Summerland is located on Highway 97 on the western shore of Okanagan Lake, 12 miles (20 km) north of Penticton and 18 miles (28 km) south of Peachland. Directly across Okanagan Lake is the community of Naramata. Summerland is serious fruit growing country, rivaled only by Kelowna as the biggest growing and processing town in the Okanagan. Only in the Okanagan could you find Eden-like farms and orchards, world-renowned wineries, and rustic heritage ranches all in one place.
Our scenic journey to the town of Princeton is beautifully situated in the foothills of the Cascade Mountains, where the Tulameen and Similkameen rivers meet, and serving as the southern gateway to the British Columbia Interior. In the early 1800s the fur traders traveling the Hudson Bay's Brigade Trail from the west coast to the interior of BC called the town Vermillion Forks. In 1860 Governor James Douglas changed the name to Princeton, in honor of the Prince of Wales who was visiting that year.
Long before the arrival of the first white settler to the area, the land at the confluence of the Similkameen and Tulameen Rivers was inhabited by the Indian nations of the area. Several miles up the Tulameen are the Vermillion Bluffs, the source of the highly prized red ochre used for trading and face painting by many different Indian nations.
Historical sites in the area include Granite Creek, founded by Johnny Chance when he stopped here for a drink of water and discovered gold nuggets lying at the bottom of the creek, Blakeburn, the home of an underground coal mine in the early 1900s, Coalmont, named after the coal deposits mined after the gold at Granite City ran out, Tulameen, originally known as Otter Flats, and Hedley, site of the famous Nickel Plate Mountain and the newly opened Mascot Mine site, perched on cliffs high above the community. You can also meander along the Historic Walk around downtown Princeton, a centre for mining in the old days, and discover a bit about the town's history and heritage, with a short story about each site.
Nestled peacefully in the shadow of K Mountain on the banks of the Similkameen River, in the beautiful Similkameen Valley, is the colorful village of Keremeos, 48 kilometres southwest of Penticton. Keremeos is located at the junction of Highway 3 and Highway 3A, 30 miles (48 km) southwest of Penticton, 30 miles (48 km) northwest of Osoyoos, and 42 miles (67 km) southeast of Princeton.
Today, the well-preserved early 1900s buildings give the town a distinctive Old West feel. Cattle Ranching, hay ranging and fruit growing are the economic mainstays here, with cherry, peach, pear, apricot and apple orchards blanketing the landscape. If you visit the town in the summer, you'll be delighted by the plethora of fruit and vegetable stands in the area (many of them organic) - more per capita than in any other fruit-growing area in Canada! The South Similkameen Valley is also home to some of the best grape growing land available.
Keremeos is home to one of the finest displays of pioneer life and heritage gardens in the Okanagan at the Grist Mill and Gardens. Visitors can view a historic water-powered Grist Mill, built in 1877 by Barrington Price. Now Western Canada's oldest flour mill, and the only one remaining with most of its machinery intact, it provides a unique opportunity to preserve and present an industry that played an important part in the settlement history of British Columbia. Area wineries include Crowsnest Vineyards at Cawston and St. Laszlo Estate Winery at Keremeos.
Includes: The communities of Penticton, Oliver, Okanagan Falls, Keremeos, Princeton, and Hedley. The Gristmill, Boutique Shopping, Hotels, Heritage Features, Agritourism Attractions, Wineries, Museums, Art Galleries and Performance Venues, Art Studios, First Nations.
