Lake Country

The Okanagan's orchard heart — vineyards, lakes, and the legendary Okanagan Rail Trail.

Lake Country is a district municipality in the central Okanagan, sitting between Kelowna to the south and Vernon to the north on the shores of Wood Lake and Kalamalka Lake. It is one of the most beautiful stretches of the Okanagan Valley — a landscape of orchards, vineyards, and turquoise lakes that captures everything that makes the Okanagan special. The Okanagan Rail Trail passes through Lake Country on its way between Kelowna and Vernon, and this section of the trail — running along the shores of Wood Lake and Kalamalka Lake — is widely considered the most scenic stretch of the entire route. The trail follows the old CN Rail corridor and provides a flat, paved path for cycling, walking, and inline skating with extraordinary lake and mountain views throughout. Kalamalka Lake, which borders Lake Country to the north, is one of the most beautiful lakes in the world. Its extraordinary turquoise colour, caused by marl deposits that refract light in the water, shifts from brilliant jade green to deep sapphire depending on the season and the light. Kalamalka Lake Provincial Park protects the southern end of the lake and offers swimming beaches, hiking trails, and viewpoints that are among the finest in the Okanagan. The Lake Country wine trail is one of the most productive in the Okanagan, with numerous wineries taking advantage of the exceptional growing conditions along the lake benches. The area is also famous for its fruit stands, with cherries, peaches, and apples available throughout the summer from roadside stands that have been a fixture of the Okanagan landscape for generations.