Easy hikes and walks around Okanagan Lake

After descending more than 400 wooden stairs alongside Shorts Creek, you'll reach Fintry Falls as the creek plunges through a narrow granite canyon. Several viewpoints along the staircase offer different perspectives of the falls, from the upper lip where the water accelerates into the gorge to the lower platforms beside the canyon walls. Spring snowmelt usually brings the strongest flow, while the cool, shaded canyon provides a welcome break from the summer heat.

This platform sits right above Fintry Falls, giving a close-up view of Shorts Creek as it squeezes through the narrow rock channel before plunging into the canyon below. The perspective here is very different from the lower viewpoints, allowing you to watch the water accelerate over the lip of the falls and disappear into the gorge.

This wharf was once a busy packinghouse and box factory known as "Gellatly Landing." It was rebuilt after burning down in a fire in 1920. Today it's a public park featuring a paved path, benches for relaxing, a pebble beach, and a path through the Cove Lakeside Resort. Dogs are welcome here but must stay out of the orchard area.

This 2-kilometre waterfront path follows the western edge of Okanagan Lake, connecting a string of beaches, parks, and docks along the way. Some amenities along the Gellatly Bay Recreation Corridor include lighting, public beach access, benches, bike racks, picnic areas, viewpoints, and seasonal bathrooms.

Gellatly Nut Farm Regional Park is named after brothers David and Jack Gellatly who were nut breeders in the 1900s. They created new varieties of nuts that are still grown throughout the world. Today the park is still an orchard of walnut, chestnut, hazelnut, and butternut trees, and visitors can read interpretive signs and explore the heritage buildings here. In the fall Gellatly Nut Farm Society harvests and donates their crops, with all proceeds going back to maintaining the park. The park also offers a playground, grassy lawns, and accessible walking trails beneath the shade of old nut trees.

Sun-Oka Beach Provincial Park is a 30-hectare park situated on the shores of Okanagan Lake. It features a large, south-facing beach that is perfect for swimming. The park also offers amenities such as a playground, fire pits, picnic tables, water fountains, and watersport rentals.

Trout Creek is a small yet vital river located just south of Summerland, serving as the primary water source for the district. Further upstream, the creek becomes a popular destination for whitewater kayaking in the dramatic Trout Creek Canyon.

This is a fantastic vantage point with a sweeping panorama of the lake and rolling hills that define the region. If you're lucky enough to visit in the evening, it’s a beautiful spot to see the city during sunset.