Kelowna Parks Challenge – Trip #35
This week, as part of my Kelowna Parks Challenge, I explored five waterfront parks in Kelowna’s Lower Mission neighbourhood. I saw a variety of parks, including family-friendly Sarsons Beach, as well as smaller beach access parks.
Read on for my impressions and reflections!
The Trip
This week’s string of five parks made for a nice stroll through a beautiful neighbourhood. Though a continuous beach walk wasn’t possible due to the high water at this time of year, the City has included enough pedestrian walkways and bridges that a walkers can find a more direct route through this neighbourhood than is possible by car.
As I’ve written before, the modern settlement of Okanagan Mission is built on the delta of Bellevue Creek, with its “town centre” consisting of the section of Lakeshore Road from DeHart, site of the Okanagan Mission Community Hall, to Collett Road, site of St Andrews Anglican Church and the neighbourhood’s only commercial zoning. This week, I explored the area to the west of that, including crossings of both the main channel and north fork of Bellevue Creek.
Bellevue Creek
Like any deltaic creek mouth, that of Bellevue Creek used to be a braided array of seasonal channels, but over the past century, all secondary streams have been pruned away leaving the main channel to conduct all of the creek’s water to Okanagan Lake. The relict north fork is only fed by storm sewers along its last kilometre or so but is still designated an overflow channel for the creek’s primary course.
As far as I can tell, the suburban development on the north side of the creek is older than that to the south. To the north, one can find houses going back to the 1960s, while to the south, much of the waterfront was subdivided only twenty years ago. Nevertheless, both sections give much the same impression today, that of a bedroom community with a mix of large and small houses, and everywhere large trees and abundant undergrowth.
Sarsons Beach Park
Like Hobson Beach Park and Bluebird Beach Park, both of which I explored last week, this park has been expanded from a former beach access park. The difference is, the expansion happened some time ago, with the addition of the northern property, home to the Okanagan Mission Activity Centre, so the overall design has been long-implemented and this park has already become well-known as an excellent family destination.
The city isn’t finished with expanding this park, however. Just this year, they razed the house on the property to the south, which they acquired back in 2008, in preparation for its incorporation. Additionally, they have removed most of the hedge between the activity centre and the playground, to improved sightlines through the park and give night-time partiers less cover for their illegal activities.
Washrooms and Drinking Fountains: There is no drinking fountain in this park. There is a permanent washroom in this park. It is closed in the winter.
Dog Rules: Because this park is primarily a beach, dogs are not allowed.
Eldorado Road Beach Access
This traditional beach access park is dominated by a large, concrete chlorine treatment facility. Other than that, it has an asphalt roadway and a small parking lot. There is no bench or picnic table here.
Despite its somewhat uninviting design, this park gives access to the same wonderful lake waters that any other local beach does. It might not be a great place for a picnic, but it is a fine place for a swim.
Washrooms and Drinking Fountains: There is no drinking fountain in this park. There is no washroom in this park.
Dog Rules: Because this park is primarily a beach, dogs are not allowed.
Cascia Linear Park
This short linear park is more of a way to provide public access to the last two hundred metres of Bellevue Creek than an urban trail providing a pedestrian and cyclist route connecting disparate parts of the metropolitan area. As such, it is a fabulous opportunity to get in touch with an important and beautiful natural feature.
The right bank of the creek was reinforced with riprap and the path widened after the flood of 2017. This gave the park more of a dike-walk feel and made it more difficult for visitors to do any more damage to the sensitive riparian ecosystem than has already been done. Because of this, it is one of the few urban waterfront parks to allow dogs access to the lake, an opportunity that was not missed by most of the visitors I saw during my exploration.
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.
Collett Road Beach Access
This park is a perfect and idyllic example of what a traditional, narrow beach access park can be. Carpeted with lush green grass and featuring a few lovely trees, this spot doesn’t just give locals access to the lake. It gives them a relaxing environment to do it in.
Adorned with a bench and a garbage can, this park shares its parking lot with the multi-family development to the south. It might not be a destination park, but it is a wonderful asset for a lovely neighbourhood.
Washrooms and Drinking Fountains: There is no drinking fountain in this park. There is no washroom in this park.
Dog Rules: Because this park is primarily a beach, dogs are not allowed.
Farris Road Beach Access
The second beautiful access park in a row, this park is just as beautiful as the Collett Road access park. It is slightly wider than that park, which allows for more landscaping and more features.
In addition to a larger parking lot, this park has a pretty little playground right on the beach.
Washrooms and Drinking Fountains: There is no drinking fountain in this park. There is no washroom in this park.
Dog Rules: Because this park is primarily a beach, dogs are not allowed.
Reflections
The city’s recent traffic management report pointed out that some of the busiest rush hour traffic in Kelowna occurs along the stretch of Lakeshore road that passes in front of Anne McClymont Elementary. Partly, that is due to parents pulling in and out of the school parking lot, dropping off and picking up their kids, but it is also because Okanagan Mission is a bedroom community where most of the residents commute by car to work in other neighbourhoods such as Downtown and Midtown.
That quiet, peaceful bedroom community character was evident to me as I strolled along its suburban streets. I love the sight of lush, somewhat-overgrown gardens, so was delighted by the abundant foliage I found on display. The established affluence of the neighbourhood was also evident in the range of ages on display when it came to large, stylish houses. I saw one large house that looked like it had been very fashionable in the 1980s, with a professionally-landscaped yard whose weeds needed some attention.
Conclusions
With the addition of this week’s five parks to my overall total, I have now seen one hundred fifty-seven of the two hundred three parks on my official list in two hundred seventy-six days or 77% of the parks in 76% of the year. Things are still close, but I’m still ahead.
One of the remaining parks, Canyon Falls, is currently closed for visitor safety due to the high water level in local creeks. I am, however, optimistic that it will open sometime in the next couple of months as water levels drop over the summer.
