PHOTOS: New date, new route, same fun quotient for 2025 Penticton Beer Run

It all begins at 9 in the morning at Abandoned Rail Brewing, a brewery and taproom splendidly situated five kilometers northwest of downtown Penticton on the KVR Trail, when the first bus shows up and dozens of fun-loving folk, most in full costumes and ready to party, disembark.

Ready to party? At 9 AM?

Why yes. Time is of little concern during the glorious ode to brew-infused merrymaking – and exercise, and local scenery – known as the Penticton Beer Run.

The 2025 edition of the PBR unfolded this past Saturday, and it was as wild and wacky as ever.

Fifteen minutes after the first wave of costumed participants came another, then another then another, until seven waves and approximately 350 people had come and gone.

By the time the last had departed the start point, the first had already made their way along the KVR and down the hill into the downtown core, stopping for beer "tasters" at numerous points of interests along the way.

Points of interests such as Giant's Head Brewing (serving in a tent on the KVR), Firehall Brewery (serving in a tent outside The Bench Market), Cannery Brewing, Highway 97 Brewing, The Hub on Martin, BNA Brewing (serving in a tent outside their upcoming space in the old Slackwater building), Yellow Dog Brewing, Neighbourhood Brewing, Slackwater Brewing (serving in tent outside Black Antler restaurant), Northstar Lagerhaus and Barley Mill Brewing (serving in adjacent tents in the back yard of Northstar's soon-to-be-built Lagerhaus), and Detonate Brewing (serving in a tent on the Barking parrot patio).

Whew!

Several of the above, along with waterfront eatery Patio Burger, also served up sustenance. At Patio Burger, for example, it was ice cream. At The Hub it was French fries.

The 2025 Beer Run route was shortened somewhat to tighten up the event time frame, keep participants in the downtown/waterfront sectors and make it a bit easier for the average person to complete the thing.

But that wasn't the only change.

Typically it runs in the fall. But this year it was spring.

"This year we’re hosting the Adventure Racing World Championships," said Beer Run founder and organizer Lyndie Seddon of Penticton-based Hoodoo Adventures. "We'll have 25 countries represented and 300 athletes, plus copious volunteers and support crew, from across the globe.

"And it'll happen at a time of year (late September, early October to be exact) when we normally do the Beer Run. So something had to move."

Given the seasonal shift, Seddon was pleased with the 2025 turnout of 350, down a bit from last year's record tally of 455.

But, she said, in 2026 it shifts back to the fall.

"Next year will be our tenth," she said, "and we'll have a party. We'll try to get people who’ve participated over the years to come back and celebrate the anniversary and make it a real big deal.

"And we'll take the feedback we get from this year and apply it and make 2026 the best yet. Hopefully we get a recipe we can stick with for the future."

Registration for the 2026 tenth anniversary Beer Run will open in fall of 2025. Early birds will be rewarded with a discount.

For more info, head to the Penticton Beer Run site here.