Sports & Recreation in Vernon, BC
3 verified sports & recreation spots in Vernon.
-
Lakers Park Disc Golf Course
Lakers Park in Okanagan Landing has a free nine-hole disc golf course laid out around the old Lakers golf course, with short, all-par-3 holes that make it a friendly spot for beginners. The park also has a playground, on-leash walking paths that link to Marshall Fields, and ponds and wetlands that are home to the Great Basin spadefoot toad. There are no washrooms or drinking water on site, so come prepared.
Dog-Friendly Kid-Friendly Free to Visit
-
Vernon BMX Track (Ranger Park)
Vernon BMX runs a sanctioned dirt BMX race track in Ranger Park, in the BX area just north of downtown. Club practices are usually Monday evenings and local races Tuesday nights from spring into October, and a BMX Canada membership is required to ride club sessions. It's a great way for young riders to try gate starts, berms and rhythm sections.
-
Vernon Recreation Complex – Priest Valley Arena & Centennial Outdoor Rink
Vernon's Recreation Complex on 35th Avenue offers two kinds of ice. Outside, the Centennial Outdoor Rink is free from December through February, with public skating and shinny, weather permitting. Inside, Priest Valley Arena, home to Vernon's skating and ringette clubs, hosts public skating and adult drop-in hockey; register ahead and get a wristband. Skaters 12 and under need a CSA hockey helmet and an adult (no bike helmets). Bring skates: there are no rentals. Local residents, including Coldstream and the Okanagan Indian Band, get 50% off with photo ID.
More places to play
-
Becker Bike Park
Becker Bike Park is the City of Vernon’s in-town bike skills park at 3404 39th Avenue, re-opened in August 2024 after a rebuild funded by more than $70,000 in grants and donations to the City and the North Okanagan Cycling Society. The park packs three pump tracks — including a paved track that Tourism Vernon calls a new local favourite — a gradually climbing trail, a flow trail for beginner to intermediate riders, a dirt-jump zone with progression lines and a drop zone into a compact site, which makes it a good place to bring young riders to build skills or to bang out fast laps. The park also includes an on-leash dog area and walking paths. Parking arrangements and costs are not published on the City’s page.
Play: Paved pump track, dirt jumps, drop zone and skills trails
Dog-Friendly Kid-Friendly Free to Visit
-
Ellison Provincial Park
Ellison Provincial Park rewards the drive south of Vernon with a different kind of Okanagan Lake day: multiple beaches with buoyed swim areas, a playground for the kids, and around 50 picnic tables plus a picnic shelter to spread out at. Otter Bay is Western Canada’s only freshwater dive park, so divers share the park with swimmers, and there is canoeing, hiking and fishing on top of that. Flush toilets and showers are on site, but there is no boat launch and no lifeguards. Sandy Beach is the park’s pet beach; dogs are not allowed on the other beaches. The season runs roughly April 1 to October 12, and the beaches are about a half-kilometre walk from the parking lot. Ellison is also a campground and a viewpoint park: 71 sites (61 reservable, 10 first-come) with a hot-shower building, spring-water taps and fire rings, and more than six kilometres of trail along the rocky headlands with panoramic vistas of Okanagan Lake north to Spallumcheen and south to Fintry.
Play: Beginner-friendly forest MTB trails right from the parking lot
♥ Local Favourite 🐾 Dog Friendly Kid-Friendly Lake View Free to Visit
-
Kin Beach
Kin Beach is the easy option on Okanagan Lake: a grassy park where the kids can play on the jungle gym and splash in the shallow water while the adults strike up a volleyball game or settle in at the picnic shelter with a snack. It keeps a family afternoon simple, with washrooms on site. Dogs are not permitted on the beach. The adjoining Canoe Beach on Lakeshore Road is a separate RDNO park operated in partnership with the Okanagan Indian Band; dogs are not permitted on that beach either, but are allowed on leash along its pathway.
Play: Beach volleyball courts
Kid-Friendly Lake View Free to Visit
-
Marshall Fields
Marshall Fields is a large City of Vernon park on Okanagan Landing Road, home to ball diamonds, a full-size soccer field, tennis and basketball courts. The City designates a dog area between the playing fields and Vernon Creek; check the current leash rules before you go, and keep dogs off the sports fields. The free nine-hole Lakers disc golf course sits right behind it on Cummins Road. North Okanagan readers ranked it second for Best Park and runner-up for Place to Walk Your Dog in 2026.
Play: Covered 14-court pickleball complex (book via VPA) and tennis courts
♥ Local Favourite Free to Visit
-
Paddlewheel Park
Paddlewheel Park Beach is a local favourite, and for good reason: it is built for a full-day family outing. Swim from the beach, then move between the playground, the basketball, tennis and volleyball courts and the picnic shelter, with plenty of shade and washrooms close by. A public boat launch shares the park, so expect boats coming and going; launching a trailered boat needs a pass ($10 per day or $60 per season, also valid at Coldstream’s Kalavista launch). Dogs are not permitted on the beach.
Play: Tennis, beach volleyball and basketball courts
♥ Local Favourite Kid-Friendly Lake View Free to Visit
-
Polson Park
Polson Park is Vernon's central green space, best known for its Floral Clock, installed in 1958, and its Japanese Garden and Chinese pagoda. Two ponds draw plenty of waterfowl, and there are walking trails, a running track, a skate park, tennis courts and a wheelchair-accessible playground. The Okanagan Science Centre and Vernon Heritage Hall are right in the park, so it's easy to fill a family afternoon here.
Play: Skate park and tennis courts
Kid-Friendly Great for Groups Free to Visit
-
Predator Ridge Trails
Predator Ridge has built one of the North Okanagan’s signature riding networks on the Commonage between Vernon and Kelowna: 13.5 km of dedicated bike trails plus a connector into Ellison Provincial Park, all open to the public and operated seasonally. Tourism Vernon’s advice is to take the climb for the Okanagan Lake views and then link Mantle, Granite, Rock Garden Playground and The Arches for one long rocky, granite-slab descent; the North Okanagan Cycling Society credits the resort with building trails such as Granite, Mantle and the Ellison Connector for the wider Vernon riding community. The resort’s Bike Hub at 1-799 Predator Ridge Drive is the base, and several parking areas serve the trailheads; parking costs are not published, and no dog or e-bike rules are published for the trails.
Play: Rocky granite MTB trails (Mantle, Granite) linking to Ellison
Lake View Free to Visit