Welcome back again to our look at the very best Penticton and area has to offer, as chosen by you, our readers, and presented by our friends at Visit Penticton.
Today, we check out tourist attractions. But only those situated within city limits. Next week we'll examine all the great stuff that lies outside the city.
Making the finals this year were city must-sees like the celebrated sternwheeler SS Sicamous, wonderfully preserved on the Okanagan Lake waterfront as a landlocked museum and events centre.
And Munson Mountain on the Naramata Bench, where a steep but short ten-minute hike to the top rewards you with quite possibly the most majestic views in the region -- in every direction. Okanagan Lake to the west, Penticton and Skaha Lake to the south, and orchards, vineyards and farms to the north and east.
But which are our top trio of vote-getters? Come with us to find out in this, the "Best Tourist Attractions inside City Limits."
Bronze: KVR Hiking Trail
It was once the Kettle Valley Railway, extending all the way from the West Kootenays to Hope. But when the trains disappeared, the remaining corridor became one of the prettiest multi-use trails in the country.
Now known as the KVR Trail, the very best segment of it is arguably right here in Penticton.
The most popular branch of the KVR begins in the northeast quadrant of town and winds its way along the Naramata Bench, past orchards and vineyards, over a trestle and through a forest, offering jaw-dropping elevated views of Okanagan Lake along the way.
The KVR picks up again on the south side of town, leading toward Okanagan Falls along the western edge of Skaha Lake. It's a completely different feel here, just inches above the lake and sometimes just a couple feet from it, like a long, never-ending beach.
Equally at home with walkers, runners or bikers, the KVR is Penticton's not-so-secret secret.
Silver: Float Penticton Channel
There are a lot of great ways to do nothing in Penticton. Most of them involve a beach blanket and sunscreen.
But not many will let you start at one end of town and end up at the other, soaking up the rays and splashing around like a little kid the entire way. Float Penticton Chanel is lots of fun!
It's the Penticton Channel, essentially a lazy river that flows from Okanagan to Skaha Lake. And when it comes to floaties, there's nothing quite like it. You drop your tube in the water at the north end of town and get in. Seven kilometers later -- anywhere from 90 minutes to three hours depending on current water speed -- you jump out. You can paddle as you float, though most opt to lay back and relax.
Of course you'll need to get back to the start from the exit. And that's why there are businesses that not only rent floaties but provide return bus trips too.
However you do it, floating the Channel is one of Penticton's greatest summer treasures.
Gold: LocoLanding Adventure Park
Built in the early 2001 by Adolf & Lesley Steffen to honour their son Mike, tragically killed in a worksite accident two years earlier, LocoLanding has since become Penticton's very own Disneyland.
Well, it's not quite to that level yet, but from spring through late summer every year, it's the coolest place in town to take kids of any age.
What can kids do at LocoLanding? More appropriately, what can’t they do?
They can drive a go-kart, with or without a parent on board. They can navigate the "high level ropes course" where they'll walk tightropes and so much more high above the ground below.
They can bounce like crazy in the ginormous inflatable park called "Badlands," they can climb walls, they can pilot bumper boats, they can jump 18 feet into the sky at "Monkey Motion," and they can even play a game of mini golf -- as can adults.
And when they're done, it's just a short walk to Okanagan Lake Beach. And Coyote Cruises, where the family can rent floaties for a relaxing ride down the adjacent Penticton Channel.
Little wonder LocoLanding walked away with our gold.
