Summerland above and below.

This is a collection of days out. We had approached the same area from three different angles on different days, so it seemed to make sense to put them together.

On..March 1st.. we had taken the short hike up the icy path to Hardy Falls.…and in the interests of adding more steps to the days activity…..we parked back towards the shoreline at Summerland to check out the trail up Trout Creek. Scott had been looking to get some interesting shots out over the lake and part of this trail went down onto the shore.

We went west first, away from the lake. It turned out to be a very easy level walk up the side of trout Creek .

The side of the ravine made a very impressive backdrop, and eventually made impossible to go further up the creek….or at least it appeared that way with the snow still covering the water it was impossible to tell if there was a path there……or just the creek, and I was not willing to find out the hard way..!!

The other end towards the lake took us right out onto the beach. There is a dog park there……with access to the lake and a small forested area for dogs to romp in. Cool spot if you are a dog.

Summerland Trestle and the KVR

March 8th. Looking for interesting walks in terrain not yet covered we plumped for the trestles on the KVR (Kettle Valley Rail trail ) up the east side of Okanagan Lake. There is a steam train route that runs on a ten mile stretch of rail through Summerland…and the trestle is the starting point.

It was a cool but beautiful day….so we followed the trail south from the trestle. It’s a bit like the Naramata trail in that it is the old rail line, but far less travelled and far less manicured.

We had debated biking this route in the fall…and were now very glad we did not do it. Lots of loose rocks and basically a surface that would make biking a bit of a grind.

At the other end of the trestle we spotted a property with what looked like groups of children involved in some kind of activity. The signage from the trail side indicated that it was a research station

Further investigation when we got home revealed that it is also the site of the Summerland Ornamental Gardens.

March 12th…..the gardens. It was a rest day from hikes…and not very warm but clear day, so it seemed like a plan to go check out the gardens. It turned out to be a quite fabulous place, even at this time of year. It also blessed us with some different angles of the trestle and the ravine that holds Trout Creek.

An unexpected delight with a real history…..the place was originally developed in 1916 as the Federal Agricultural Research station. Its another place that is a ‘must visit’ especially if you end up here in the spring or summer when its blooming.

It was pretty interesting wandering about even this early in the spring ( or late in the winter..!!) but this place must be truly amazing once the flora starts up its engines.

Unfortunately we will likely miss it as we start heading east at the end of March.

I think I’m going to miss the loveliness of the Okanagan….may have to circle back someday….!!!

Extra Pix