UPDATE! AUTUMN 2017

Due to the 2017 spring flooding there is a short section of this trail that is closed due to trail erosion. 

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Glen Canyon Regional Park is another great spot in the Okanagan Valley for a family adventure. The 74 hectare park is located in West Kelowna and follows Powers Creek as it flows down into Okanagan Lake. The park is divided into two sections: the north end (located north of Highway 97) and the south end (located south of Highway 97). The trails at the north end of the park are more rustic while the trails at the south end are more developed. Unfortunately, the two sections of the park are not connected by trails.

We have yet to explore the north end of Glen Canyon, but we did recently explore the south end. To access the south Glen Canyon take the exit for Gellatly Road from Highway 97 in West Kelowna. There are two Gellatly Road exits along the highway so if you miss the first, catch the second. The park entrance is located on Gellatly Road and clearly marked with a large Glen Canyon Regional Park sign. Don’t confused the park entrance with the Rotary Trails park which is close by.

The main trail that goes trough the south section of Glen Canyon is the Glen Canyon Greenway. This trail is 2.2 km one way (4.4 km return) and clearly marked by blue signs. There are two shorter trails that offshoot from this main trail: The Doe Trail and The Buck Trail (see map).

We hiked the Glen Canyon Greenway on a cool rainy afternoon at the beginning of April. My youngest (5) stayed home, still recovering from a cold, so our pace was a bit quicker than usual which kept us nice and warm. The first thing we encountered on this trail was stairs! Lots of big beautiful stairs! There are several big sets of stairs to climb and descend along the first part of the trail so, as you can guess, this trail is not stroller friendly. After the stairs, the trail continues to follow Power Creek up Glen Canyon. It’s actually quite a nice trail because it varies quite a bit. Sometimes the trail is wide and out in the open, then it narrows and passes through trees. There are many smaller sets of stairs here and there, and a big white bridge spanning the canyon at the end of the trail. It took us about two hours to hike the Glen Canyon Greenway Trail in and out. That’s pretty quick for us!