Regular rides, year-round riding possible
The Kootenay Rockies ATV Club (KRATV) is a non-profit society that has been actively operating in the Cranbrook area since 2012.
The Kootenay Rockies ATV Club offers weekly day-long rides that are planned and lead by experienced ride coordinators during the riding season. Some members even ride year-round as their ATVs are equipped with tracks that facilitate riding on the snow-covered trails in the winter months.
Safety, environmental awareness and responsible riding
The club promotes off-road safety, environmental awareness, and responsible riding.
The Kootenay Rockies ATV Club presently has over 160 members and several active committees. The membership comprises a broad age spectrum ranging from young families to octogenarians. Probably related to the amount of free time each person has – our rides tend to attract an older, but no less enthusiastic, crowd.
The Kootenay Rockies ATV Club is proud that two of their members are dedicated Quad Riders ATV Association of British Columbia Directors.
Over 4,000 km of riding
The East Kootenay has over 4,000 km of ATV rideable FSRs, abandoned roads, and trails. The Kootenay Rockies ATV Club is based in Cranbrook and rides to the four points of the compass from that location.
Socialize, ride, learn and take in incredible views
Socializing is an important aspect of recreational ATVing for KRATV. While the riding/driving is very enjoyable, a typical outing sees the group moving only about 50% of the time. The rest of the day involves socializing (around a campfire when conditions permit); admiring the incredible views; photography; and assorted activities headed by budding naturalists.
New rider? Club members willing to help you learn
Socializing also is a great opportunity for the more experienced members of the group to provide guidance to newer riders. Steep and narrow trails can present many challenges and lessons learned (sometimes the hard way) are passed along to keep everyone as safe as possible.
KRATV Trail Committee
The KRATV Club has a very active Trail Committee, that performs maintenance on the trail systems in the East Kootenays to enhance off road riding adventures.
These are mulit-use and shared-use trails which also benefit many people not associated with KRATV, while they partake of many different motorized and non-motorized activities.
Club volunteers donated many hours of their time last year, and were able to reclaim, clear or repair a number of trails.
The KRATV trail committee ensures a safe trail system for the Club’s Annual Poker Run. This committee works with the Government agencies to ensure we are environmentally responsible in carrying out the trail work they do, and that all work has all required approvals from RSTBC (Recreation Sites and Trails BC) before commencing.
KRATV’s latest project has seen the development, by a few very enthusiastic members, of a modified tractor-mounted brush cutter that has greatly reduced the amount of manual labour required to clear slash alders from overgrown roadways and greatly increased the amount of trail that can be maintained in a year.
Fundraising Committee
The Club has received Grant money from the following organizations: a big thank you goes out to Columbia Basin Trust; ATVBC; ORV Fund; and local businesses. This money enables the club to do the required work on a select number of trails each year and is used strictly for trail maintenance.
See current ATV Club grant opportunities here: https://atvbc.ca/atvbc-grants/
KRATV Club Advertising
The KRATV Club is proud of the fact they have published a Trail Map Book. The book contains 17 separate maps of numbered trail systems for the East Kootenay area. These books are for sale locally and online through ATVBC. The club promotes itself through Tourism BC, the Local Chamber of Commerce and on Social Media. Our Facebook group currently has 396 members from all over western Canada.
KRATV 2020 Jamboree and ATVBC AGM
The KRATV Club has been awarded the opportunity to host the 2020 ATV Jamboree from July 13-19 and Quad Riders ATV Association of British Columbia (ATVBC) AGM on July 18. This event will be held at the Fort Steele Resort & RV Park. This is a large event, which will bring many people to the area from around BC, to socialize, explore and ride in the Rockies and Purcell Mountains. The Jamboree guided rides will showcase the Kootenay Rockies beautiful backcountry with the intent of promoting future ATV tourism in the area.
Jamboree Information is located on ATVBC and KRATV Websites and Facebook Pages.
