped with landscaping tools have hiked Knox Mountain to make the trails ready to ride again this spring.

“People will be out there with rakes - raking up a lot of the loose shale that, trails here in particular, seem to almost grow rock,” Diane Oorebeek, director of community and membership for MTBco, told Kelowna10.

“That can be really hazardous for riders. They may slide out in the loose rock.”

Other hazards include uneven ground from excessive foot traffic or cycling when the ground was soft during a freeze/thaw cycle. Potholes can form, and other obstacles, like deadwood, can fall across the paths.

MTBco is a volunteer driven, non-profit association, which maintains trails and advocates for the mountain biking community. They maintain about 148 kms of trail at Knox Mountain Park, Crawford trails, Myra-Bellevue Provincial Park, and the Gillard trails.

While the land is public property, MTBco maintains it thanks to a partnership with the City of Kelowna, B.C. Parks, and other authorities.

Oorebeek said it’s common for governments to not have enough funding for trail maintenance across the province, so they rely on agreements with trail associations.

“It’s a partnership that we have, that we agree to do some of the maintenance on the trails in exchange for being able to ride on them,” she said.

An important goal for MTBco is to maintain the trails in such a way that minimizes environmental impacts.

Obstacles on the paths may force a downhill biker to weave around it or find alternate routes. This can widen trails which has an impact on the ecosystem - something they want to minimize.

MTBco is open to new members to take part in their social events and help volunteer.

Cameron Worman is the director at large for MTBco. He said that with more members, they can look at expanding mountain biking in the Okanagan.

“The more people we can get outside and helping out maintaining these trails, the more voice we’ll have to be able to build more trails so we can get more people outside.”