Knox Mountain Hillclimb
The Knox Mountain Hillclimb is an annual automobile hillclimb in the Okanagan Valley of British Columbia. Established in 1956 as the Okanagan Hillclimb and operating on a paved course in Kelowna's Knox Mountain Park since 1966, it is among the longest-running annual hillclimbs in North America and the only sanctioned hillclimb in Canada. The 3.5-kilometre course is known for its difficulty, with every corner cambered to the outside of the curve as it climbs 245 metres for an average grade of 6.7%.
The hillclimb takes place in May, on the Saturday and Sunday before Victoria Day. It is organized by Knox Mountain Motor Sport, an affiliate of the Confederation of Autosport Car Clubs, the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile sanctioning authority for British Columbia. The course record is 1:34.903 set by Aran Cook in 2023.
Course
Located within Knox Mountain Park, a nature park overlooking Kelowna's downtown core, the course follows 3.5 kilometres of Knox Mountain Drive. It climbs 245 metres for an average grade of 6.7%, and has nine turns including three hairpin turns. It is Canada's oldest hillclimb and the country's only sanctioned hillclimb. It is promoted as the longest-running annual paved hillclimb in North America though this distinction may be contested by the Mount Equinox Hillclimb in Vermont.The road was originally built as a mountain access road and designed not for speed but for drainage of rain and meltwater. The course is unique in the Pacific Northwest for being paved with all the corners cambered toward the outside of the curve, making it very difficult to complete a corner at high speed. The narrow road is flanked by rock outcroppings, cliffs and mature trees. While the posted speed limit is, top racers will exceed on the short straight sections.
The hillclimb can host up to 90 drivers, who must have racing licenses and safety equipment installed in their vehicles. Drivers race one at a time, competing in classes which include open-wheel cars, grand tourer, vintage cars, four-wheel drive, engines under 1800cc, dune buggies, and electric cars. The fastest time across all classes is named "King of the Hill". Times under two minutes are considered exceptionally fast and as of 2023 only 14 drivers had completed the course in under one minute and fifty seconds. That year, the hill record of 1:34.903 was set by Aran Cook.
The course is considered to be very challenging. In 1969, Prince George Citizen sports editor Ron Allerton called Knox Mountain "the most perfect paved track... available for hillclimb in North America." In 1973, Hot Rod magazine described the Knox Mountain Hillclimb as the "premiere event" in Western Canada and "one of the nation's top amateur events". According to National Solo Sport Representative Henry Threlfall, Knox is CACC's biggest annual solo autoracing event. American racer George Bowland, who held records at ten hillclimbs, said that Knox was the best-run hillclimb he'd attended, "the best from all standpoints, from the management of it to the challenge of the hill itself."
Knox Mountain Drive is closed annually due to poor winter driving conditions from the first frost warning in November until March or April. Additionally, the road is typically closed in the summer due to wildfire risks. During the COVID-19 pandemic, Knox Mountain Drive was closed to automobiles entirely to allow social distancing in the park. Since 2022, with hikers and bicyclists competing for safe road use, the narrow road has only been open to automobiles to the third turn. Due to these closures, racers can only drive the full course on race days and must otherwise walk or bicycle to survey the upper half of the course.
Other sporting events have also used Knox Mountain Drive. In road cycling, it has been used as the K-Town Classic's first stage, also called the Knox Mountain hill climb, with top riders earning points toward the BC Cup. In 2008, it brought 175 riders for the three-day event, with the fastest ascent at 9:00. Provincial championships in cyclo-cross have been held elsewhere in Knox Mountain Park. In downhill skateboarding and street luge, it has been used as the Knox Mountain Downhill, co-hosted by the Kelowna Longboard Alliance and the Kamloops Longboard Club. It is sanctioned by Skateboard Canada as a qualifier for the national teams.
