OG - The Stone (ORT, Beaver Lake, Oyama Lake)

After riding the ORT earlier on family vacation I decided that it was time to up the ante a little. I came across a route on RideWithGPS labeled, “OG-The Stone” that piqued my interest. After doing some research I realized this is an event put on by the Okanagan Graveller (OG), the team behind the Okanagan Granfondo in Penticton.

The Stone is the introduction ride to gravel racing and is anywhere from 40 to 60 kilometers long. It follows gravel roads east of Wood Lake past Beaver and Oyama Lake before returning to Oyama. I decided to use this route as part of mine, extending the distance significantly from Vernon via the Okanagan Rail Trail (ORT).

In a surprise to absolutely nobody, I woke up on August 10 2026 in our Airbnb in Vernon to thick wildfire smoke. I had already done many rides in smoke and wasn’t about to let it cancel my plans for today. After preparing the bike for a long gravel ride I filled two water bottles and set off for the start of the ORT near Kal Beach in Coldstream to the south. As I rode past Sun Country Cycle on a wide bike path, I realized that this would be the perfect place to park and start this route. The company actively promotes this idea since presumably you’ll also buy gear and tuneups from them. And you should!

A familiar ride along Kalamalka and then Wood Lake brought me to the real start of the ride - 30 kms into my day already at this point with almost no elevation gains or losses. The ease was about to come to a grinding halt! As I cycled east through Winfield on an industrial Beaver Lake Road, I noticed that it suddenly rose very steeply just ahead. Uh oh. This is also the start of a KOM (King of Mountain) Strava segment which makes sense. The vibe was apocalyptic as I started climbing on a narrow, roughly paved road out of Winfield. Smoke filled the valley around me and I was instantly all alone, cycling past fields of dead grasses and tired looking trees - classic Okanagan country in August. A few vehicles passed me as I rode but they gave me plenty of space to continue my suffering. Don’t get me wrong - I love uphill riding but this was very hot and very steep. Don’t underestimate it just because it’s pavement at this point.

Eventually the pavement ended and I found myself on a wide but very loose gravel road. Now when the odd vehicle passed me, I was choking on not only smoke but also dust. Good times. I was amused to see signs posted on trees along the route, encouraging me to “keep going” with KM markers to Beaver Lake. This was both encouraging and depressing depending how big the numbers were.

Eventually I came to a recently graded section and passed a grader hard at work making the road a bit easier to ride. As I finally topped out and passed the Beaver Lake turnoff I expected to continue along Dee Lake Road. Nope.

As my Garmin told me to turn left I did a double take. Really?! Hmmm. The road I found myself heading first north and then west on was much smaller and much rougher than anything I’d seen so far. I was also totally alone in what felt like the middle of nowhere, very suddenly. I realized at this point that I should likely do a little more research on some of the gravel routes I ride before just following a line on a GPS. 😀

I also realized for the first time that despite being just above communities such as Winfield, Coldstream etc, it doesn’t take long to get “out there” where it’s just you and your bike. I wouldn’t see another soul until I got onto the Oyama Lake FSR later in the day. I continued to ride and follow a series of small forest service roads that form a labyrinth through the various logged and uncut forests situated in between Beaver, Echo, Oyama, Streak, King Edward and Damer Lakes. It would be very easy to get lost here without a solid GPS device so beware of that. Cell service was nonexistent in many spots too.

I rode an extremely rough FSR with many fast downhill sections where I wondered if this was more suited for a mountain bike than a stiff gravel one. I had to be careful with my speed as there were tight corners and unseen washboard sections that snuck up on me very quickly. I think this section would be very unpleasant for beginner riders. Finally, as the heat of the afternoon sun intensified, I turned left onto the King Edward FSR and then almost immediately to my left again on the Oyama Lake FSR. I could immediately tell that there is much more traffic on the Oyama Lake FSR - it rises directly from Wood Lake below and has a number of campsites along it.

I saw my first people since turning off the Dee Lake FSR hours earlier at the Damer Lake Recreation Site. Part way along the Oyama FSR I came to a junction that led to the “Oyama Lookout”, which I decided to check out. Unfortunately there was no “looking” in the thick smoke, but I’m sure it’s a nice viewpoint in better conditions.

From the Oyama Lookout the FSR wound its way very steeply (and loosely) down towards the Oyama Road intersection. From there the gravel widened considerably before turning to pavement as it entered a residential area.

Finally I intersected back with the ORT and started the flat ride back to Vernon. Taking several dips in the lakes as I pedaled along them was heavenly!

Despite the smoke and the heat, I enjoyed the extended version of “The Stone”. It starts with an easy 30km ride along two scenic lakes before getting down to business for a few hours of tough gravel riding. Then it finishes back along the lovely (cool) lakes again. Now that I know how many trails and roads are above the lakes, I’ll definitely be going back up there sooner than later to explore other routes.