2. Cedar Mountain Regional Park Viewpoint

Category: Return

Distance: 2.6 km round trip

Height gain: 69 m

High point: 807 m

Time: 1–2 hrs. round trip

Difficulty: Easy

Seasons: Spring, summer, late fall

Trailhead coordinates: N49 46.444 W119 31.287

Directions to trailhead: From the intersection of Highway 97 and Gordon Dr. in downtown Kelowna, drive south on Gordon for 6.7 km to DeHart Rd. Turn right on DeHart and drive for 400 m to reach Lakeshore Rd. Turn left onto Lakeshore Rd. and travel 1.5 km to a traffic-controlled intersection. Continue straight through the intersection onto what is now Chute Lake Rd. (At this intersection, Lakeshore Rd. continues as a 90° right turn.) Drive along Chute Lake Rd. for 3.2 km and turn left onto Mountainside Dr. Travel on Mountainside for 600 m until you reach Chute Lake Rd. (again), which is now a gravel road. Turn right onto Chute Lake Rd. and drive 1.6 km. The parking lot for Cedar Mountain Regional Park is on your right.

Not many trails in this area offer such generous sights for such nominal effort as the trails in this park do. There is minimal elevation gain and very little hiking distance. The trail runs through the remains of a forest that was destroyed by fire in the summer of 2003.

  1. The trek begins as a flat walk on a dirt road, and in a couple of minutes the trail crosses Lebanon Creek on a small bridge.
  2. The trail continues its reasonably flat course, gaining only 12 m of elevation for about 600 m until it intersects with a second dirt road deviating off to the right toward some rock bluffs. Take the right fork here, as these bluffs are the ultimate goal of this hike. The main road you just left carries on for only another five minutes or so, whereupon it ends at the park boundary though continuing as a private drive.
  3. Watch closely now for a single-track path that leaves this road within a couple of minutes, also departing to the right. Get on this single-track trail.
  4. The trail takes you down a steep face into a gully only to bring you back up a steeper rock wall on the other side. It will take you several minutes to make your way up the wall as it switchbacks its way between layers of rock.
  5. The trail will plateau to open grass at the top of the rock wall, and right away you should look for another trail veering off to the left. Continuing straight presents its own rewards of scenery and is worth the tangent if you have the time.
  6. By taking the left trail, your journey up to the top of the uppermost bluff is greatly assisted by 50–60 stone steps. Someone has contributed many hours of labour to provide this beautiful staircase, taking you close to the summit of the highest bluff.
  7. Where the stone steps end, the voyage resumes on a soil path, still climbing but only for about five more minutes. The way to the large summit is marked with cairns.
  8. Views from the summit of this flat-topped bluff are magnificent. The obvious spectacle is Okanagan Lake to the west, northwest and north, but looking behind you to the west and south, you can still view the destruction of the fires of 2003 for almost as far as you can see.

The Cedar Mountain viewpoint offers views aside from a burnt forest. There is a clear line of sight up and down Okanagan Lake. The top view is to the north, while the bottom image is looking south.