Lake Country is in the Okanagan region of British Columbia. It is a collective name for administrative and travel purposes given to the communities of Winfield, Oyama, Okanagan Centre and Carr's Landing.
Get in
edit- Kelowna International Airport is located about 10 minutes south of Lake Country by car along Highway 97.
Get around
edit- You're can bike or walk around the area as most of the roads off the highway aren't usually that busy. There are bike lanes and pedestrian areas along most of these roads as well.
By public transit
edit- BC Transit (Kelowna Regional Transit System), ☏ +1-250-860-8121. Operates bus service in Lake Country, Kelowna, Peachland, and West Kelowna. Bus drivers are generally courteous and will on request call ahead to your next bus to facilitate a timely transfer. When school is in session, expect to miss a bus (or two) due to over-filled buses. Check the user website for more details and schedules. $2.50 cash fare as of 2022.
- BC Transit (Vernon Regional Transit System), ☏ +1-250-545-7221. Operates bus route 90 multiple times daily between Vernon and Kelowna with a stop along the way in Lake Country.
By taxi
edit- Apple Cabs, ☏ +1 250-451-9560.
- Checkmate Cabs Ltd, ☏ +1 778-738-0848.
- Current Taxi, ☏ +1-250-864-8294.
- Kelowna Cabs, ☏ +1 250-762-2222, toll-free: +1-800-375-9848.
See
edit- 1 Lake Country Museum, 11255 Okanagan Centre Road West, ☏ +1 250-766-0111, lcmuseum@shaw.ca. A bit of history on Okanagan Lake. This museum has a lot of neat things to look at. The staff there is friendly and know a lot about the history of the area.
- Access to many different lakes (Okanagan Lake, Wood Lake, Duck Lake, Kalamalka Lake, Beaver Lake, Dee Lake)
- Various hiking areas
- Beaches in the immediate area
Do
edit- Wine tasting. Lake Country is at the north end of the Okanagan's vineyard and winery region. See the "Drink" section for local wineries.
- 1 Creekside Theater, 10241 Bottom Wood Lake Rd, ☏ +1 250-766-9309. Offers lots of local, and non-local acts including music, plays, and films. Located just off Highway 97N (Berry Road Intersection) on Bottom Wood Lake Road. It's easy to find, and is a pleasant place to sit back and enjoy some local talent.
- Various hiking trails in the area - Drive up Beaver Lake Road, and there are a few trails along the way. A popular one for hikers/atv/dirtbikers is The High Rim Trail - which runs from Vernon, through Lake Country to Kelowna. WALC (walk around lake country) has created a map of walking trails.
- Art Walk. Held in September. A show for local artists to show off their talent. Always a really interesting thing to go and see - you can also buy pieces of art from the artists. There are things for children to do, and there is live music throughout most of the two days.
- 2 Oyama Zipline, 5617 Oyama Lake Rd, ☏ +1 250-548-4129, toll-free: +1-888-947-2869. Awesome three-hour course with 3,900 ft (1,200 m) of zip lines. Operates seasonally.
- Lots of opportunites to do water sports in the summer - you can choose from one of the many lakes in the area, and test your skills at wakeboarding, water skiing, or just dragging the kids behind the boat in tubes.
- 3 Swalwell Park. Includes a skatepark for all those skateboarder/bmx lovers out there, Trethewey Spray Park for all those children looking for relief from the heat, a baseball diamond, soccer field, and various sculptures in the area. Open seasonally.
- Various sport areas - soccer, baseball, basketball. Every park located in Lake Country has a soccer field. 4 Reiswig Park (Located on Woodsdale Road) is the most popular park for soccer. It also has a beach area, as well as a trail that leads to 5 Beasley Park(which also has beach access) that is right beside it. Reiswig park also has picnic tables that can be used for families to picnic at. 6 Jack Seaton Park has walking trails, baseball diamonds, and a tennis court available for the public to use.
- Many different beaches to swim at. As already mentioned, there is Reiswig park, and Beasley Park (located adjacent to each other on Woodsdale Road)
There are also beaches in OK Center (Follow Oceola Road down). There is also a 7 boat launch in OK Center - with enough room to park your vehicle and trailer there. Watch out though, the road down there is small and winds a lot, and a lot of traffic builds up down there in the summer.
