Interior British Columbia
Okanagan
Canada’s wine valley at harvest, with the tasting rooms to yourself.
- Wine
- Lakes
- Food
- Indigenous-led
Best in April–May · September–October
About this place
A 200 km string of lakes and benches from Vernon to Osoyoos, with more than 180 wineries and the warmest lake in the country at the bottom. August is 35°C, smoky some years and fully booked. Come for blossom in late April or crush in late September and you get 20°C days, open tasting rooms and hotel rates at half the summer price.
Things to do
The Naramata Bench
A 20 km road north of Penticton with two dozen small wineries above Okanagan Lake. Most tasting rooms are walkable or cyclable from each other; book a driver or an e-bike.
Oliver and Osoyoos
The Golden Mile and Black Sage benches make the valley’s biggest reds. Nk’Mip Cellars, owned by the Osoyoos Indian Band, was the first Indigenous-owned winery in North America; the Nk’Mip Desert Cultural Centre is next door.
Myra Canyon trestles
Eighteen wooden trestles and two tunnels along 12 km of the old Kettle Valley Railway above Kelowna, flat enough for any bike. Rentals are at the trailhead in season.
Kelowna and West Kelowna
Mission Hill and Quails’ Gate on the west side for the big-view tasting rooms; downtown Kelowna for breweries, the lakefront and the Saturday farmers’ market (April to October).
Fruit stands
Cherries from late June, peaches in August, apples and pears from September into October along Highway 97. Many stands sell right through harvest.
Harvest events
The Fall Okanagan Wine Festival runs in early October with winery dinners and crush tours. Spring has its own festival in early May.
When to go
Late September to mid-October
Harvest and crush. Warm days, cold nights, tasting rooms busy with winemakers rather than tour buses, and hotels at shoulder rates.
Late April to May
Apple and cherry blossom, green hills before the summer brown, and wineries reopening on full hours. Lake swimming waits until June.
November to March
Many small wineries close or go to weekends only; the big ones stay open. Skiing at Big White and SilverStar is the draw instead.
Wildfire caution
Smoke can affect August and early September in bad years. Shoulder-season visits sidestep most of the risk.
How to get there
Fly to Kelowna (YLW)
Nonstop from Vancouver, Calgary, Toronto and, seasonally, Seattle. No direct long-haul flights; connect through Vancouver or Calgary.
Drive from Vancouver
About four hours on the Coquihalla (Highway 5) to Kelowna. Winter tires or chains are mandatory on the route from October 1 to April 30.
A car or a tour
Wineries are spread over 200 km; you need a car, a wine-tour operator or a pre-arranged driver. Penticton and Kelowna both have rental desks.
Trips here
No listed trips here yet.
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