Penticton, BC

Population: 42,000

Highlights:
Trails - 10+ with varying degrees of difficulty, Trans Canada Trail connections, historic train bridge, lake side view, mountain vistas, field and wooded landscapes.
Beaches - 10, some offer access for swimming, fire pits, boating.
Parks - 20, some offer host family picnic spots, waterfront trails, great hikes, sports fields, camping, volleyball or tennis courts, gazebo, waterslides, rose gardens, play grounds, concessions, or mini-golf & bumper cars.
Wineries - 8, directly in Penticton, 54 in the valley, generally open May – October.
Historical Walking Tour
S.S. Sicamous Historical Landmark (Lakeside)
Kettle Valley Railway, experience the scenery, an old fashion train robbery and Barbeque feast.
Apex Alpine Mountain skiing down hill or cross-country
Year Round Festivals and Club Activities
Skaha Bluffs well known rock climbing of the North West
Penticton Museum & Archives
Boutique Shopping & Galleries
Leir House Cultural Centre, home of the Arts Council – a lovely historic property to visit.
Hosting Triathlons
Water skiing
Festivals
Wine Tours
Casino

History:
The largest population of natives in British Columbia were the First Nation Salish. Penticton situated between the two lakes offered great resources for hunting and fishing. The forests offered protection and the mountains provided a way of scouring the terrain for intruders or potential hunting grounds. Clothing and shelter were also acquired from the surrounding plants and animals.

Up until the 1800’s the First Nation Salish tribes were the only recorded ancestors of the land (most of British Columbia’s lower region and along the coast).

Then in the 1920’s Tom Ellis, from England, became the areas first European settler, who began a very successful cattle ranch. Ellis divided the land planning for town development on the lake shore which would provide the easiest transport access to the rest of the valley (up to Vernon) during the gold rush and fur trading eras. The region opened up and began to thrive with the arrival of the Kettle Valley Railway. The majority of travel, however, was aboard one of the most famous stern-wheelers, the S.S. Sicamous, known as the “Queen of the Lake”, which resides lakeside and offers daily tours of its historic past up until its retirement.

Climate:
Summer average 28 Celsius
Winter average 1 Celsius
Over 2,000 hours of Sunshine (a higher average than Rio de Janeiro)
Minimal precipitation