The entrance to the Three Blind Mice cycling trails and disc golf course at 1400 Riddle Road.

(STEVE ARSTAD / iNFOnews.ca)

PENTICTON - The city and region have 20/20 vision when it comes to seeing recreation opportunities in the Three Blind Mice area.

City of Penticton Communications Officer Simone Blais said the city has identified the area, located at 1400 Riddle Road, as an area of potential for sport and recreational use.

The Penticton and Area Cycling Association is in the process of developing International Mountain Bike Association certification on its network of trails in the Three Blind Mice area. The IMBA certification will set standards for the trail network.

“The area is also a draw to the area for sport use, whether it be hikers, walkers, or climbers,” Blais said.

A portion of Three Blind Mice was unanimously approved by council last week for the Penticton Disc Golf Club to operate an 18 hole course on approximately 27 acres of the area. Council noted the course would co-exist with PACA's mountain biking activities, which have also been licensed to operate in the area. By formalizing their existence in the Three Blind Mice, the disc golf club hopes to improve their course enough to attract tournaments.

The Three Blind Mice is made up of 300 acres of city owned property, the remainder being Crown land.

“People also use the area for their own purposes,” Blais said, noting there are no plans to formally create a park in the area. The city owned portion of Three Blind Mice was recently designated as parkland under the Official Community Plan, however.

The Three Blind Mice stands to be an important part of efforts to turn the region into a cycling mecca.

“Cycling is seen as an extremely accessible sport, with many participants,” Blais said.

“Penticton has more bicycle commuters per capita than anywhere else in B.C., and the city and region has an excellent mix of road and mountain bike terrain available, including what is available at Three Blind Mice.

“We’re starting to see several pieces of the cycling puzzle come together,” she said.

The Regional District Okanagan Similkameen also recently expressed interest in facilitating PACA’s recent efforts to draft a master plan in developing a license to use (Section 57) application to the province. The regional district’s KVR trail also has two access points to the Three Blind Mice, which could prove to be a cycling tourism benefit to the entire region.

To contact the reporter for this story, email Steve Arstad at sarstad@infonews.ca or call 250-488-3065. To contact the editor, email mjones@infonews.ca or call 250-718-2724.

News from © iNFOnews, 2015