I’m already making my summer plans for next year thanks to Predator Ridge Resort in Vernon

Summers are for the Pacific Northwest and we do our best to explore this area as much as possible from June until the days get darker and the snow starts falling in the mountains. When there is a good chance of sunshine, there is so much nature here to see!  And from Seattle, if we’re not hanging out in Snoqualmie Pass we usually head south to the Oregon Coast, North to Canada or west to the Olympic Peninsula. When I was invited to come check out Vernon, British Columbia and stay at the Predator Ridge Resort,  I realized we haven’t really ever explored the northeast area at all.

Why Vernon in Summertime?

For an outdoor-loving family like mine, Vernon is already on the radar for winter. The guys are getting to be good skiers and I’ve heard the snow at Big White is phenomenal. But summertime was also intriguing to me because I’ve heard about the biking in the area, and there is golf and my kids are totally getting us all into that and we love hanging out at lakes and wineries so it’s hard to imagine a more perfect summer vacation spot.  In three days in Vernon, we rode the Kraken, a giant paddle board that can hold up to 8 people on Lake Kalamalka.  We ate a fantastic winery dinner at the new Block One restaurant at 50th Parallel winery while we watched baby grapes grow happily in the sunshine.  We had coffee and pastries at Ratio Coffee and put eating their famed Friday donuts one day on our bucket list.  We stopped at the Davison farm where we lunched and wandered the farm and then headed next door and learned about bees, honey and mead at Planet Bee.  Because we have a Pacific Science Center Membership, we were also able to stop in at the Okanagan Science Center for free because of their reciprocal museum privileges and my kids really liked a building area full of Keva bricks.

Predator Ridge for families

We’ve stayed at many resorts with our kids and this one was the type we could just hang out for a couple days and never leave if we didn’t want to.  Predator Ridge Resort offers comfortable spacious accommodations which are great for a family vacation. Our two bedroom lodge room had a kitchen that we used for lazy breakfasts in our room and eating pie, fruit and ice cream we brought home from our farm adventures.  The kids loved splashing around in the outdoor pool and we should have tried the indoor pool and exercise room but we were tired from biking and paddling and just wanted to lounge.  At night we liked to wander the neighborhood and look for deer and watch the sun set over the golf course.  One night we ate at Pallino’s which was about 100 steps from our room and it was casual enough that it was a pretty relaxing meal with kids in tow and all of us really enjoyed our meal.  There are also really adorable cottages that you can rent too and I think it might be nice to come with the grandparents here one day.

Golf for kids at Predator ridge?

Because at home we live pretty near a driving range and Par 3 course, the kids have been getting into golf even though us parents are extremely beginner.  Apparently Predator Ridge is a pretty fabulous golf course and I thought it might be fun to let them try a bit of golf here.  I sent an email to the Junior Golf Academy at the resort and was able to arrange a private lesson for my kids the next day and Kyla, their awesome instructor even had clubs my leftie could use!!  They had an absolute blast hanging out with her and they learned a lot too.  Another cool thing I might try for next year is to time our trip to coincide with the Junior Golf Camps.  This way the hubby and I might be able to go for a bike ride without kids or even try the driving range on our own while the kids get time on their own to hang out with other kids and play golf.

Biking at Predator Ridge

Biking was one of our big highlights at Predator Ridge and a big reason why I want to go back.  There are some really fun single track trails that go through the hills overlooking the lake and are perfect for an intermediate beginner biker like me.  It was a little more difficult for the kids but I think they would do fine riding the Okanagan Rail Trail when it opens and it’s cool that the resort will have shuttle service to that trail too. We tried out the bike rentals (they even have bike rentals for kids!) and met with an expert guide before we left and he told us trails that would be good for our kids.  Some of the trails still need a few more markings but we didn’t have too much trouble figuring out where to go.  After our ride we stopped into the market store and found out they have a delicious slurpee-like icy drink there that’s perfect for post ride.

What more do you need from a family vacation?

Seriously, could you ask for anything more from a family vacation?  We had such a good time relaxing and playing together as a family in Vernon and after 3 nights we were really refreshed but we also could have stayed longer and seen a lot more and been happy with our trip either way. It was also a really great roadtrip we could do in about 6 hours in our electric car with all the Tesla chargers between Seattle and Vernon and the 2 Tesla chargers (and one other electric vehicle spot) waiting for us at Predator Ridge Resort when we arrived.  I know later this year there will be even more Tesla chargers along this route that will make it an even shorter drive. I’m so thankful that we had the opportunity to visit and I do think this is a place we’ll come back and visit again.

(PS. we were hosted by Tourism Vernon for the purpose of this review and as always, the thoughts and opinions in my posts are my own.)

(PPS. if I was to go back to Vernon WITHOUT kids, I’d definitely check out the Sparkling Hills Resort nearby too.)

Terumi

Terumi Pong is a Seattle-based family travel writer and mom of twin teenage boys.  She loves coffee and pastries, shopping local and looking for greener ways to live.  She is also known as Scout’s mom (Scout is a 5ish pound little black yorkie-poo)