British Columbia Canada Blog

It was our 2nd wedding anniversary last week and my husband surprised me by taking me on one of the most interesting boat tours in Kelowna, ” The Princess.”  It was a very enjoyable experience. He had informed the Captain that it was our special occasion so the crew had prepared a delicious anniversary dinner for us. Believe me, dinner on a boat with a cool breeze blowing, spectacular view of Lake Okanagan and surrounding lush green forests is a delightful way to celebrate your special day. Our dinner which included BBQ chicken, Potato Salad, Grilled Carrots, Toasted Bread and Macaroni Salad was sumptuous.  The boat also offers various alcoholic beverages such as beer, Okanagan Wine, and other fine cocktails.

I do recommend braining a sweater or fleece as it can get pretty cool out in the open water of the lake during the evening.  It is also much windier on the Lake than it is on land so don’t bring a blanket because it may fly away.

Tour Pricing - Call 1 250 869-6696

Senior (65+) $13.00
Adults (18-64) $15.00
Youth (13-17) $12.00
Child (5-12) $7.00

Related Links
Thompson Okanagan Spas
Thompson Okanagan Sightseeing

Clearwater is located in spectacular Wells Gray Country and is known for its camping grounds, renowned Wells Gray Park, scenic beauty, abundant wildlife and white water rapids which are suitable for young and old alike. It is only about an hour drive from Kamloops, British Columbia.

It’s not too difficult to find suitable accommodation in the region. However, for a true Clearwater experience try camping at the KOA campground and you will surely have lots of fun. Last month I visited Clearwater for the first time when I had a chance to go camping with some friends and was truly impressed by its pristine beauty. We camped at KOA campground and it offered amenities like neat and clean restrooms, games room for kids, wireless Internet access, mini golf, beach volleyball, swimming pool, restaurant (which is a bit expensive) and a campground store (just in case you forget your toothbrush or Bug Spray)   

The rafting experience in Clearwater can be described as absolutely thrilling and exhilarating.  The North Thompson river is suitable for easy going paddling and for extreme rafters the swift currents of Clearwater River can provide some challenge.

If you have a craving for a sumptuous meal after a few hard days of outdoor activities, I would definitely recommend “Old Caboose Restaurant” for breakfast as their breakfast specials are really delicious and quite reasonable.

Related Links:
Clearwater Whitewater Rafting
Thompson Okanagan

I’m told that Kalamalka Lake was once voted by National Geographic  Magazine to be one of the top 10 most beautiful lakes on earth. I believe  it. If you ever drive by there on a sunny summer afternoon, you’ll see  why it is called Kalamalka, which translates to “lake of many colors,”  in the local native language. I’m not sure what causes it, but I’m guessing that there’s an abundance of minerals in the lake which must come  from the glaciers in the Monashee Mountains to the east. The colors are  all difference shades of blue depending on the angle of the sun and  the depth of the water. The colors are much more pronounced in the  summer.

Fortunately, the lake is relatively undeveloped because it is lined  by steep cliffs on the east side, and a railroad track on the west side. Vernon lies to the north end of the lake, which makes it quite busy  there, and the South end of the lake is at Oyama, which is a small  agricultural community on the isthmus between ‘Kal’ Lake and Woods Lake.  There’s a small channel that actually connects the two lakes beneath the road and railroad tracks at Oyama. Situated on that channel is a campground called Tween Lakes Campground. Great spot to enjoy both lakes, especially Kalamalka, in the summer and shoulder seasons. Book early if you want to be on the water!

Related Links:
Thompson Okanagan
Vernon Hotels
Vernon Resorts and Lodges

Last weekend I went up to Adam’s Lake with a few friends for a boating / camping weekend. Great time. Adams Lake is in the interior of BC just north of Salmon Arm. Having never been to the lake before, it was a bit of an exploration mission. We lunched the boat with all our camping gear at the south end of the lake, which runs for about 40 miles in a north / south direction. There is a road that runs up the west side of the lake only, so it leaves the east side almost untouched. There’s two provincial parks on the east side the are ‘boat access only’ but we were more interested in a wilderness adventure so decided to camp on the beach about half way up the lake, away from the parks.

The weather was perfect. Glassy calm waters and hot temperatures for the whole weekend.  We did some wakeboarding, some swimming, a little exploring (boated to far north end of lake), and found some time for some relaxing too. The only drawback, and it was significant, is that there are an abundance of mosquitoes in the area. They’re vicious, in fact. Between the four of us, we managed to polish off a whole bottle of Muskol, and still managed to come home all covered in itchy spots. It was such a beautiful spot though, that I’m hoping we’d just hit it on a bad weekend. The lake itself seems to be relatively undeveloped, at least compared to Shuswap and Okanagan Lakes. Could be because the water is somewhat colder, and maybe the bugs are bad all summer long. I’ve also heard that it is often quite windy there too. 

