Day Trips & Getaways
A hot semi-desert valley with a still-working 1877 grist mill, roadside peach stands, and an alpine park of six turquoise lakes.
The Similkameen is what the Okanagan tells its kids about when it wants them to appreciate how good they have it: a hot, semi-desert valley lined with roadside stands selling sun-warm peaches and samosas, a 1877 water-wheel grist mill still grinding flour, and a 1907 covered red railway bridge spanning the river. enRoute once declared its wineries 'one of the world's five best wine regions you've never heard of,' which is the kind of review that should frankly be on the road signs. Towering above it all is Cathedral Provincial Park, 33,000 hectares of alpine meadows, six turquoise lakes and glacier-topped peaks reached by a private 4x4 shuttle to a backcountry lodge. After wildfire impacts it's back open for the 2026 season, June through October. It's 3.5 to 4 hours from Vancouver: desert heat and alpine grandeur, one trip.
door to door
~3.5 to 4 hours
from Vancouver
285 km
how long
2 nights
best window
July to October (Cathedral lodge & shuttle June 12 to Oct 12
Drive Hwy 1 to Hope, then Crowsnest Hwy 3 over Allison Pass through Manning Provincial Park to Keremeos, a gorgeous mountain-and-desert drive. Cathedral Park's core is reached only by the lodge's private 4x4 shuttle (booked separately). Flying isn't practical, though Penticton (YYF) is ~45 min away as a fly-part-way option.
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