A new world-class experience is currently being planned just around the corner from Predator Ridge. The Okanagan Gondola project is currently in planning and development plans will soon be presented to the Regional District of the North Okanagan. 

We are honoured and thrilled to give you a sneak peek into the Okanagan Gondola project, a proposed world-class tourist attraction located off Bailey Road, just minutes from Predator Ridge. Plans include a gondola that takes visitors from the base, climbing 1,600 feet to the summit and showcasing the stunning turquoise waters of Kalamalka Lake below. And that’s not all. The facility features over 15 different on site activities, all based around low environmental impact and leaving the lands largely undisturbed.  

For Brad Pelletier, Senior Vice President for Wesbild Okanagan, the Okanagan Gondola is something he didn’t hesitate to get behind. Just like the Okanagan Rail Trail partnership, adding more amenities for our community to enjoy right in our corridor is very beneficial. As always, we are committed to sharing news about what’s happening around us and we are thrilled to help lend our support to this extremely exciting attraction. 

“I look at it this way, for over 20 years of our history, it was only Predator Ridge doing business up in this Commonage corridor. In 2010, we welcomed Sparkling Hill Resort and the emergence of a lot of great wineries. Now the next stop is the potential of the Okanagan Gondola project, which if approved, would be another transformational tourist amenity and an additional amenity for our residents” said Pelletier.

The partnership started with a meeting with Paul Deutsch, a Predator Ridge Golf Member and President of Ridge North America, developers of the Okanagan Gondola. At the meeting, Pelletier said he quickly realized it was the ideal potential strategic partnership for Predator Ridge and that it took him all of about six seconds to ask what he could do to help.

“They are looking to build something similar to the Squamish Gondola, but this would be an amazing multi-faceted experience showcasing the glorious Kalamalka Lake” he said. “If there is any viewpoint deserving of a gondola, it’s the jewel of the Okanagan, Kalamalka Lake.”

It is important to note that this project is still in the approval process. There are still a lot of key milestones to achieve, but when you see the project architecturally, the potential experience and the level of investment they are looking to make, it’s so exciting. It’s another thing to attract people to Predator Ridge and another experience for them to enjoy while they are here. To see everything that is being invested in tourism and amenities in the North Okanagan, I don’t know anywhere in the province that is seeing more.”

Okanagan Gondola is the latest project for Ridge North America developers who recently built the hugely popular Golden Skybridge in Golden, BC. Deutsch said the goal is to build a world-class tourist destination in the Okanagan that will be inclusive for everyone.

“We want to create a really fun place for families and people of all ages,” he said. “We hope to create something special, similar to what we did at the Golden Skybridge. This development will be an opportunity to protect the beautiful natural landscape along the highway corridor, while creating hundreds of jobs and a truly iconic family-friendly destination for both visitors and locals.”

Rising from a gentle curve in the lake and hidden from the road, the Okanagan Gondola site is never fully visible from the highway but reveals pieces of itself in a series of glimpses. The base building overlooks Highway 97 and is intended to spark curiosity as one of the few built elements that will be visible from the highway.

The Okanagan Gondola guest experience will begin at the base, where visitors will enter through a guest services building leading to the plaza. This family-friendly, resort-inspired space will feature an amphitheatre, a cafe, a farmers and artisan market with locally-produced crafts, as well as food and beverage and retail outlets. The project will provide multiple opportunities for local community engagement.

From the base, guests will begin their journey, with a scenic gondola ride up the valley to the mid-station. There, they will discover a natural setting featuring viewing platforms, family-friendly trails through the forest, with additional viewing platforms perched on rock outcrops to take in the stunning views. Trails will have varying degrees of elevation gain, distance and difficulty. They will be home to an interpretive experience highlighting the history of the site, the region and the Indigenous peoples who have called this land home for thousands of years.

A further gondola ride past the mid-station will lead guests to the summit, where they can enjoy a delicious meal and glass of locally produced wine, more viewing platforms, walking trails and bike trails.

