Spokatopia Poker Ride
June 15, 2024 @ Spokane’s Camp Sekani Park
9 a.m. -12 p.m.
Try your hand at poker on wheels! Ride our cross-country Spokatopia Poker Ride course from the Spokatopia festival to the Beacon Hill towers and back with stops along the way to complete challenges and collect a five-card poker hand. Participate in several other challenges/spectacles for the chance to draw additional cards to possibly improve your hand (details below).
Killer prizes from Shred Sports (Solnix) and Outdoor Research for best poker hands and other categories, and all participants take home a Spokatopia bandana. Good times benefitting Evergreen East in the beer garden post ride. All ages and rider ability levels welcome, but must be willing and able to ride at least 8 miles with over 800 feet of climbing on green and blue singletrack trails or 10-14+ miles and additional climbing on more challenging blue alternative trail options including the bonus card descent and climb back up the Esmeralda side. E-bikes welcome.
Register for the Spokatopia Poker Ride here (only $10 through May 31, then still only $15 plus there’s a family/group of 4 discount option and the Poker Ride is included with a Gold Pass). Awards/prizes on the festival stage at 2 p.m.
Thank you to our Spokatopia
Poker Ride sponsors!
Poker Card Stations & Challenges
Ride to each of these five card station stops (all of the card stops are along the green rated Upchuck Trail) and complete a challenge before scoring a poker card. The Upchuck Trail starts near the gate and the redish-orange shed a few hundred feet east of the main Camp Sekani parking lot.
Ride our recommended route or mix it up with your favorite trails for even more miles of fun, including the optional descent and climb on the Esmeralda side for a bonus card. All supplies needed to complete each challenge will be provided at the card stop station. For navigation, use Trailforks or the Evergreen East trails map.
Before beginning the ride, sign in at the Spokatopia Poker Ride booth by the festival entrance/main ticket booth to pick up your poker hand tally sheet. When you draw a card at each of the card stops, you will write down your card on the tally sheet and the volunteer at the stop will stamp it to make it legit. You will also get judged for your optional retro outfit and/or bike decorating skills and return your filled out tally sheet back at the Poker Ride booth at the festival field once you’re done. If you complete any of the bonus card draws, you will need to circle your best five cards for your poker hand.
Card Stop 1 (Sekani summit along the Upchuck Trail). Challenge: create a biking/bike themed finger painting (prize category for most creative paintings)
Card Stop 2 (Midway between Sekani & Beacon summits along the Upchuck Trail). Challenge: write a biking themed haiku (prize category for best haikus)
Card Stop 3 (Beacon summit/towers at the end of the Upchuck Trail). Challenge: solve a riddle or write down a bike or outdoor recreation themed joke (prize category for best jokes)
Optional Bonus Card Stop (at the Esmeralda trailhead): After Card Stop #3 at the towers, choose your favorite descent and earn a bonus card for the miles and climbing you’re adding that may improve your hand. Then climb back up the Esmeralda Trails and continue on to Card Stop #4. This bonus card stop adds several more miles and 500+ feet of climbing. We will provide the exact location of this card stop near the Esmeralda trailhead when you sign in at the Spokatopia Poker Ride booth.
Card Stop 4 (Same as Card Stop #2 // Midway between Sekani & Beacon summits along the Upchuck Trail). Challenge: Answer one of our Inland NW MTB/Outdoor Recreation Trivia questions provided by the staff writers at Out There Outdoors.
Card Stop 5 (The Shred Sports/SOLNIX booth at the Sekani field/festival grounds). Challenge: Track Stand Balance Challenge
Turn in Your Poker Hand Tally Sheet: After you’ve added all five of your poker card draws to your tally sheet and had them stamped at each card stop, return the filled out tally sheet to the poker ride booth at the festival field. If you completed any of the bonus card draw options, you will need to circle your five chosen cards that make the best poker hand. Prizes will be awarded at 2 PM on the stage by the beer garden.
The Ride Route
The first four card station stops are along the green rated Upchuck Trail. The Upchuck Trail starts near the gate and the redish-orange shed a few hundred feet east of the main Camp Sekani parking lot.
Getting to Each of the Card Stops
Head east on Upchuck and start the slow, switchbacky climb up to the top of Sekani to your first card stop. Then continue west on Upchuck down through the ravine and back up again toward the summit of Beacon and look for card stop #2 along Upchuck where it hits the fire road. Continue along on Upchuck to its terminus at the Beacon summit where you’ll find card stop #3. From there if you’re doing the bonus card option by dropping down to the Esmeralda Trailhead, choose your own trail adventure down there and take a selfie in the parking lot to claim your bonus card back at the Poker Ride booth at the festival meadow, and then climb back up the Esmeralda Trail to the Beacon summit and carry on to card stop four. To reach card stop #4 (same as card stop #2), pick a trail that matches your ability level to get back to your now buddies at card stop #2/#4. Try to avoid riding back down Upchuck if you can due to uphill traffic. A fun and relatively mellow blue route back to card stop #4 is on Evil Twin (no shame in walking around technical spots) to Disorderly Conduct and then down the short ways to the Upchuck Trail and the card stop.
Riding Back to the Festival & Card Stop #5
From card stop #4, pick your favorite trails back down to the festival and find the Shred Sports/Solnix booth (card stop #5) and complete the final challenge before heading to the Poker Ride check in booth to turn in your poker hand tally sheet. For the easiest (green) ride down, briefly head up Upchuck to Disorderly Conduct and then on to The Yard trail. Then watch for oncoming bike traffic along the short section of Upchuck Trail in the ravine to Dan and then Simple Tools back to the festival field. Another fun blue option is taking Dan to Rabid Rabbit. If you are not familiar with the Sekani/Beacon trails, we highly recommend using Trailforks or at minimum the Evergreen East trails map. Most of the trails are signed but some junctions can become confusing. Stop and ask somebody if you get lost!
Yeah, totally an AI generated image but cool Poker Ride outfit idea!
Bonus Card Activities/Spectacles
Participate in one, two or all of the bonus challenges
Get up to four chances to improve your hand by drawing a bonus card for participating in one or more of these options. After collecting all five cards and any bonus cards, keep the five that give you the best hand.
- Extend Your Ride Bonus Card Stop: After Card Stop #3 at the towers/Beacon summit, choose your favorite descent to the Esmeralda Trailhead and earn a bonus card for the miles and climbing you’re adding that may improve your hand. Once at the parking lot, take a selfie there to show the people running the Poker Ride booth back at the festival to claim your bonus card draw. After taking your selfie, climb back up the Esmeralda Trail and continue on to Card Stop #4.
- Show up in a retro outfit: Maybe you already dress like it’s 1988 when you go out for a ride but if not, digging out some old duds or a trip to the thrift shop can fix that. Just make sure it’s something you’ll be able to ride in! Bonus prizes for best dressed!
- Show up with your bike decorated: Bling out your bike with your choice of festive décor or bizarre theme. Again, make sure you’ll be able to still ride it and that it won’t be dropping trash along the trails. Bonus prizes for best bike decor!
- Join/renew Evergreen East and support our local MTB trails: Head over to the Evergreen East booth and join or renew. Bonus good karma and they will let you draw a bonus card!
Poker Ride Prizes!
We have some great prizes up for grabs from Solnix Spokane and Outdoor Research! Prizes include mountain biking gear from the Outdoor Research Freewheel Collection as well as prizes from Solnix including a Fox tailgate pad, a Fasthouse bike fender, Oakley Sutros sunglasses, and some Solnix and Spokatopia swag!