After the wildfires of 2003, the trail system on Okanagan Mountain Park has been slow to recover.   One trail is permanently closed.   Several others have been choked with windfall from dead trees or eroded from surface runoff.   Black trees cover the hillside, but secondary shrub growth and sun-loving wild flowers have grown up.    The trails are no longer a forested hike, but the park is very rocky and the trails wind through canyons and up ridges.

A backpack route was picked from the east end of Kelowna through Wild Horse Canyon and down to one of the marine campsites on Okanagan Lake.   Taking the right trail is important.   The Boulder Trail is in poor shape (shown on this link as the winding trail going south from the P).    Avoid this route.   It also adds a few extra miles and is better suited to a day hike.   Start near the end of the road at the gate.   There is room to park near there for 6-8 vehicles.   Follow the double track as it climbs the hill, through a gully and up into the hills, where it goes up and down on  its way to the north end of Wild Horse Canyon. (click the graphic to enlarge/see the route)

Along the way, there are views over Okanagan Lake and up to the rocky slopes of Okanagan Mountain. There are patches of forest still intact, especially near the area north of Wild Horse Canyon. On entering the canyon, the environment is wholly different. Steep-sided bluffs line both sides of the valley. The floor is covered with marshes and shrub vegetation, giving a closed-in feel. The trail follows the side of the marshes and can be quite wet and grown-in.

One year while running through the canyon, we spotted several rattlesnakes just off-trail, but this spring there were only rabbits, deer, and coyotes.    There is no potable water through this section, so hikers/bikers need to carry lots of water.   As the route travels south, it widens and there are more trees.   A side trail called the Rim Trail climbs invitingly up the ridges on the west side, but this will be another exploration.   At the far south end of Wild Horse Canyon, the trail widens and enters a dry grassland ecosystem.

A signed junction offers the explorer a route to Buchan Bay or Commando Bay.   The latter is a little farther and is also the route beyond towards Naramata.    After 6 hours of backpacking, the nearer was chosen.   Within a downhill kilometre, Buchan Bay Marine Campsite awaited with a pebbly beach, fire ring, picnic table, outhouse, and tent pad.

Even with a backpack on, the return trip by the faster route was only 4 hours.   Doing it all in two days is good for an early season exploration, but turning the route into a circle route over several days would be an inviting option, taking the high route over the summit area of Okanagan Mountain.      We will return for another trip….

• North side trailhead – N49 46.711 W110 36.696
• North entrance to Wild Horse Canyon – N49 45.632 W119 39.911
• Buchan Bay-Commando Bay Junction – N49 49 43.238 W119 41.744
• Buchan Bay – N49 42.714 W119 42.227
• Main Parking lot – Boulder Trail trailhead – N49 46.889 W119 35.481