Kelowna Parks Challenge Trip #8
This past weekend I went on another adventure as part of my Kelowna Parks Challenge. Joined by my lovely wife, Jen, I travelled from the neighbourhood of South Pandosy south to the Hotel Eldorado, just north of Mission Creek.
We visited a whopping ten parks along the way(!), so I have divided the trip into two posts. In this post, we have a look at Cameron Park, Osprey Park, Abbott Park, Cedar Avenue Beach Access, and Meikle Avenue Beach Access.
Read on for my Impressions and Reflections!
The Trip
In many ways, this trip was a continuation of our City Park to Pandosy adventure (read about it in Part One and Part Two). Picking up a few blocks inland and north of where we left off, this walk started off in the slowly densifying residential area near the Hospital.
From the former Guisachan Ranch, we travelled southwest until we met the shore, then south along the waterfront. The first beaches we visited were not sandy or swimmer-friendly, but by the end of the journey we ended up in a land of luxurious vacation resorts and twenty-dollar hamburgers. In the course of the journey we crossed both Fascieux Creek and Wilson Creek.
Cameron Park
Cameron Park is quite large for a neighbourhood park. Not only is there room for two baseball diamonds, but it also hosts the Cameron Park Early Learning Centre and the Kelowna Bocce Club. In the middle of the park are a parking lot, a washroom, and a children’s playground, while on the east side of the park is a lovely landscaped pedestrian plaza, with trees, flowers, and benches.
Other than the Guisachan Heritage House and its grounds, Cameron Park is nearly all that remains of the Guisachan Ranch. Owned by Lord and Lady Aberdeen in the 1890s, the ranch was bought by the Cameron Family in 1903. On the north side of the park, you can still see the log house where a member of the family lived until 1982. It is a heritage building now and used to be home to a kindergarten; however, during our visit, it was becoming overgrown with vines and saplings.
Washrooms and Drinking Fountains: There are no drinking fountains in this park. There is a public washroom in this park, located beside the parking lot.
Dog Rules: Dogs are allowed in this park, but only on paths and trails.
Osprey Park
Osprey Park is a more moderately-sized neighbourhood park, compared to Cameron Park, but it still finds room for a variety of features. Though most of the ground is taken up by a baseball diamond, there are also a picnic area, washroom building, and children’s playground along the eastern side of the park.
Beside the playground, I noticed a large concrete disc surrounded by a concrete ring. My guess is that is used to be a toddlers’ wading pool or a platform for a merry-go-round. If anyone knows what used to be there, please comment below and let me know.
Washrooms and Drinking Fountains: There are no drinking fountains in this park. There is a public washroom in this park, located beside the playground. It is closed from October 15 to April 1.
Dog Rules: Because this park consists of only playing fields, playground, and picnic areas, dogs are not allowed in this park.
Abbott Park
Abbott Park is my new favourite park in the South Pandosy neighbourhood because of the way it feels to travel through it. A long, narrow park, it is designed in segments, each with their own character. Starting from Pandosy Street, a pedestrian can travel west through the park all the way to the shore of Okanagan Lake.
Currently, the park starts behind the building housing 2394-2396 Pandosy Street, though the city would like to expand into that lot. It starts with a children’s playground and continues west into a shady meadow, surrounded by mature trees. Continuing west, an underpass takes the traveller through to Abbott Street. There a crosswalk takes one to a beautiful beach access park, where a small plaza provides a place to sit and watch the lake, and a staircase leads down to the sand.
Washrooms and Drinking Fountains: There are no drinking fountains in this park. There is a portable washroom in this park, located at the midpoint of the park, on the west side of the shady meadow.
Dog Rules: Dogs are only allowed on-leash in this park.
Cedar Avenue Beach Access
On our City Park to South Pandosy trip, we visited a lot of beach access parks, and they were all very similar. There was usually a parking area and an iron fence, then a treed area followed by a beautiful beach and swimming area. The two beach access parks in the first half of today’s trip were very different in character.
Cedar Avenue Beach Access has a parking area, a lush lawn, and two beaches, but swimming is not recommended. In the middle of the park is a platform featuring a humming piece of equipment. Given the smell in the air and the fact that Kelowna’s wastewater treatment plant is a few blocks east-northeast, I assume it is a piece of sewage infrastructure, perhaps pumping effluent to the offshore outflow point.