“We really love connecting iconic destinations that utilize the natural beauty of the landscape as the main attraction” said Deutsch. “The location of this project is beautiful, showcasing the Okanagan valleys, beautiful rolling hill landscapes and majestic views of Kalamalka Lake.”

Deutsch said his company prides itself on being stewards of the land, by creating places that have negligible impact on the landscape and ecosystems. Less than 5% of the land on this project will be hardscape, with 275 acres remaining completely natural.

The land encompasses a variety of ecosystems: agricultural, forest and grasslands. From its earliest stage of planning, the project’s team has included an environmental consultant to identify areas on the site that require a delicate touch and strategic planning to ensure a balance is maintained between preservation, conservation and recreational exploration. Sensitive environmental areas will be balanced and maintained.

Rav Soomal, Vice President of Operations for Ridge North America, said a development application has been made and the project is currently going through the permit stages and awaiting review and approval from the Regional District of North Okanagan. Pending approval and with the support of the RDNO, the goal is to start site work in 2023, and by 2024 have some early amenities, activities and services open. 

“We are so excited to show what we are doing,” said Soomal. “We’ll have something for everyone, from grandparents to small children. The summit at the peak of the mountain will be amazing, but the plaza at the base will be the hub of the project. It will be a really cool, fun village and a place to hang out, very immersive and a community place for everyone to enjoy. It’s going to be an amazing project for the Predator Ridge area and iconic for the entire Okanagan.”

The plaza will feature a playground that is unlike anything that has been seen here before, with tree houses, a treetop rope challenge course and a specially designed entertainment area for infants.

Soomal said the concept is similar to the Sea to Sky Gondola in Squamish, BC and the iconic gondola in Banff, AB. The plan is to offer season passes as the company did with the Golden Skybridge. “In Golden, we offered them to locals for the price of a day pass and figured we’d sell a few. But we sold 5,000 in a town of 7,000 people. There was a real community buy-in and every single person was amazed by the experience and returned time and time again,” said Soomal. “There is so much we can do with a partnership with Predator Ridge, including private events and different experiences at the summit for homeowners. This is a great opportunity for us to work together.”

Pelletier said the Okanagan Gondola is another incomparable experience for Predator Ridge residents and guests and he is in talks with the developers to find a way to forge a connection between Predator Ridge and this new strategic partnership. “One of the things that we were instrumental in helping secure was the upcoming connection from the Okanagan Rail Trail under Hwy 97, right to Bailey Road” he said. “This project is nice because it’s a low environmental impact on a beautiful big piece of land, and as we all know Kalamalka Lake is one of the most treasured and most photographed lakes in the entire province. To have this right here in the Commonage corridor is really exciting for all of us.”

The amenities and experiences Predator Ridge provides to residents continues to expand, with Pelletier pointing out the strategic partnership with Dennis O’Rourke and his wineries — Peak Cellars and O’Rourke Family Estate.

“On the one side we have what Dennis O’Rourke is doing, pushing the boundaries of what defines a spectacular winery experience. You also have Kingfisher Heliskiing right next to us, and Sparkling Hill Resort within our community boundary. This project is real and it’s getting more real every day. It comes with great excitement that we share a vision of this project with our community, because this is really going to be for many, the first that they have heard of this.”

Pelletier said plans are in the works for homeowners to get a further sneak peek at the project with a private presentation and Q & A session with Deutsch and Soomal to learn more about Okanagan Gondola. 

“It’s in our best interest to support this project. The more things to do right here in our backyard, the more it benefits our community in terms of enhancing our lifestyle. There are very few assets like Sparkling Hill Resort and the O’Rourke Family Estate. If approvded, there are very few assets like what the Okanagan Gondola could be, and of course there only is one Predator Ridge.

“In the Okanagan we live in a playground, and this attraction will be the only one of its kind, especially with the way they’re programming it. It is a truly exciting time to be at Predator Ridge and in the North Okanagan.”