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Waterfront Tour: The Outback Resort in Vernon BC

 


The Outback was developed and sold at the height of the last real estate book in 2006-2007 by a long-time Vernon family.  It’s located right next to Ellison Provincial Park and encompasses 60 acres of woodlands on the shores of Okanagan Lake, it’s on the outskirts of Vernon so you’re around 20 minutes from City Center, almost at the end of Okanagan Landing Road which turns into Eastside Road.  The cool part about the Outback is it is zoned R6 which allows for nightly rentals and has an on-site management group that is currently rocking in the vacation rental game.  


The Outback has five main neighbourhoods with many different styles, floor plans, AND price ranges of units, so let’s look at each one of those now and what amenities are in which areas.

 
1. South Bay: The South Bay units are situated close to South Bay Beach where besides the beach area you will find a nice big green space, pool, and hot tub plus access to the new and improved Outback marina that was recently built by a group of private Outback investors. Sometimes you can find some resale marina slip interests here or some units are being sold with the slips included or at least over and above the purchase price.   The units in South Bay are usually attached, either up and down or side to side and most of the upper units are two stories with cool rooftop patios taking advantage of the incredible views with the lower units being level entry and all on one level.  Some South Bay units are really close to the beach and the pool, and some are farther back or above.  Most if not all have covered parking close by.  
 
2. Quarry Bay:  The second neighbourhood is around the second bay in the Outback which is Quarry Bay. That is where there is currently water access only buoys to park your boat, it also is where the first marina was before it was destroyed by the winds.  A boardwalk along the water still remains and it’s a good spot to take off to pick up your boat.  To get to the Quarry Bay beach itself, there is access from the parking area via a glass-fronted elevator to access the beach, and a cool manmade cave leading to a fire pit and sitting area for the residents of the Outback.  There is also some first-come, first-serve areas to leave your kayaks down here as well as another hot tub.  The Quarry Bay units are an assortment of strata units that are either a few stacked on top of each other or are side by side.  They all have great views and all the units have covered or uncovered parking depending on the unit.  
 
3. Trout Lake:  Moving up to the Trout Lake units, these are smaller and the most affordable generally,  consisting of fourplexes and duplexes that are either 2 bedrooms or 3 bedrooms.   Up here there are Tennis Courts if you like racquet sports and of course, Trout Lake, which is a manmade lake here in the Outback, it’s not for swimming, you would have to go to South Bay or Quarry Bay for that, it’s more for like looking at, I guess, and separating you from your neighbour and giving you peace and tranquility and some wildlife sightings.  A second pool is located up at Trout Lake and a third hot tub as well.  There’s more parking up here, a couple of open parking areas, which is nice as parking is at a bit of a premium at the Outback.  They are farther away from the beaches, however, both South Bay and Quarry Bay really are only a short walk.
 
4. Forest Cabins:  Forest Cabins are freestanding single units located here and there around the Forested area of the Outback, hence the name and, they are mostly 3 bedroom, 3 bathroom units that include 1 bedroom, 1 bath casitas although the odd one is only 2 bedrooms with no casita.  These are fairly affordable units in the whole scheme of the assortment of homes at the Outback and are really popular because of their single-family nature and they often come with more privacy than you would normally get if you had an attached unit.  The parking is uncovered and kind of like the Trout Lakes you have a bit of a walk down to the beaches.  The odd one will come with a lake view, which is usually reflected in the price of the unit.
 
5. Ridge Homes:  The last of the Outback floor plans are the Ridge Homes which are mostly located on the Ridge overlooking the lake, and some are in Quarry Bay. These are the largest floor plans at the Outback and are either freestanding or duplexes, and they have the coolest of the architectural features with the floor-to-ceiling windows in the living room, overhanging the rocks that take the best advantage of the lake views.  There are many different custom floor plans and these are the most expensive of the homes at the Outback, however, are also the ones that rent for the most as well, generally speaking.  There are some smaller 2 bedroom Ridge homes, well, at least one I know of for sure, and the rest are all 3 or maybe 4 bedrooms.  The odd ones have attached garages and a private pool, and they all have killer lake views.  The Ridge Homes also have priority access to marina rentals, so if the unit you may want to buy doesn’t have a marina interest associated with it, you do have priority over marina rentals, which is kind of nice.  


The Outback also features a secured gated entrance as well, and there is an owner’s lodge where the Outback Management company works out for rentals etc, and there is a fitness center and playground as well.  Speaking of which, it has a very popular vacation rental department that is totally hassle-free and the owners have been really happy with either a little bit of rent they receive to subsidize their vacation home or some choose to rent out their units as often as they can, and end up doing really quite well on their return on investment.  


The Outback Lakeside Resort is literally right next door to Ellison Provincial Park, so you have easy access to all the trails, beaches, the dog beach at Ellison, and the mountain bike trail system.


Short-term rentals are allowed at the Outback as well. If you’re interested in other lakefront properties in the Okanagan, make sure you Contact Us today and Just Add Salt! Call: 250- 549-SALT (7258) ~ Text: 250-309-9586 Email: webinfo@saltfowler.com

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