4-Day Thompson/Okanagan Southbound RV

Summary
Itinerary
What's Included
Accommodations

4-Day Thompson/Okanagan Southbound RV

Follow the Trail from the Cariboo Gold Fields to the Vineyards of the Okanagan

Travelling self-contained in a camper, fifth wheel, or recreational vehicle opens up a whole new world of independent travel possibilities in the Thompson Okanagan; where summer camping vacations are a tradition dating back to the mid 1950s. This tour is specifically designed to link up with southbound travelers returning from Alaska, or as an extension of a 'circle route' from Vancouver Island to Prince Rupert and then back to Vancouver, detouring through the Thompson-Okanagan.

Campers in British Columbia make use of two primary types of accommodation; select "Tourism BC Approved" campgrounds run by private owners, and the government-operated BC Parks system. Camping is a very popular summer activity in this region; reservations are highly recommended during July and August. For a selection of TOTA campground/RV members, go to: www.totabc.com/trellis/accommodations_campground_rv.  Reservations for provincial parks can be made at www.discovercamping.ca. For private operator campgrounds, www.camping.bc.ca is a great source of information and contacts for making reservations.

Day 1 – Cache Creek to Kamloops/Shuswap Lake (2.5 hours)

  • Cache Creek, where Highway 97 intersects with Highway 1 (the Trans-Canada Highway) is your 'official' entry point into the Thompson Okanagan. Stop by the Historic Hat Creek Ranch located approximately five minutes north of town. Hat Creek Ranch played an important role in the transportation history of the Cariboo. Interpreters in period clothing will take you on a guided tour of the 1860s Roadhouse, which catered to miners, pack-train operators, stagecoaches and wagon trains right up until 1916 when the automobile was first introduced to the Cariboo. A brief walk along beautiful Hat Creek will take you to the Shuswap Nation Native Village. This display includes an authentic kekuli, or pit house, a traditional winter home built half above and half below ground. 
  • Back on Highway 1, Kamloops is located near the confluence of the North and South Thompson Rivers. The Sunmore Ginseng Spa is the first spa in North America to introduce ginseng into many of its treatments. This $5 million operation reflects the healing philosophy and methods found in traditional Chinese medicine.
  • While in Kamloops, take a 'culture break' and stop by the Kamloops Art Gallery, (www.kag.bc.ca) the principal gallery for the visual arts in BC's southern interior. KAG organizes or hosts up to 25 exhibitions each year that investigate various aspects of contemporary social and cultural issues.
  • Before departing Kamloops, visit the Secwepemc Museum and Heritage Park and experience the rich cultural history of the Shuswap People. Attractive museum exhibits, outdoor cultural displays, and a unique gift shop make this a can't miss destination.
  • Located 15 kilometres east of Kamloops, you simply cannot get any closer to BC's renowned wildlife than BC Wildlife Park. See BC species including grizzly bears, timber wolves, cougars, moose, mountain goats, birds of prey and many more, all in spacious exhibits on the beautiful grounds of this 50 hectare park. Daily activities and interpretive talks abound including a Birds of Prey Show daily in July and August.
  • Camping: The Shuswap Lakes area of this region vies with the Okanagan for offering a truly outstanding camping   experience, and the Blind Bay Resort offers the convenience of a lakeside location adjacent to a championship golf course.  
  • Shuswap Lake Provincial Park and Herald Provincial Park are on the north side of Shuswap Lake, just east of Chase. There's a pretty trail to a cascading waterfall at Herald Provincial Park, and Shuswap Lake is known for its lovely beach and family-friendly environment. Fishermen will enjoy wetting a line at White Lake Provincial Park near Salmon Arm. Adams Lake Provincial Park is popular in the fall, with the return of the sockeye to their home spawning streams.
  • Since this is not a strenuous day of travel, you can perhaps explore off the main highway and camp at more secluded provincial parks such as Paul Lake, Lac Le Jeune, Tunkwa, and Roche Lake. Fishermen take note; this is some of the finest trout angling in the province, for the prized "Kamloops trout."

Day 2 – Shuswap Lake to Vernon

  • Head east from Kamloops on Highway 1, then follow the signs for Highway 97 to Vernon.
  • Located approximately 10 minutes from Vernon along Highway 97, the O’Keefe Ranch was once one of the largest cattle ranches in the province, spanning over 20,000 acres of prime Okanagan range. Discover some of the oldest buildings in the North Okanagan, all carefully preserved and restored. Pan for gold, enjoy the huge model railway display, examine the vintage farm machinery and study the collection of rare breed farm animals. A guided tour of the grand O'Keefe Mansion offers a personal insight into the lifestyle of the Victorian era.
  • Davison Orchards (www.davisonorchards.com) also provides a great glimpse of the rich agriculture tradition of the North Okanagan. The farm is located at the north end of the fertile Okanagan Valley above Bella Vista Road. Blessed with the area's legendary sunshine, the Davisons are able to grow over twenty varieties of apples as well as a choice selection of field produce including tomatoes, corn, peppers, cantaloupe and cutting flowers. Enjoy a wagon ride orchard tour, taste some of their fresh baked delicacies, pick some flowers, and browse through the farm’s gift shop.
  • Camping: Whether you're attempting to back in a thirty-foot Class A motorhome or pitching a humble dome tent on a shady patch of grass, there are plenty of campground options on the route from the Shuswap to Vernon. Golfers will love the Royal York Golf Club and RV Park located in Armstrong. Described as "unique and deceivingly difficult", the course is a full length 3200 yd. par 35, nine-hole course and also features a full service restaurant, pro shop, practice facilities, rentals and 24 fully serviced RV sites. Take a detour onto Highway 6 and the Creighton Valley Road (near Lumby) and head for the Echo Lake Fishing Resort, which offers both cabins and a lovely campground, right on the shores of a productive fishing lake.  Just south of Vernon, Dutch's Campground is close to the jade-green waters of Kalamalka Lake, one of the prettiest in all of BC. Closer to Kelowna, the Holiday Park Resort  on Duck Lake features tennis courts, shuffleboard, an outdoor and indoor pool, as well as the Okanagan's very best lake for waterskiing and wakeboarding. For a more remote wilderness experience, try the Dee Lake Wilderness Resort. This historic lodge and campground is a huge favourite with anglers.
  • The north Okanagan and Vernon region are blessed with some of the most beautiful provincial parks in the province. A few minutes from town, Ellison Provincial Park is located on a secluded bay right on Okanagan Lake. Campers looking for a more adventurous route to Kelowna can take the Westside Road to Fintry Provincial Park and explore its many heritage buildings. Note that while this road is paved, it's very steep, narrow, and hilly and may not be suitable for all sizes of RVs. Kekuli Bay Provincial Park just south of Vernon is ideal for swimming and boating. Mabel Lake Provincial Park is 60 kilometres northeast of Vernon, and is known for both its great fishing and sandy beaches.

