A Smith Creek classic which has some great northshore features.

Statistics

1 - 2

hrs

521

m

521

m

10

max°

Difficulty

FATMAP difficulty grade

Difficult

Description

Like most of the trails in Smith Creek, Dear Santa is fun, well maintained and continuously interesting without ever being "hard".

The riding is excellent and involves several types of challenges - wooden features, some tighter bends and some short rock gardens - but the toughest obstacles are easily avoided. From the main Smith Creek parking lot Holy Pail Up Trail is well signposted.

Jump on the trail and enjoy the scenic ascent up through the peaceful forests above West Kelowna.

The view doesn't reveal itself much on the lower section of the climb but you're guaranteed a "wow" moment when you emerge at the Lookout Shortcut viewpoint, which provides a huge vista across West Kelowna, Mount Boucherie and Okanagan Lake. Tear yourself away from the view and carry on climbing up to the top of the Smith Creek trail network, where there's a large flat area and a well-placed log to sit on and admire the view.

(The end of the ascent marked here isn't technically the top of the trail network - you can carry on up a little further to access Motobomba and the top section of Soul Train - but not many folk carry on higher than the point shown here). Begin the descent by heading down the clearly-signposted Kid Dyn-O-Myt Trail for a few corners, passing the start of "Travellin' Man" and then turning right onto Dear Santa, the start of which is marked by both a sign and a plastic Santa figure! The upper section is reasonably technical and has some wonderful wooden sections, and then the lower part is much quicker and more flow-y.

Screech back to the parking lot and go for another lap!