Buy
edit- 1 Farmer's Market (inside Swalwell Park). June 1 to September 30, 3PM to 6PM every Friday..
- 2 Lake Country Town Centre, 9950 Main St, ☏ +1 250-717-3000, toll-free: +1-844-717-3001. A strip mall with several strip malls in the vicinity. Most of Lake Country's retail stores are in this area along side Highway 97.
- 3 Lakewood Mall, 11852 Hwy 97, ☏ +1 250-766-3812. and nearby stores:
Eat
editThere is a variety of choices food wise in Lake Country, it just depends on how much time you have, and what you're in the mood for.
Pubs
edit- 1 Woody's Pub, 9882 Highway 97 (Pollard Rd intersection), ☏ +1 250-766-2310. Woody's has a good food menu, and a good drink selection. It's a pub that allows smoking, but you hardly notice it outside of the smoking area, as it's really well vented. There is also a patio you can sit on when the weather is nice. They have drink specials, and food specials every day - and it's a really good deal, you get a lot for how much you pay. Try the Sunday's Steak Sandwich special - it comes with fries, caesar salad, and a steak onto of garlic bread - it's really good. The staff there is really friendly, and seem to always come to offer you more drinks right when your glass is empty. They also have fun things like karaoke nights, live bands that play, sports events and other events that take place throughout the month. It gets really busy in there on weekend nights, but you can still always manage to find a table!
- 2 Turtle Bay Marina Pub, 2850 Woodsdale Rd (Highway 97 and Woodsdale Rd), ☏ +1 250-766-4534. Turtle Bay is right beside Wood Lake - their patio actually looks over it. It is a family restaurant now, but they are still a pub. They have really good food, and good drink specials, and their staff is friendly as well. You cannot smoke inside the building, but you can smoke outside - not sure if you can smoke on the patio or not. Their Wing special, which is on Wednesday, is always busy as the wings are really good. If you like hot wings, go here and order their hottest - they will burn your mouth! Also, while you're there, try their Turtle Trax - which are criss-cross fries topped with nacho toppings - so good.
Sit-down restaurants
edit- 3 L'Isola Bella, 3250 Berry Rd, ☏ +1 250-766-7625. Italian restaurant
- 4 The Greek House, 3159 Woodsdale Rd, ☏ +1 250-766-0367. Serves Greek food - very good Greek food. It's a family owned business, run by a very nice couple. Their staff is friendly, and take the time out to chat with you about the food, and are always there when you need something. They also serve pitas with tzatziki dip. They also have a lot of local wines that you can have with your meal, along with a variety of other beverages. The atmosphere is friendly and inviting, and they also have a patio that you can be seated on when the weather is nice. If you are planning to go here, call ahead and make reservations - as they are always full of people!
- 5 The Jammery, 8038 Hwy 97 North, ☏ +1 250-766-1139. The Jammery serves breakfast, lunch and afternoon tea - here they serve a good variety of food made with BC fruit. There is also an area where you can watch them make jam, and can taste the jam in their gift shop. They also serve it along with their food - it's very good jam! Everyone raves about their breakfast waffles - they are huge! So, if you like waffles, and freshly made jam - you should check this place out! The Jammery is actually just south of Lake Country's city limits and actually within Kelowna's rural northern end.
- 6 The Lookout Restaurant, 1055 Camp Rd (inside Gray Monk Estate Winery), ☏ +1 250-999-4722. Inside the winery is this covered patio restaurant. The staff is friendly, and the menu has a variety of different choices. Also, it has a beautiful view, so you can't beat that! Call ahead and make a reservation, otherwise you won't get a table!
- 7 Wooden Nickel Cafe, 10051 Hwy 97, ☏ +1-604-766-5550. This place is absolutely amazing. It serves breakfast and lunch, but is closed for dinner. They have really excellent food, at good prices -their breakfast is excellent. The staff there is friendly, and always tend to your needs. The inside isn't very decorated, but don't let that throw you off - the pictures they have on their walls tell a lot about the history of the area -it's really neat to go around and look at them all. If you're in the mood for a good breakfast of eggs, toast and whatever else your heart desires - try going here! (Closed on Tuesdays.) The Wooden Nickel is open for dinner service on Thursday, Friday & Saturday nights until 8PM.
