Day Trips & Getaways
Naramata Bench: The Slow Wine Weekend
Forty-plus boutique Okanagan wineries on a 16-km lakeside road, best done by e-bike so nobody has to drive.
Naramata Bench
More infoDay Trips & Getaways
Forty-plus boutique Okanagan wineries on a 16-km lakeside road, best done by e-bike so nobody has to drive.
Naramata Bench
More infoSkip Kelowna and cross the lake to the Naramata Bench, a 16-kilometre ribbon above Okanagan Lake lined with more than 40 small-batch wineries. Rent e-bikes and pedal the old Kettle Valley Rail trail between cellar doors, which retires the designated-driver argument for good. It's four and a half hours from Vancouver, the universe's polite way of insisting you make it two nights.
Leave Vancouver Friday morning, it's ~4.5 hours via Highway 1 to Hope then the Coquihalla (Hwy 5) to Merritt and down Hwy 97 through Summerland to Penticton, then 15 minutes up the lake to Naramata; gas and stretch in Hope or Merritt. Short on time or don't want the drive? Fly YVR→Kelowna (~1 hr) and rent a car at the airport for the ~50-min run south. Check in, then walk down to the village beach for a swim and a sunset glass. Saturday is the main event: rent e-bikes from Penticton or in the village and ride the flat Kettle Valley Rail trail south to north, hopping cellar doors, start with views at Lake Breeze or La Frenz, lunch on the patio at Hillside or The Bench, then Therapy, Moraine and JoieFarm in the afternoon (book a couple of tastings ahead in summer; most charge a small fee waived with purchase). Photo spots: the trestle-trail vineyard rows, the Naramata wharf at golden hour, and the lake from any bench winery patio. Couples: split a charcuterie board at a lakeview tasting and book a soaker-tub room. Solo me-time: a guided small-group wine tour means zero logistics and easy company, or just a book on the village beach. Don't-miss: a peach milkshake from a roadside fruit stand and Saturday-morning coffee before the crowds. Drive home Sunday afternoon to beat the Coquihalla traffic.
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door to door
~4.5 hours
from Vancouver
395 km
how long
2 nights
best window
June to October (harvest energy and warm lake swims late August to September)
Drive Hwy 1 to Hope, then the Coquihalla (Hwy 5) over to Merritt and Hwy 97 south through Summerland and Penticton, then 15 min up Naramata Rd. Or fly YVR→Kelowna (~1 hr) and drive ~50 min south to the bench, faster but you'll want a rental car to winery-hop.
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