Day 3 – Vernon to Kelowna to Penticton

  • Arrive in Kelowna and head right for downtown to explore art galleries, boutiques, and cafes of Kelowna's Cultural District (www.kelownasculturaldistrict.com). The Art Ark offers a diverse range of quality artwork by established and emerging Western Canadian artists. The gallery adjoins a fine crafts gift shop offering photographs and exquisite clay, glass, woodwork and jewellery from BC artisans.
  • While in the neighbourhood, the BC Orchard Industry Museum and the BC Wine Museum are both located in the Laurel Packing House, a former fruit processing facility. Sample and learn about Okanagan’s wines BC Wine Museum, and then take home a bottle of the Valley's finest at the VQA Wine Shop. Tour the BC Orchard Industry Museum and discover what a day in the life of a Kelowna pioneer was like. The centerpiece exhibit is The Learning Tree, a fifty year-old Macintosh apple tree from K.L.O. Orchards.
  • Visit Kelowna Land & Orchard Company, (www.k-l-o.com) a working 140-acre farm situated a short distance from the center of Kelowna. Enjoy a guided tour on the covered farm wagon through the orchards and take in the breath-taking views of Lake Okanagan and Kelowna.
  • Along Highway 97, RVers will notice dozens of seasonal fruit and vegetable stands which sell the very best produce in the Okanagan. Located just a few minutes from downtown Summerland, Summerland Sweets, is an easy pull-off from the main highway. The country gift store offers ice cream cones, assortment of distinctive Okanagan fruit products, local pottery, candles and dried fruit arrangements. Not far from here is the terminus for the Kettle Valley Steam Railway (www.kettlevalleyrail.org). This is a chance to ride an authentic steam train from the turn of the century on a meandering 20 kilometer orchard valley journey with beautiful views!
  • Camping: In Penticton, the South Beach Gardens RV Park is less than a hundred metres from Skaha Lake, and very close to downtown Penticton. Driving south from Kelowna on Highway 97, there is both a North and South campground at Okanagan Lake Provincial Park, which as its name suggests is right on the water. Okanagan Falls Provincial Park (near the town of the same name) offers a pretty, secluded campground where the rushing waters of a man-made waterfall calm the soul after a long day on the road. 

Day 4 – Penticton to Osoyoos/USA Border (2 hours)

  • Highway 97 is the heart of the BC Wine Route, an oenophile odyssey that takes in literally dozens of wineries from Salmon Arm to Osoyoos. Some of the most famous ones are clustered along what's known as the “Golden Mile” just north of Oliver. From south to north, there's Fairview Cellars, Tinhorn Creek Vineyards, Gehringer Brothers Estate Winery, Inniskillin Winery (www.inniskillin.com) and Jackson Triggs Winery (www.jacksontriggswinery.com).  
  • A desert, in Canada? Impossible, you say? Yet once you cross the Canadian border just south of Osoyoos on Highway 97, you'll find yourself in the world-famous 'Pocket Desert', a small patch of the Sonoran Desert that extends all the way from Mexico into BC's Okanagan Valley. Spend the afternoon at the Osoyoos Desert Centre. The Osoyoos Desert Centre is an ecological interpretive centre on a protected portion of this habitat and has a carefully placed boardwalk around the area where visitors can learn about desert ecology, ecological restoration, and conservation of endangered ecosystems of the South Okanagan.   
  • Visit the Nk'Mip Desert Centre (www.nkmipdesert.com) in Osoyoos. This state-of-the-art venue celebrates thousands of years of Okanagan First Nations habitation. The Nk'Mip Desert lands are one of Canada's three most endangered ecosystems and are home to many endangered plant and animal species. The Centre provides on-site cultural tours, interpretive programs, and interactive displays reflecting the unique and contemporary experience of a desert centre based on the rich heritage of the Okanagan people. For the wine enthusiast, make sure to visit Nk’Mip Cellars (www.nkmipcellars.com) next door – it is Canada’s first aboriginal winery.
  • Camping: In Oliver, try the Nk'Mip Campground & RV Resort or the Lakeside Resort on motorboat-free Tuc-El-Nuit Lake. Farther north on Highway 97, the Summerland Campground and RV Park is not far from the town of the same name. Kelowna offers a myriad number of possibilities. 
  • Highway 97 is studded with provincial parks all the way from Penticton right through to the US border. Inkameep and Vaseux Lake provide roadside pullouts off Highway 97 between Oliver and Penticton. Haynes Point is right on Osoyoos Lake, just south of the town of the same name.

For additional accommodation suggestions, visit http://totabc.com/trellis/accommodations_all

For further city information on this itinerary, consult the following: