Kelowna Parks Challenge – Trip #31
This week, as part of the Kelowna Parks Challenge, I explored five parks along the lakeshore in one of the outermost limits of the city of Kelowna. Among those, I saw a wide variety of parks, including small, beach access parks and a large, regional park.
Read on for my impressions and reflections
The Trip
As regular readers will know, by this point in the Kelowna Parks Challenge I have visited almost all of the urban parks in Kelowna. Most of those that are left to explore lie far from the city centre, on the outskirts of town. This week, however, I went farther than I strictly needed to and visited parks at one of the city’s geographic extremes. Partially, this was in the interest of facilitating physical distancing during the COVID-19 pandemic, but it was also because I have been very eager to get back to the beaches, now that the weather is getting warmer.
Skipping past the beachfront parks of the Mission, for now, this week I journeyed south of that southernmost urban centre, to the place where the lakeshore curves westward. There, Kelowna’s north-facing southern slopes come down nearly to the water’s edge and remote subdivisions are interspersed with wineries and large rural lots. The parks in this area are largely organized around the major creeks that drain the mountainsides.
Braeloch Road Beach Access Park
This park provides the only public beach access in the Braeloch neighbourhood. Located only a few blocks from Cedar Creek Park, it is not extensively developed. While sand has been deposited along the shore here and a picnic table has been installed, none of the upland area has been landscaped.
In addition to the beach and the picnic table, this park is home to a small hut housing the chlorination station for the local area, a sign that this neighbourhood is outside the boundary of the larger urban water system.
Washrooms and Drinking Fountains: There is no drinking fountain in this park. There is no washroom in this park.
Dog Rules: Because it is a beach, dogs are not allowed in this park.
Cedar Creek Park
This beautiful park occupies a bluff and a beach with a great view of West Kelowna. The upland areas are grassy and cleared of most trees, while the long, rocky beach is lined with a wide, gravel path. At the western end of the park, a shallow boat launch is available to the public.
In addition to a large number of picnic tables with a view, the main attraction of this park is that it is completely open to off-leash dogs. They are allowed to roam the upland fields as well as the length of the beach, all without fences to contain them.
Washrooms and Drinking Fountains: There is no drinking fountain in this park. There are two portable washrooms in this park, one by the upper parking lot and one by the lower parking lot.
Dog Rules: Off-leash dogs are allowed in all areas of this park.
Lebanon Park
This park is the starting point for the Lebanon Creek Greenway, a regional park/trail that leads south into the hills, eventually connecting to the John Family Conservancy. Between Lebanon Park and the regional park, the trail passes through a large Scouts Canada property, home to Camp Dunlop.
Lebanon Park does not have any features that aren’t related to the Greenway trailhead. It has a parking lot, a lawn, and signage. It also features a section of the creek, itself.
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.
Bertram Creek Regional Park
This large regional park has the most features of any of the Central Okanagan’s regional parks. In addition to three beaches and two picnicking pavilions, this park has a fishing pier, a playground, and a large, shaded amphitheatre.
Seventy-five percent of this park burned during the Okanagan Mountain wildfire of 2003. This has made for a dramatic contrast between the forested eastern side of the park and the dry and grassy western side.
Washrooms and Drinking Fountains: I did not find a drinking fountain in this park. There are three permanent washrooms in this park. On the east side, there is an outhouse with no running water. In the centre of the park, beside the playground, there is a seasonal washroom with plumbing. There is also an outhouse with no running water on the way down to the western beach.
Dog Rules: Because it is nature park with a beach and a playground, dogs are not allowed in this park.
Swick Road Beach Access Park
This, the westernmost of Kelowna’s beach access parks, lies at the end of a road that services several very large residential lots lying nearly at the city’s limits. Unfortunately, access to the park is currently prevented by a gate that has been installed across the road’s right of way.
From maps, it appears to be a small park with a small building, possibly a chlorination building, as in Braeloch Beach Access Park.
Washrooms and Drinking Fountains: There is no drinking fountain in this park, as far as I know. There is no washroom in this park, as far as I know.
Dog Rules: Because it is a beach, dogs are not allowed in this park.
Reflections
Social Distancing
I visited this week’s parks during March, when the COVID-19 pandemic hadn’t touched Kelowna much, yet. Nevertheless, provincial health authorities had already instructed people to maintain physical distance. Happily, the Provincial Health Officer also made it clear that getting out for a bit of exercise was still an excellent use of one’s time.
It was clear to me, as I drove around Kelowna this week, that many residents didn’t need to be told twice. I saw many people out for a walk or a bike ride, picnicking in parks, or playing with their dog or child. Not everyone was making an effort to physically distance themselves, however. At Knox Mountain Park, in particular, the parking lot was overflowing with cars. I suspect that’s because that is the first park people think of when they want to go for a hike.
In contrast, I took the opportunity to go to some of the farthest-flung parks in Kelowna. By visiting parks in the far southwest I hoped to put myself in parks that, if not empty of people, were at least sparsely populated. In that I was successful. Though many dog owners in Cedar Creek Park, for example, appeared to have no problem getting friendly with each other while their dogs got likewise friendly, I at least was able to stay as far away from them as I liked.
Dog Park Use
This week provided an interesting contrast that was wonderfully illustrative of widespread dog-and-park habits. On the one hand, I explored the wonderful Cedar Creek Park, where off-leash dogs wander unrestrained, save by the power of their master’s voice; on the other hand, I explored the precious Bertram Creek Regional Park, where dogs are not permitted, even on a leash.
Despite the presence of several unleashed dogs in Bertram Creek Park, I am happy to report that they accompanied fewer than half of the parties of visitors we encountered in that park. Meanwhile, in Cedar Creek Park, I was the only party present without a dog. This tells me that, even though many people believe that they themselves are the best judge of where to bring their dog and when to leash them, more people understand that one should only bring one’s dog to a park where they are allowed.
Denial of Access to Beach Access Parks
This week was the first week I tried to explore a public park but was denied access. From the look of things, the resident of the lot adjacent the Swick Road right of way has converted said public route into a personal access lane. I assume there aren’t a lot of people seeking access to that park and subsequently making a stink to the City about the lack of said access.
Honestly, from the maps I have studied, I expect to encounter this phenomenon again. As in the far south, there are areas to the north of Downtown, such as McKinley, where expansive landscaping appears to cross property lines into beach access rights of way, leaving no room for a public trail. On the other hand, that’s what I expected from Poplar Point Beach Access Park, and was pleasantly surprised to find a well-marked trail. Once again the thrill of the unknown infuses my explorations with the spirit of adventure.
Conclusions
This adventure was highly-rewarding. I was glad to get out and see Kelowna’s southwest coast, with its different views of West Kelowna and Downtown, and I was happy to get a chance to visit another regional park. My efforts to physically distance myself were effective, and the weather was beautiful.
With the five parks I explored this week, I have now seen one hundred thirty-six of the two hundred and three parks on the Official List in two hundred and forty-one days, or 67% of the parks in 66% of the year. I’m not too far ahead of pace, but my flexibility is slowly increasing. I look forward to seeing what I can see next week!