- 8 Winfield Chinese Restaurant, 8-11852 Highway 97 (within Lakewood Mall), ☏ +1 250-766-4171. They have good ginger beef.
Coffee shops
edit- 9 Lake Country Coffee House, 10356 Bottom Wood Lake Rd, ☏ +1 250-766-9006. Lake Country Coffee House serves homemade breakfast and lunch with local and organic ingredients. We have a large menu of regular and specialty coffees also including iced beverages. The coffee house shows art on there walls by local artists. Has a patio and is very cozy.
Drink
editIf you want to sit and drink in a pub, then try either Woody's Pub or Turtle Bay Marina Pub (see under "Eat") as both have specials every night of the week, and both have great staff.
- 1 Woody's Liquor Store, 9882 Highway 97 (beside Woody's Pub). Good selection of alcohol, nice staff.
- 2 BC Liquor Store, 30-10051 Hwy 97 N, ☏ +1 250-766-4044. Government owned liquor store. Generally a bit less expensive than other stores.
Wineries
edit- 3 Gray Monk Estate Winery, 1055 Camp Rd. Wine shop: Oct 8–Apr 30 10AM–5PM, May 1–Jun 29: 10AM–7PM, Jun 30 –Sep 2: 10AM–9PM, Sep 3–Oct 7: 10AM–7PM. Tours are offered Jun 1-29 and Sep 4–Oct 8 on Sa Su holidays, Jun 30–Sep 3 daily, at 11AM, 2PM & 4PM. In OK Center. Winery offering tours, Free tastings, A Restaurant and a great view of Okanagan Lake. Tour $20 tax included.
- 4 Arrowleaf Winery, 1574 Camp Rd (in OK Centre, across the road from Ex Nihilo), ☏ +1 250-766-2992. Winery and picnic spot offering tastings for $2. The winery is on a westerly facing slope with a great view of Okanagan Lake.
- 5 Ex Nihilo Winery, 1525 Camp Rd (in OK Centre, across the road from Arrowleaf Winery), ☏ +1 250-766-5522. Winery offering tastings for $5; also provides beautiful views of Okanagan Lake.
Sleep
editMotels
edit- 1 Lake Country Inn, 10010 Hwy 97 North, ☏ +1 250-766-4928. A report of bedbugs in May 2018. From $89.
- 2 Super Eight Motel, 9564 Hwy 97 North, toll-free: +1-800-536-1211. Each hotel room is equipped with a TV, iron/ironing board, hairdryer, coffee and tea maker, refrigerator, and microwave. Free Wi-Fi, outdoor Jacuzzi, and free parking. Non-smoking and accessible rooms are available, and some rooms have a full kitchenette. Free continental breakfast. From $91.
Camping & RV
edit- 3 Beaver Lake Mountain Resort, 6350 Beaver Lake Rd, ☏ +1 250-762-2225.
- 4 Dee Lake Wilderness Resort, 10250 Dee Lake Rd, ☏ +1 778-738-0345.
- 5 Holiday Park RV & Condo Resort, 415 Commonwealth Rd, ☏ +1 250-766-4255, toll-free: +1-800-752-9678.
- 6 Klub Kalamalka, 17451 Crystal Waters Rd, toll-free: +1-833-313-5582.
- 7 Ley's RV Park, 13411 Oyama Rd.
- 8 Oyama Lake Resort, 7425 Oyama Lake Rd, ☏ +1 250-862-1013.
- 9 The Orchard RV Retreat, 4391 Eyles Rd, ☏ +1 250-317-0057.
- 10 Wood Lake Terrace RV and Camping, 14808 Hwy 97, ☏ +1 250-869-8505. Lakeside setting with beach and boating. Canal connecting Wood and Kalamalka lakes, part of 50 km of waterway. Play area, kayak hire, shop and fully-serviced sites with firepit. $35.
- 11 Wood Lake Resort & Marina, 2930 Woodsdale Rd, ☏ +1 250-766-1881.