I’ll have to go back a few more times to find out. It looks like there are plenty of drive-in camping sites on the west side of the lake. Be ready for the sun to set early though, as the mountains are fairly high and steep in that direction. Although there were lots of signs of wildlife, we didn’t actually see any, except for a few bald eagles and loons. There is one island on the lake, toward the north end that looks like it would be great for camping, except it is quite rocky and steep. I’ll have to go back and check it out for future trips.

Related Links
Thompson Okanagan Fishing
Salmon Arm Cabins

It’s quite difficult to only name the top 10 places to visit in British Columbia because I am sure I could name 100.  I know I am going to leave something important out with so many beautiful towns and cities across the province, but here goes…

1. Victoria
2. Kelowna
3. Revelstoke
4. Clearwater
5. Tsawwassen
6. Prince Rupert
7. Bella Bella
8. Radium
9. White Rock
10. Terrace

If you do get a chance to visit any of these places in British Columbia do take the time and spend 3 or 4 days in order to really absorb all that each city has to offer.  Checkout over accommodations and activities in over 130 British Columbian Cities here.

This past weekend we visited Spahat Falls located in Wells Gray Provincial Park in Clearwater, British Columbia. The area resembles a mini grand canyon like view featuring the breathtaking Spahat water falls. Wells Gray Park in Clearwater hosts numerous must see water falls so I recommend taking a trip there.

Swollen by glacial meltwaters, and bearing a corrosive load of sand and gravel, Spahats Creek cut like a grindstone into the soft volcanic rock. As it cut backwards, the creek also cut downwards, so that today Spahat Falls issues from deep within the walls of Spahat Canyon.

Related Links:
Clearwater Whitewater Rafting
Thompson Okanagan

In this post I would like to share my top 5 reasons why you should visit Sun Peaks, British Columbia - through pictures.

Related Links

Ski Kamloops
Thompson Okanagan Resorts

This past weekend we traveled to the beautiful Sun Peaks Resort located near Kamloops, British Columbia.  Now you would ask, Why visit a ski resort in the summer?  Good question, and the answer is because there is so much to do at the Sun Peaks Resort!  Activities include: Shopping, Hiking, Mountain Biking, Golfing, Dining and simply enjoying the peaceful community.

We stayed at Trapper’s Landing and were amazed how beautiful the Chalet was.  Our unit was meant to accommodate 6 people and included features such as a hot-tub, heated floors, 3 TVs, beautiful kitchen, games room and much more!  I would highly recommend visiting Sun Peaks.

Related Links

Ski Kamloops
Thompson Okanagan Resorts

Another great escape in Central BC is the Prestige Hotel in Salmon Arm. Last year, my girlfriend and I dropped in for a few nights and the staff were kind enough to upgrade us to one of their theme suites. It was the Barbados Suite and it had a hot-tub right in the room and a fabulous view out over the Salmon Arm of the Shuswap Lake.  It was the ‘off-season’ and the hotel was very quiet. That’s by far the best time to go anywhere, in my opinion. Salmon Arm is another one of those BC cities that bursts at the seams in the peak of the summer season due its hot weather and proximity to the Shuswap Lake.  So if you can get there in the off-season, you’ll find everything that you need and more, but no crowds. There’s plenty of shops along the main street in town, and several great little restaurants. One of the restaurants that we ate at (I can’t remember the name) served awesome seafood, and had a live pianist that was amazing. Everything is within walking distance of the hotel, so you don’t have to hold back on the wine with dinner!

There are quite a few good ski resorts near Kelowna and I was unaware about them until I started living in Okanagan.

Big White: Just a 20 – 30 minute drive from Kelowna is Big White Ski resort. Big White offers accommodation including full service hotels, luxury townhouses, condominium apartments, vacation homes to economy units. This year, the ski season in Big White is over by mid April.

Apex: Another Short drive from Kelowna to Penticton leads us to Apex mountain resort. Apex Mountain Resort remains one of the hidden gems of Canadian skiing. Apex is known for its quality snow, great weather, incredible terrain, and friendly people. Apex being located in the southern part of the Okanagan Valley features the perfect mix of large amounts of precipitation and low humidity; that makes for the lightest champagne powder snow imaginable behind them. With an average temperature of -4º C, Apex receives about 600 cm of dry “Okanagan” powder each season. Popular hotels to stay in Apex include the Saddle Back Lodge (as stay includes continental breakfast), Outlaws Inn and Apex Mountain Inn (near to the skating loop).

Silver Star: If you happen to be around Vernon, you don’t want to miss Silver Star Ski resort. Silver Star’s Victorian-themed, mid-mountain village offers charming, comfortable ski-in/ski-out accommodation for every budget. Visitors can choose from over 3,200 beds on-mountain, eight hotels and more than 100 vacation homes. Ski season in Silver Star is ending on April 10th this year so ski while the snow lasts.

If you DO want to ski past April, I would recommend checking out the Revelstoke area where skiing is open until May.

Check out all Ski Locations in BC.