Penticton Parks

Parks

More than a few starry-eyed lovers have enjoyed the view from Munson Mountain Park and the big white letters spelling ‘Penticton’ along the mountainside. With over 15 parks in the area, hikers, campers, history buffs and beachgoers can do much more than just gaze while in Penticton. A skate park allows boarders to tackle a quarter pipe and other obstacles while green thumbs may admire the Penticton Rose Garden’s 400 or so roses. Okanagan Inland Marine Heritage Park is a great place to learn how water transportation helped keep the Okanagan Valley connected in the first part of the 20th Century. A colourful trail of swimsuits begins at Riverside Park as water bugs float their way on a lazy day down the Penticton River Channel from Okanagan Lake to Skaha Lake. It's easy to enjoy the pleasures of life at a park in Penticton, harder to decide which of these to taste at first: swimming, boating, picnicking, competing, or browsing.

Munson Mountain

Visitors entering Penticton on Highway 97 can’t miss the large white letters spelling ‘PENTICTON’ high atop Munson Mountain on the West side of Lake Okanagan. The 43-acre park provides stunning views of both Penticton and the lake below to the East. Photographers have many angles of lake, mountain and sky scenery to choose from for wedding party or nature shots; the scenic backdrop also makes for a tranquil setting that is ideal for enjoying an afternoon picnic. Trails that connect with the Kettle Valley Railway Trail and continue past several wineries into Okanagan Mountain Park are a hiking and biking dream.

Riverside Park

Riverside Park is the place to enjoy mini-golf and bumper cars on the shores of Lake Okanagan. It is separated from the S. S. Sicamous cultural site at Okanagan Inland Marine Heritage Park by the colourful Penticton Rose Garden. Riverside Park is one of four tiny parks dotting the city’s downtown lakeshore, but it is the only one with a skateboard park for picnickers to enjoy. The park rests at the mouth of the Penticton River Channel that connects Lake Okanagan to Skaha Lake Park and beach. Walking trails can also be accessed from the South end of the Park and followed past a golf course, driving range and the Kettle Valley Railway Trail access point.

Skaha Lake Park

It’s only a short walk to Skaha Lake Park after floating to the end of the Penticton River Channel. The park’s over 20-acres of space has a beach, outdoor volleyball courts and baseball diamonds at which to work-off food eaten in the picnic area. Those who bring their bikes may access the bicycle route leading north to downtown Penticton and the Kettle Valley Railway Trail hiking and biking trail. Lazier beachgoers can instead walk back to where the channel ends, catch a shuttle bus to their hotel room and perhaps spend time shopping in downtown Penticton.