11. Stephens Coyote Ridge Regional Park – Ridge Walk

Category: Loop

Distance: 3.7 km

Height gain: 190 m

High point: 647 m

Time: 1–2 hrs. round trip

Difficulty: Easy

Seasons: Early spring, summer, late fall

Trailhead coordinates: N49 57.783 W119 25.475

Directions to trailhead: Heading north from downtown Kelowna on Highway 97, turn left on Glenmore Rd. Drive for 9.3 km to reach the North Glenmore dog park on the left side of the road. The entrance to Stephens Coyote Ridge Regional Park is on the right (north) side of the parking lot.

This effortless loop hike presents superb views of McKinley Reservoir, Lightblue Lake, Okanagan Lake and North Glenmore, as well as Kelowna off in the distance to the south.

  1. From the parking lot, get onto the wide, grassy path on the right (north) side that travels between fences on either side of the trail. This will take you into a forest within a couple of minutes.
  2. Five to ten minutes later this double-wide trail comes to a meadow that presents spectacular vistas of the local countryside.
  3. Wandering through this meadow for five minutes brings you to a T-junction. Turn right at this junction and then almost immediately take the first left down into a gully.
  4. Around 15 minutes of hiking, and 85 m of elevation gain, from the T-junction brings you to the high point of this short, yet beautiful trek. There are a couple of minor trails that connect with the main route, but maintaining the correct course will be obvious. As the trail meanders toward the high point, the blue waters of the McKinley Reservoir are easily spotted on your right, as is the much smaller Lightblue Lake. Lightblue Lake becomes more visible if you take the short detour on a faint path that departs from the high point of this trek. This unmarked viewpoint is only about 85 m off the main trail.
  5. As you leave the high point, the trail begins its descent, giving back the elevation that was previously gained.
  6. There are three main forks in the trail within the next 10–15 minutes, completing a loop back to the T-junction. Take the left fork at the first two junctures, and the right fork at the third. The third fork appears immediately after the second one.
  7. Take a quick dip in and out of a very small gully and you will return to the T-junction in just over 100 m.
  8. Turn right and make your way back to the parking lot.

The openness of Stephens Coyote Ridge Regional Park extends beautiful viewing in almost all directions.