Trail: Bear Creek Canyon Trail
Trail Distance and Difficulty: Canyon Rim Trail - 2.5 kilometres - Moderate
Mid Canyon Trail - approximately 2 kilometres - Moderate
Loop Trail - 15 minutes - Easy
Directions: This trail is located in West Kelowna. Turn onto Westside Road from Highway 97. Follow along Westside Road for roughly 7 kilometres and turn left into the parking lot. For day or beach access park in the main parking lot, just across the bridge on the right. During the winter season the parking lot is closed, but there is plenty of room for parking along Westside Road, across from the parking lot. Be cautious crossing the road!
Description:
Bear Creek Provincial Park offers fantastic hiking trails, a beautiful waterfall, beaches and even camping! This truly natural wonderland is perfect for any season.
In the parking lot, there is a trail map with a few options to choose from for hiking. We followed the trail to the right, to start the Loop Trail. Following along Lambly Creek, we crossed a wooden bridge and came to a set of stairs to get on the Canyon Rim Trail. Climbing up the wooden steps, we started to gain elevation quickly offering a beautiful view behind us, looking over the Okanagan Lake and towards Kelowna.
The wide gravel path, brought us to two different lookouts giving us a scenic lookout over the steep canyon and Bear Creek Falls! As we continued on, we came to another set of wooden stairs, bringing us back down towards the creek. As the trail began to level out, we came to a bridge bringing us back across the creek.
From here, we worked our way back above the canyon to yet another viewpoint from the opposite side. The trail proceeds, keeping an easy grade to one more viewpoint overlooking the canyon. From this point, you can head east to make the trail a little shorter and follow the Mid Canyon Trail back to the parking lot or continue on the Canyon Rim Trail.
The Canyon Rim Trail brought us to the last lookout along the trail, this time overlooking Kelowna towards Knox Mountain and the Bridge crossing Okanagan Lake. With it all down hill from here, we finished the loop back at the parking lot.
Whether it be beautiful wildflowers in the spring, swimming up to the base of a waterfall on a hot summer’s day, or its easy accessibility for snowshoeing in the winter, Bear Creek is the perfect place to adventure at anytime of the year!
Always remember to be mindful of your surroundings, pack out what you pack in, stick to the trails and happy exploring!
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