The Things To Do Guide

Between
the pours.

Museums, hikes, spas, ski hills, escape rooms, hockey games, viewpoints, and everything else the Okanagan does when you're not tasting. Every entry rated four stars or better.

All Regions Lake Country Kelowna West Kelowna Peachland Summerland Penticton Naramata Bench Okanagan Falls Oliver Osoyoos

The Okanagan isn't just wine. It's the trail down to the waterfall, the hockey game at Prospera, the axe throwing lane, the desert cultural centre with the pit house, the pyramid winery, the ski hill an hour up the road.

This is the guide to everything between the pours. Same rule as the Nightlife Guide — four stars or better on Google, or it's not here. Some things are seasonal — those are tagged. Some are inside jokes only locals know. All of them are worth a stop on the way to somewhere else.

And when the day is longer than three hours — you know who to call.

Canada's Desert · 49.03° N

Osoyoos

Desert, culture, and Canada's warmest lake.

Osoyoos is a pocket desert. The Nk'Mip Desert Cultural Centre is a national-calibre Indigenous cultural site — outdoor desert trail, indoor Syilx exhibits, and a rebuilt pit house. The Osoyoos Desert Centre next door is the ecological pair. Anarchist Mountain viewpoint gives the postcard view. And Osoyoos Lake is the warmest freshwater lake in Canada — 24°C in July.

Indigenous Cultural Centre
Nk'Mip Desert Cultural Centre
Spirit Ridge Resort · Osoyoos
Owned and operated by the Osoyoos Indian Band. Rebuilt sweat lodges, a pit house, and outdoor desert trails alongside indoor Syilx cultural exhibits. Living history, not a static museum.
IndigenousDesertCultural
Nature Preserve
Osoyoos Desert Centre
Highway 97 · Osoyoos
North America's northernmost desert ecosystem. Elevated boardwalk through the antelope-brush habitat. Self-guided or with a naturalist. Kids love it.
NatureFamilyBoardwalk
Roadside Viewpoint
Anarchist Mountain Viewpoint
Highway 3 · Above Osoyoos
Twenty minutes east of Osoyoos on the highway up. Pull off at the viewpoint. The best free view of Osoyoos Lake and the south Okanagan. The whole valley opens up below.
ViewpointFreeRoadside
Provincial Park
Haynes Point (Sẁiẁs) Provincial Park
Osoyoos Lake · South of downtown
A spit of sand jutting into Osoyoos Lake. Beach, campground, marshland boardwalk with turtles and birds. The lake is the warmest in Canada.
BeachWarm WaterWildlife
Golf Course
Osoyoos Golf Club
Osoyoos
36 holes across two courses — the Park Meadows and the Desert Gold. Playable almost year-round thanks to Osoyoos's mild winters.
Golf36 HolesYear-Round
Ski Resort
Mount Baldy Ski Area
45 minutes east of Osoyoos
Small, family-run ski hill. Uncrowded weekdays, affordable lift tickets, real BC powder. The anti-Whistler.
Winter OnlySkiingFamily
Local Museum
Osoyoos Museum
Community Park · Downtown Osoyoos
Local history in a small building — the Sonora Desert Room, restored 1891 gaol, and 1936 CPR train station. Free.
FreeHeritage

Ready for a full day out?
We'll drive it.

Wine tour in the morning. Museum in the afternoon. Dinner and a game or a show. Anything three hours or more — we drive, you enjoy. Home safe when the day is done.

Book a Driver