This Quiet Corner of Canadian Wine Country Is an Idyllic Summer Escape
British Columbia's South Okanagan, a five-hour drive or 50-minute flight southeast from Vancouver, is a patchwork of pine forest threaded with rivers, sunbaked vineyards, and orchards bursting with an extravagance of peaches, cherries, and apples. The country roads that wind through the green valley are slow enough to leisurely pedal a bicycle down, dotted with faded fruit stand signs and boutique, family-run wineries.
While the entire Okanagan Valley spans nearly 125 miles from the top end to the border of Washington, this southernmost section, from the town of Naramata in the north to Osoyoos in the south, feels like it's been plucked from a bygone era. 'It's peaceful and unhurried,' says Kaitlyn Domijan, co-founder of Similkameen Sip & Cycle in the small town of Cawston. 'It felt like a secret spot no one from the city really knew about and we found it.'
Photo: Courtesy of Wine Growers British Columbia
The region marks one of Canada's few desert environments (semi-arid desert as opposed to rolling Sahara-like dunes), and the unique minerality of the soil in combination with extreme swings in temperature lend the varietals produced here a distinct flavor. The area is home to Oliver, the wine capital of Canada, as well as Cawston, the country's organic farming capital—but when travelers aren't sipping award-winning wine overlooking vineyards or savoring farm-to-table fare, there are plenty of other ways to explore. Hiking and horseback riding trails wind through fragrant ponderosa pine and wild sage, and visitors can learn about the rich Indigenous culture of the Syilx Okanagan First Nation at a state-of-the art cultural center and a winery helmed by Canada's only Indigenous winemaker.
You can't go more than a mile here without stumbling upon a scenic winery or restaurant, but here are some of the best places to stay, sip, eat, and explore in this bucolic haven.
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