All of this makes for a quiet park, where happy ducks feed on the grass and a visitor can watch soccer on their phone in peace. Swimming isn’t banned here, but it is discouraged with a sign that warns that “water quality can fluctuate”.
Washrooms and Drinking Fountains: There are no drinking fountains in this park. There is no washroom in this park.
Dog Rules: Because this is a beach, dogs are not allowed in this park.
Meikle Avenue Beach Access
Meikle Avenue Beach Access is the least developed beach access park I have visited so far. Though it has a few parking spaces, it has almost no other features. Most of the park resembles an empty lot, without trees, playground, picnic table, or even consistent grass cover. Its saving grace is its shoreline.
Instead of a beach, the slightly sloping shore in this park is lined with large rocks. In the centre, broad, flat stones have been arranged into a rough staircase that leads down to the water. Willow trees have been allowed to grow happily among this rude riprap, and their boughs hang down to the surface, creating a magical little space.
I’m not sure why this park has been so neglected, but I notice on the official city map that the four lots between this park and Cedar Avenue Beach Access, as well as the six lots north of that park, are currently zoned as parkland. Along with the large lot to the south of Meikle Avenue Beach Access, which occupied the right bank of the mouth of Fascieux Creek, it seems a large beachfront park is planned for the South Pandosy neighbourhood. Perhaps Meikle Avenue Beach Access is not forgotten but waiting.
Washrooms and Drinking Fountains: There are no drinking fountains in this park. There is no washroom in this park.
Dog Rules: Because this is a beach, dogs are not allowed in this park.
Reflections
History
This walk provided some great opportunities to get in touch with the history of this area. In particular, we got to see what’s left of the west half of the Guisachan Ranch, of which Cameron Park is a remnant. In fact, the Cameron House was the only designated heritage house along our route.
Also interesting, of course, is the chance to see how original pre-emptions like the ranch were subsequently developed, including sub-division in the mid-60s and new park development in the 1980s.
I’m looking forward to visiting the Guisachan Heritage Park on the other side of the ranch.
Park Design
Whether it came about by design or organic development, I can’t say enough about the current state of Abbott Park. From east to west I experienced a flow of contrasts that gave a very narrative impression. I imagine much of this impression was facilitated by the development of Abbott House, with its majestic underpass. I hope the character of this park is only enhanced by its eventual extension to Pandosy Street.
On the other hand, Meikle Avenue Beach Access seems characterized by the absence of park design. The emptiest of lots, if it weren’t for the stones and stairs at the water’s edge, it would be the epitome of a blank space. I’m almost convinced the waterfront feature is a remnant of a previous residential use, only I’m not sure the land was ever anything but a road easement.
City Growth
Another part of the charm of Abbott Park is the situating of its eastern half between residential buildings and not along a street. This gives it a courtyard feel that reminds me of downtown park pockets in places like Paris. As I reflected in the log for my first Kelowna parks trip, flashes like that allow me a view of Kelowna’s potential development into a world-class city.
Future Park Development
Two of the sites we visited on this trip might be up for redevelopment and expansion sometime in the future. Though neither project is evident from the ground, signs can be seen on the city of Kelowna’s official map.
In the case of Abbott Street, the lot to the immediate east is designated as parkland on the Future Land Use tab. In the case of Cedar Avenue and Meikle Avenue Beach Access, the city has gone one step further and rezoned several adjacent lots.
Since I love to observe the development of new parks and pedestrian infrastructure, I am thrilled to know where to apply my attention in the coming years. I hope the city’s new Parks Development Cost Charge, will help speed up the implementation of some of these aspirational projects.
Conclusion
This post has only described the first half of our recent adventure. Look for Part Two soon, where I tell of our trip across Fascieux Creek, past two major city beaches and over the mouth of Wilson Creek to the Hotel Eldorado.
Once again, this walk was a conscious attempt to go after low-hanging fruit and knock a high number of parks off the list. I’ll wait until next time to tally the numbers, but I feel confident I will have improved my rate of parks per week.
This adventure was also a conscious effort to make the most out of what might be one of the last sunny, summery days of the year. Having just moved to Kelowna, I’m still getting used to how light the rain is and how short it lasts compared to Vancouver, but I can’t help feeling cloudier days are ahead.
