Winter Adventures, Part 2

Winter Adventures, Part 2

Many trails in the region offer hikers year-round opportunities to wander and explore the terrain and vistas in the Okanagan. When the valley is blanketed with snow, it can make views and landscapes seem completely foreign, even if admired snow-less a hundred times! Don't let the snow hold you back from getting outside and taking in everything the region has to offer during the winter months.

Mt. Drought, in the Glenrosa area of Kelowna, offers hikers a meandering forested winter wonderland. On our favourite trail, Camper Loop, traverses the hillside above West Kelowna over a 8.64 km round trip, and provides stunning views of Okanagan Lake, Kelowna, West Kelowna and Mt. Boucherie. The trail is double-wide and is well-transversed in the winter by snow mobiles illegally using the area.

Pincushion Mountain, in Peachland, provides hikers with a 4 km trek up the hillside above Okanagan Lake. During the winter, it is advised that hikers bring poles and wear appropriate footwear, as there are steep sections along the trail. The winter wonderland viewed from the top would be well worth the journey! Round-trip will take between 1.5 and 2 hours in the winter, versus only just over 1 in the summer.

Further down the highway, Hardy Falls offers itself to hikers of all abilities, a flat and very short 15 - 30 minute walk through snow skimmed forests along a creek. At the end of the path is Hardy Falls, which may be frozen in sections depending on temperatures. The snow transforms the area into a magical winter wonderland amidst the trees, and next to the sound of the babbling water.