Try Different Outdoor Recreation Activities

Festival goers can try out many different outdoor recreation activities, all in the Camp Sekani/Boulder Beach area. Prices range from $8-20 per person and include admission to the rest of the festival. Find more info for all of these excursions, including times, location, other requirements, and registration info here. Space is limited, so don’t wait to sign up!

Intro to Rock Climbing: Take adventure to new heights rock climbing with Peak 7 Adventures. Learn basic rock climbing techniques to reach the top of a rock face. All the gear and equipment is provided for this exciting and challenging sport. Multiple sessions. Cost: $5.

Whitewater Rafting: Join Wiley E Waters for an exhilarating river rafting trip down the Spokane River. Professional certified guides will provide you with equipment on this fun-filled paddle experience. Trips run from 10:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. and 1-3. Cost: $20

Voyageur 8 Person Canoe Tour: Take a voyage with Spokane’s Canoe & Kayak Club in this historic 22-foot voyageur canoe that will hold up to eight people. This excursion will be guided by experienced canoeists from the Spokane Canoe & Kayak Club. Rides will leave Boulder Beach for several 30-45 minute long tours. All necessary equipment will be provided and no experience is necessary. Cost: $8

Stand Up Paddleboard Lesson: Join Spokane Parks and Recreation and Mountain Gear for a morning or afternoon stand up paddleboard tour. Stand up paddleboarding is a great workout and balance tuner, not to mention a fun way to share the summer sun with others. No experience is necessary and all equipment will be provided. Multiple sessions. Cost: $15

Tandem Kayak Tour: The best way to experience the Spokane River is with a paddle in your hands and sun on your skin. No experience is necessary, only the desire to paddle. All equipment will be provided. The 60 minute excursions will begin with a 10-minute warm up and instruction. Multiple sessions. Cost: $15

Stand Up Paddleboard (SUP) Yoga: Kick off your Spokatopia Festival experience with a tranquil SUP yoga sequence with SUP Spokane. This amazing cross-training sport, guided by SUP Spokane, is low impact on the joints and is used to improve balance and core strength. 9-10 and 10:15-11:15 a.m. sessions. Cost: $15

Inflatable Whitewater Kayaking: Join FLOW Adventures on an inflatable kayak adventure down the Spokane River. Inflatable kayak trips make a terrific alternative to hard-shell kayak tours for those wanting to try something new. They are incredibly fun and easy to paddle and maneuver. Individual and tandem kayak options are available. Multiple sessions. Cost: $15

Disc Golf Intro Lesson: Team up with an experienced player from Disc Golf Uprising to learn about different types of discs and how they fly, proper stance and grip, disc golf terms, and throwing techniques. 11 a.m.-12 p.m. and 12:30-1:30. Cost: $15

Intro to Geocaching: Come and experience this high-tech scavenger hunt that is sweeping the nation. Cache-Advance instructors will teach you the tricks of the trade in the geocaching world. Cache-Advance will help you learn new strategies for locating the skillfully hidden caches, teach you basic GPS skills and discuss the equipment needed to successfully find caches around the world. Cost: $15

Festival Details

Camp Sekani is located between downtown Spokane and Spokane Valley on Upriver Drive. For more details, visit Spokatopia.com and follow the festival on Facebook. Spokatopia is presented by Out There Monthly, City of Spokane Parks & Recreation, and Evergreen East Mountain Bike Alliance. Proceeds benefit Evergreen East.

Three Reasons to Ride Your Bike to Spokatopia

The best way to get to the festival is to ride the Centennial Trail from your neighborhood or from one of the festival parking areas (Pasadena Elementary 1-mile east on Upriver Drive and at the Avista building several miles to the west on Upriver Drive—details at Spokatopia.com). Need more convincing? Here are three reasons why you should pedal your way to Camp Sekani on July 11:

1. It’s THE cool, fun and sustainable way to get to an outdoor adventure festival.
2. Parking at the festival grounds will be super slim pickings and Spokatopia will have a massive, guarded and fenced bike corral to keep your bike safe.
3. A considerable amount of free outdoor gear and prizes from Mountain Gear and other local businesses will be given away randomly to people who show up with a bike and a helmet at the corral.

