Take a Cruise Back in Time Along Highway 97 in the Okanagan

A series of new videos shows what a summer drive through the Okanagan looked like in the 1960s.

The newest installment of the BC Road Trip Time Machine video series by Transportation BC features the views from Highway 97 through the Okanagan in 1966. The ministry has been digging through the vaults and digitizing 16mm photolog footage from that year, in which they had captured road condition information so that engineers wouldn’t have to travel into the field.

Take a ride over the old floating bridge in the video. (Photo Credit: MinistryofTranBC)

A view from Highway 97 in Kelowna in 1966. (Photo Credit: MinistryofTranBC)

However, you see a lot more than the condition of the pavement in these videos. The newest installment includes three videos: the U.S. border to Penticton, Penticton to Kelowna, and Kelowna to Vernon. As a result, you get to cruise through the communities and see exactly what they were like in 1966.

Though some stretches of highway that aren’t developed look pretty similar and you can often tell where you are, Kelowna and the other communities have definitely changed in the nearly 50 years since this footage was shot. From the old bridge to undeveloped orchards to the look of storefronts in the 1960s, it’s certainly a different ride than the one today.

So enjoy the old-fashioned cars and see just how much our cities have changed along Highway 97 alone.