Hiking Peach Cliff (Again)

The trail turnoff to the cliff is indicated by these rocks and logs. We missed it and only noticed it on the way back.

Peach Cliff mountain is well known landmark in Okanagan Falls, BC. We hiked through this area two years ago and while some aspects of our last hike were still fresh in my memory, others weren't. I did remember how to access the trail head which is located off McLean Creek Road, close to Okanagan Falls. There is no signage marking the trail and not much parking either. Look for a cattle gate beside which is small parking spot. There is a portion of the barbed-wire fence that can be opened, be sure to close it on your way through.

There are some really interesting things to see along the Peach Cliff trails which makes it a great place for families to explore. Near the beginning of the hike there is a structure filled with coring samples and a little past this structure, following a trail going left, there is a pond. This pond is what remains of Dusty Mac mine, an open pit gold mine that produced a significant amount of gold in the later part of the twentieth century. Sometimes, like on our recent visit, the pond has large schools of goldfish coloring the water orange.

Continuing on the wide trail there is plenty of beautiful flora to appreciate. Perhaps it was these lovely plants, along with my lapse in memory, that caused me to miss the trail leading up to the Peach Cliff! I should mention that the small trail veering left from the main trail is not marked by signage. There are only a few rocks and logs pointing hikers in the proper direction (see the picture above). No, we missed the turn and marched onward until we came upon a gate put in place by the Nature Trust marking off part of the Okanagan Falls Biodiversity Ranch. We continued past the gate a little ways and as the trail started sloping downhill I knew we had taken a wrong turn. Backtracking a bit we found a small trail cutting across in the direction of Peach Cliff and followed it!

Our detour added a few extra kilometers but our children were troopers (we had cookies for motivation!) and the views we lovely. Eventually we found the trail leading up to the cliff; it starts near a large metal gate. Before starting the final ascent there are several interesting to discovery in the area: a balancing rock, a cave and a geocache. We did not explore these this time, because of the extra kilometers we had already walked and the last uphill stretch still awaiting us.

The view from the top of Peach Cliff is amazing and we marveled, as one should from this vantage point. The hike back down was a breeze and we took note of our wrong turn and took several pictures to remind ourselves of where it is for next time.