Kelowna Parks Challenge – Trip #29
This week, as part of my Kelowna Parks Challenge, I travelled from DeHart Park, in the communal centre of Okanagan Mission, up Mission Ridge to the Crawford Estates neighbourhood. Along the way, I explored four parks, all very different from each other.
Read on for my discoveries and impressions!
The Trip: Bellevue Delta
This week’s adventure was a there-and-back trip, from the lower, lakeside suburbs of the Mission, up one hundred metres to the separated neighbourhood of Crawford Estates. I had hoped to get as far as the Crawford Canyon and Canyon Falls, but I found the distance between the four parks I explored to be farther than expected. I look forward to visiting the canyon and falls on a future adventure.
The highlight of the trip, for me, was the view from the top of the escarpment trail, high on Mission Ridge. It really allows one to see the underlying geological structure that has guided the development of the Mission community.
Generally speaking, Okanagan Mission, as it developed over the course of the first half of the twentieth century, sits on the delta formed by Bellevue Creek. Descending from Crawford Lake, near the top of Little White Mountain, Bellevue Creek cuts a deep ravine as it flows north towards the lakeshore. Not long after crossing Kelowna city limits, it drops over the Crawford Falls and cuts a deep canyon as it turns to the east. As it flows, the sides of the canyon widen, forming a clear delta-shaped floodplain.
Most of the older areas of Okanagan Mission occupy the western edge of the delta, along the shores of the lake. Farther east, the narrow half of the ‘V’ is occupied by Woodhaven Regional Park, which I look forward to visiting on a future adventure. Above the valley, to the south, the terrace is currently being developed into the neighbourhoods of the Ponds, while to the north, the terrace is occupied by the Crawford Estates neighbourhood.
DeHart Park
Located on the southwest corner of Gordon and DeHart, DeHart Park is still in the process of being built. Ten years ago, there were still four houses on the properties that make up this park, but plans for its development were well underway. A master plan, drawn up in 2010, lays out the improvements that this city hopes to make here: a paved entrance plaza at Gordon and DeHart, new paths, etc. In the past ten years, a lack of funds has meant that the only forward motion has been rezoning of the land and the demolition of the houses.
Developments are expected soon, however. Last year, in 2019, the city passed a law requiring a new development cost levy expressly allocated to the development of parks. DeHart Park is on a list of parks that have been waiting quite a while for the city to have enough resources to develop them.
Currently, this park’s only built feature is a community garden. Otherwise, it has a large lawn and a few stands of original ponderosa pine forest. On the west side, it shares a property line with the lot occupied by the Mission fire hall and the Okanagan Mission Community Hall, built in 1939. Once DeHart Park is developed, it is expected to combine with that neighbouring lot to provide a civic “centre of gravity” to this historic community.
Washrooms and Drinking Fountains: There is no drinking fountain in this park. There is no washroom in this park.
Dog Rules: On-leash dogs are allowed in this park.
Mission Ridge Park
This long and relatively-undeveloped nature park comprises a large section of the steep slope that separates the upper terrace of Crawford from the flat valley bottom of the Bellevue delta. As often happens with ravines and other places inhospitable to dense subdivision, this land has mostly been untouched over the years. Now that this property is a park, the wide road that runs along the base of its slope, then switches back as it heads up to the top of the ridge has been closed to motorized vehicles and transformed into a hiking and biking trail.
This park made a lovely place to hike on an early spring day. While the shady places above and below the ridge still harboured snow, the sandy, south-facing slopes of the ridge welcomed the sun and comforted me with their promise of summer to come.
Washrooms and Drinking Fountains: There is no drinking fountain in this park. There is no washroom in this park.
Dog Rules: On-leash dogs are allowed in this park.
Crawford Bridle Paths
This park comprises a trail network through the Crawford Estates neighbourhood. Seemingly unique in the city, it features no lawns or fields, no playgrounds, and no “improvements” of any kind. It gives the impression of being a series of back lanes that were never paved.
These paths make a great place to walk a dog, yourself, or, presumably, a horse. I noticed, from the snow, that the paths are well-used in the winter, by deer as well as dogs and people.
Washrooms and Drinking Fountains: There is no drinking fountain in this park. There is no washroom in this park.
Dog Rules: On-leash dogs are allowed in this park.
Redridge Park
Redridge Park is the only neighbourhood park I visited on this trip. Large enough to feature a full-sized soccer field, its only other feature is a nice children’s playground at the east end.
This park makes a great play place for the residents of Crawford. From here, as from many places in the neighbourhood, I had great views of the mountains to the south and west.
Washrooms and Drinking Fountains: There is no drinking fountain in this park. There is no washroom in this park.
Dog Rules: On-leash dogs are allowed in this park, but not near the playground or on the sportsfield.
Reflections
Floodplain
Once you’re high above the Bellevue valley, its delta structure is very clear. Having seen that, I was not surprised to look at the regional district’s Flood Management Plan and see that the entire valley bottom is considered a high-risk area for flooding. The risk comes not from the lake but from the creek.
Nevertheless, just as with Mission and Mill Creek to the north, the valley bottom is where most of the early settlement and subdivision happened. It is only in the last few decades that subdivisions like Crawford Estates and the Ponds have been built up on the terraces. It is always a little disturbing to see the appearance of houses higher and higher on the valley walls, but when you look at the map of the local floodplain, it is clear that making a space for residents to move out of danger is a good idea.
Conclusions
Four parks a week keeps me on pace. I have now seen one hundred twenty-six parks in two hundred twenty-six days, or 62% of the parks on my Official List in 62% of the year.
This walk was a great way to get a visual overview of the Mission. I loved being able to see the whole town, from the canyon to the lake, and it gives me a better idea of what to expect when I visit Woodhaven, Canyon Falls, and the Ponds.