History
The Okanagan Auto Sport Club held its first hill climb, called the Okanagan Hill Climb, in Penticton in 1956 on Crescent Hill Road. From 1957 to 1960 the hillclimb was held in Westbank, with a course starting at Okanagan Lake. The 1961 event was cancelled as the road was repaired and realigned, which reduced its driving challenge and appeal as a course. From 1962 to 1965 the Okanagan Hill Climb was held in Okanagan Centre on Camp Road with a course of slightly over. Held in May on the Saturday and Sunday before Victoria Day, the event became popular in the Pacific Northwest and, attracting crowds in the thousands, grew too large for the Okanagan Centre community to support.For the 1966 hillclimb, the OASC was granted permission to use the newly paved road on Knox Mountain in Kelowna. Immediate benefits included all-day radio coverage of events on CKOV and videotaping by CHBC television. Popularity reached its peak in the early 1970s, drawing several thousand spectators, and the race attracted sponsors Castrol oil and Macdonald Tobacco to provide cash prizes. British Columbia then led solo auto racing in Canada: in 1973 the province hosted thirty sanctioned solo events including four hillclimbs and in 1974 BC drivers took the top seven places at the Sports Car Club of America championships.
In January 2005, Knox Mountain Motor Sport was incorporated in British Columbia under the Society Act. KMMS took over the organization of the Knox Mountain Hillclimb while OASC continued other motorsport events in the Okanagan. Residential development and municipal regulations had resulted in the discontinuation of other hillclimbs in Canada, such as that at Rattlesnake Point on Ontario's Niagara Escarpment. By the mid-2010s, Knox Mountain was the only sanctioned hillclimb in Canada.
Five drivers from North American Big Rig Racing took to the course as the second event of the 2004 NABRR Tour, racing Kenworth, Mack and Peterbuilt trucks. This did not become a regular category of the hillclimb. The first electric car to compete in the race was entered by University of British Columbia engineering students in 2015. In 2018, KMMS started a Queen of the Hill competition to recognize female racers, prompting the CACC to take steps to encourage female racers to participate in other disciplines. A record of six women drivers took to the course in 2023.
In the 2020s, the SCCA classification system was phased in. The race experienced a two-year hiatus due to COVID-19 restrictions. In 2024, a video wall was added at the bottom of the hill with the race livestreamed.
Organization
The hillclimb is organized by Knox Mountain Motor Sport, an affiliate of the Confederation of Autosport Car Clubs, the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile sanctioning authority for British Columbia. In 2016, KMMS had 12 non-racing members and 50–60 members who were also racers at the event. A minimum of 40 volunteers are needed over the race weekend as track workers, tow truck operators and gate workers.On the race weekend there is also a small car show, beer garden, food trucks, children's play areas, and live music. As KMMS is a non-profit organization, proceeds are reinvested into the event or distributed to local charities such as the Kelowna Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, Sunshine Dreams for Kids, and Kids Cancer Care. KMMS has also partnered with the City of Kelowna to plant thousands of trees in the park to replace those killed by pine beetles.
Other groups planning to hold hillclimbs have consulted with KMMS and volunteered at the event to gain operational experience. KMMS has also organized ice racing on Duck Lake and Swan Lake in the Okanagan, ice conditions permitting, in January and February.
Race records
The title of King of the Hill is awarded to the driver with the fastest time up the hill across all categories. John Haftner won the title twelve times between 1989 and 2012, setting course records on five of those occasions and holding the course record for 24 years. Other prominent racers include Wouter Bouman, Bryan Evans, Allen Reid, Ian Wood, and Jennifer Ocker.The first ten editions of the race, before the 3.5 km Knox Mountain course was adopted, are presented on a separate table.
To 2006, only five drivers had completed the course in under one minute and fifty seconds. By 2023, this group had grown to fourteen members. Roughly half of these drivers have bested 1:50 in multiple years. The fastest podium groups, in which all three drivers had broken 1:50, were in 1994, 2002, 2019, 2023 and 2025.
Key: cells indicate the fastest time for that year, i.e.: a King of the Hill title. cells indicate a course record and King of the Hill title.