Kelowna Knox Mountain Hill Climb, one of North America's oldest, hopeful for 2022

A long-time Kelowna event that sees cars race to the top of Knox Mountain is tentatively returning this after a two-year hiatus.

The Knox Mountain Hill Climb was last held in 2019 and was shut down afterwards due to COVID-19, said organizer Bryan Sulton.

“We’re hoping, despite omicron right now, we will be able to run the event in 2022. There’s always the slight chance we won’t be able to but right now we have permission from the city to proceed and from our sanctioning body,” he said.

The weekend event is scheduled for May 21 and 22.

It’s the oldest running hill climb in Canada and one of the oldest running paved hill climbs in North America, Sulton said.

The Knox Mountain Hill Climb is an annual event, testing cars and drivers on a paved road course of ten major turns, climbing 800 vertical feet over 2.2 miles.

Racers don’t pass each other or ride up a continuous track, but race against the clock.

“It’s part of the history of motorsport in Canada… I think it’s important to Kelowna because in 1960-something when Knox Mountain was dedicated, the hill climb was one of the reasons mentioned by the city for paving the road, so I think it has a significant place in national and local history and the history of motorsport itself in Canada,” Sulton said.

Knox Mountain Drive is closed to vehicle traffic until further notice but Sulton expects the road will still be used for the hill climb into the future.

The event also raises funds for charities. This year will support the Kelowna Hospital Foundation's JoeAnna's House, he said.

To contact a reporter for this story, email Carli Berry or call 250-864-7494 or email the editor. You can also submit photos, videos or news tips to the newsroom and be entered to win a monthly prize draw.

We welcome your comments and opinions on our stories but play nice. We won't censor or delete comments unless they contain off-topic statements or links, unnecessary vulgarity, false facts, spam or obviously fake profiles. If you have any concerns about what you see in comments, email the editor in the link above.