Areas & Trip planning

Okanagan Mountain Provincial Park

Mountain lakes, rugged trails, secluded marine campgrounds

Above the lakeshore are over 10,000 hectares of rugged landscape with mountain lakes, grasslands and spruce-fir forests accessible only on foot, horseback or bicycle. Trails and rustic campsites are the only facilities in this area of the wilderness. A wonderful setting for hikers – a climb to the top of Okanagan Mountain will lead you to beautiful scenic lake views to the west and the Monashee Mountains to the east. A boater’s paradise, this wilderness park dominates the east side of Okanagan Lake between Kelowna and Penticton. Six marine campgrounds and secluded bays and sheltered sandy beaches tucked into the 33 km of undeveloped shoreline make water exploring a true adventure.

check out the bc parks page

How To Get There

There is a parking lot with a public washroom at the trailhead for the park trail system.
Zoom in to see the trail system. Click on any trail to see information about difficulty level, elevation change, and other info.
For the latest trail updates, visit our homepage.

Okanagan Mountain Park on Trailforks.com

Use these apps to navigate the trail system

Download either of these apps to access the intricate trail systems across the park. Click on either of the logos to go to the app webpage.

Once you have the app installed, click on the relevant link below to access the trail systems.

History

Rich History

Long before European settlers came to the region, the park and surrounding area held a rich history to First Nations. The people of the Syilx tmix^x nation would use Wild Horse Canyon as a way to trap wild horses, which later gave way to its English name. Trails in the region date back to the late 1800s with some of the first trails passing through Wild Horse Canyon and Goode’s Creek Canyon.

There are still signs of the various pack trails traversing the park from the days when the trapping and selling of furs was a part of everyday commerce.

In 1944, Chinese-Canadian soldiers trained in commando skills at Commando Bay and in Wild Horse Canyon.

Founding of the Park

Citizen action led by the Okanagan Similkameen Parks Society to ensure at least one portion of Okanagan Lake shoreline would remain intact, began in the 1960s. This action eventually led to the park's creation. The BC government, under WAC Bennett (whose home riding contained the area), created Okanagan Mountain Provincial Park on August 23, 1973.

Between 1975 and 1993, around 84.5 hectares (209 acres) of land now incorporated into Okanagan Mountain Provincial Park was donated by Dr. David Carruthers Murdoch through the Nature Trust of British Columbia.

Wildfire & Recovery

In 2003, a wildfire started in the park near Rattlesnake Island and spread quickly,, eventually burning most of the park.

As of 2022, Okanagan Mountain Provincial Park is a beautiful wilderness park covering 110.38 square kilometres (42.62 sq mi). Three smaller mountain lakes are also found within Okanagan Mountain Park. Besides the mountain lakes, spruce and fir forests, grasslands, and a desert covered in ponderosa pine, sagebrush, bitterroot, and cactus are all worth exploring. The wilderness park is accessible only by water, foot, bike, or horseback.