Up Chuck Challenge Trail Run (July 11, 9:30 a.m.)

The first annual Up Chuck Challenge trail run starts at Camp Sekani Park on the Up Chuck Trail for a fun, winding, nearly all singletrack climb to the top of Beacon Hill. The 5k course gains nearly 1,000 feet of total elevation, with a few dips, grunts, twists and turns to keep the mostly mellow and meandering racecourse interesting. The race is timed on the up only, with another 2.3 mile run or walk back to the start at Sekani Meadows where the 1^st annual Spokatopia Outdoor Adventure Festival will be underway (beer garden opens at 10:30 a.m.). There will be no vehicle parking at the race start but parking and shuttles will be available 1-mile to the east at Pasadena Elementary and there will be a bike corral at Sekani, so you can bike to the race start on the Centennial Trail. $20 registration ($25 after July 8). More info here.

The post Spokatopia Outdoor Adventure Festival: 1 Day, A Whole Summer’s Worth of Fun (July 11) appeared first on Out There Venture.

5K

1,000 Feet Up

As fast as you can…

The first annual Up Chuck Challenge trail run starts at Camp Sekani Park on the Up Chuck Trail for a fun, winding, nearly all singletrack hill climb to the top of Beacon Hill. The 5k course gains nearly 1,000 feet of total elevation, with a few dips, grunts, twists and turns to keep the mostly mellow and meandering racecourse interesting. The race is timed on the up only, with another 2.3 mile run or walk back to the start at Sekani Meadows where the 1^st annual Spokatopia Outdoor Adventure Festival will be underway (beer garden opens at 10:30 a.m.). Pick up your Up Chuck Challenge finishers bandana and stick around to enjoy a day of trying different outdoor sports like rock climbing, kayaking and stand up paddleboarding; bike demos; a mountain bike jump jam; entertainment and outdoor exhibitors. Please note that there will be no vehicle parking at the race start at Camp Sekani Park (see below). Race parking and shuttles will be available 1-mile to the east at Pasadena Elementary and there will be a bike corral at Sekani.

What: A fast, fun race to the top of Beacon Hill above the Spokane River. $20 registration before July 8 ($25 late registration) includes an Up Chuck Challenge finishers bandana and aid stations at the top of Beacon and at the bottom at Sekani Meadows. You’re on your own for the rest of the race, so plan accordingly for the summer heat.

When: 7:30-9 a.m. race check-in/late registration. 9:30 a.m. start.

Where: The race starts at Camp Sekani Park (aka Beacon Hill), on the Spokane River between Spokane Valley and downtown Spokane on Upriver Drive. Directions here. However, parking for the race will be at Pasadena Elementary 1-mile east on Upriver Drive. Park and walk/run/bike along the Centennial Trail to the race start at Camp Sekani or catch a shuttle van running every 15 minutes between the Pasadena parking lot and Camp Sekani. No vehicle parking will be available at Sekani, although there will be a big bike corral and cool outdoor prizes given away randomly to Up Chuck racers and festival goers who ride their bikes. Please plan ahead and ride your bike if you can!

More info: www.spokatopia.com

Register for the Up Chuck Challenge here.

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The Up Chuck Challenge Course

From camp Sekani, start on trail #30 (Up Chuck Trail) and slowly climb to the first summit. From here take trail #36 (Bastard Son). Now you get a little break from the climb and even a slight downhill on trail #24 (Disorderly Conduct), but remember you’re supposed to be running as fast as you can! From this point, the route heads straight uphill to the top. Once you reach the top, pat yourself on the back. You just ran 5k with around 1000′ of elevation gain! Click here to check out a map of the course.

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