Explosive viewpoints
Mt. Boucherie’s Rush Trail tops our first Okanagan top-10 list
We put our heads together on our first-ever Okanagan Top 10, a weekly feature highlighting the best of everything the valley has to offer
The Okanagan Valley’s cup runneth over when it comes to the variety of its hiking trails.
There is everything from neighbourhood pathways to backcountry trails to old logging roads to former rail lines.Virtually every one takes you along quiet creeksides, to rock-climbing cliffs or to grand panoramas. Here is our list of the top 10 hikes in the Okanagan as chosen by our staff. 1. MOUNT BOUCHERIE, WEST KELOWNA 3K one-way, Rush Trail trailhead on East Boundary Road, only a small parking area, then you have to park on the far side of the road; easy winding climbing multi-use trail to the top of this extinct volcano with incredible views of West Kelowna, Okanagan Lake and Kelowna; open to pets on leash, cyclists and runners. 2. OKANAGAN MOUNTAIN PROVINCIAL PARK 23 trails from easy 2K to challenging 10K; 10,000 hectares of rugged landscape with mountain lakes, grasslands and spruce/fir forests accessible only on foot, horseback or bicycle; it dominates the east side of Okanagan Lake between Kelowna and Penticton; south boundary parking lot is through Naramata to Chute Lake Road; north boundary parking lot at the south end of Lakeshore Road in Kelowna; see the map/brochure at BC Parks website. 3. KALAMALKA LAKE PROVINCIAL PARK, EAST OF VERNON Numerous trails with panoramic views of Kalamalka Lake, aka the Lake of Many Colours; grasslands dotted with ponderosa pine and Douglas fir; spring wildflowers are spectacular; great swimming at Cosens Bay; map/brochure at BC Parks website.
4. MCINTYRE BLUFF 10K, located south of Vaseux Lake between Okanagan Falls and Oliver; trailhead is at Covert Organic Farms off Secrest Road via Highway 97; gradual climb with a few steep spots; wildflowers bloom in late spring/early summer; birds’-eye view of the valley below.
5. MISSION CREEK GREENWAY Phase one, Kelowna: 7.5K one-way, slightly uphill as you follow Mission Creek from Lakeshore Road to Mission Creek Regional Park; universal-access trail with flat, hard-packed surface; great ambiance as the creek flows by; easy up, even easier coming down.
6. PAUL’S TOMB/KNOX MOUNTAIN, KELOWNA
1.5K one-way, located at the end of Poplar Point Drive, small parking area just before the Poplar Point Pump Station entrance on the side of the road; very popular because it’s generally flat with slight uphills and downhills; constantly overlooking Okanagan Lake as you hike or bike to a beautiful bay surrounded by rocky outcroppings. 7. MYRA CANYON
Former Kettle Valley Railway right-ofway, now part of the Trans Canada Trail: 10K one-way, 16 wood trestles, two steel spans and two rock tunnels with gorgeous views of the canyon and Kelowna off in the distance; easy hike; several access points south of Kelowna: Myra Station end — follow KLO Road to McCulloch Road, take Myra Forest Service Road on the right, then 8K to a large parking lot; June Springs end — follow KLO Road to McCulloch Road, go right on June Springs Road which turns into Little White Forest Service Road. 8. FINTRY PROVINCIAL PARK
Westside Road to Fintry Delta Road 34K north of Highway 97; Shorts Creek Gorge has a maintained trail that leading you up 400 stairs to a beautiful series of waterfalls; includes 360 hectares of the former Fintry Estate, a heritage site with a colourful history; map at BC Parks website.
9. SPION KOP, LAKE COUNTRY
Easily the best marked trails in the Okanagan, four trailheads, colour-coded trails take you to the top of the ridge between Okanagan Lake and the lakes along Highway 97, all visible from the bare ridge; map/brochure at www.okanaganway.ca.
10. BEAR CREEK PROVINCIAL PARK
Westside Road between Vernon and Kelowna; three well-marked loops all begin at a common trailhead: a 15minute loop creekside trail, 1.4K Mid Canyon Trail and 2.5K Canyon Rim Trail with great views looking down into the canyon; dogs allowed on leash; map/brochure at BC Parks website.