Naramata Creek Park

One thing is for sure. Adventuring with other families is a great way to explore new territory. With three young children, and an old dog, sticking to tried and true trails close to home is what we have been doing lately. However, we do enjoy discovering new places so my children were excited to explore Naramata Creek Park, a new-to-us hike.

Naramata Creek Park is located north of Penticton on the east side of Okanagan Lake. To get there drive north towards Naramata and just before swerving left into the small town of Naramata look for a narrow, easy to overlook, gravel road on the right side. There is park signage at the end of the gravel road. Here is a link to more directions.

The Naramata Creek Park hiking trail follows the Naramata Creek through a gulley that leads to a more canyon-like area covered in beautiful waterfalls. The hike is about 2.4 km, round trip, and takes about an hour. The first part of the trail has several well maintained bridges, a bench and picnic table. The trail is packed dirt with rocks and roots jutting out, so not stroller friendly.The first part of the trail is maintained by the RDOS but at a point along the trail the park become part of the Nature Trust. After this point there are no more bridges so if you want to hike on to see the waterfalls you must cross the creek over slippery logs, twice.

The waterfalls are worth the challenge of crossing the creek. I suspect that most able bodied persons can accomplish the task as I was able to do it while holding on to a toddler and pulling along an old dog. In the moment I felt crazy for attempting such a maneuver, especially when the poor dog got stuck trying to get over a log. After crossing the creek (twice) the waterfalls are just ahead. Once there you can lay on the large boulders and bask in the sun all the while enjoy being misted by the scenic waterfalls.

To learn more about this hike, visit my post Naramata Creek Park in the Summer.