Summerland

Summerland is in British Columbia, Canada. It is a small community of 11,600 (2016) people in the Okanagan Valley. The architecture of the downtown area is done in Old English Tudor.

Understand
Summerland began its life on the lake. At first, Summerland was nestled in the tiny strip of land between Okanagan Lake and the foreboding clay cliffs that covered the settlement in shadow by mid afternoon. The first recorded settler to this area was in 1887, and some of his family's descendants are still in the area. The area had electricity in 1905, telephones in 1907, and a newspaper the next year. Growth was fast.

This area is commonly referred to as lower town.

With the arrival of the Kettle Valley Railway in 1915, West Summerland (the location of the present town centre) was born. When the alignment of Highway 97 was moved from lowertown up to the plateau in 1955 and the post office was moved to "West Summerland" in 1964 the 'West' was dropped and the entire area was then referred to as Summerland.

Summerland has grown to include Trout Creek, which arcs into Okanagan Lake south of town, Prairie Valley, which leads west of town, and the huge agricultural benchland that sits behind Giants Head Mountain.

By plane
There is no airport in Summerland. Penticton airport is  to the south. Kelowna airport is 65 km to the north.

By car
Highway 97 is the only highway into town. It runs south from Kelowna and north from Penticton. Vancouver is 420 km (261 mi) to the west. Calgary is 689km (428mi) to the east. Seattle is 519km (322mi) to the southwest.

Get around
The downtown core is easily walked in under 15 minutes from end to end. While Summerland has a modest population, the residential area is spread over a huge area with many steep hills to climb while you enjoy the breathtaking views this wonderful town has to offer.

By public transit

 * Bus route 30 operates between Summerland and Penticton (25 min, $3) from Monday to Saturday.
 * Bus route 70 operates between Penticton and Kelowna with stops in Summerland, Peachland, and West Kelowna. Route operates from Monday to Friday. Travel time from Kelowna is about 45 minutes and from downtown Penticton is about 20 minutes.
 * Bus route 70 operates between Penticton and Kelowna with stops in Summerland, Peachland, and West Kelowna. Route operates from Monday to Friday. Travel time from Kelowna is about 45 minutes and from downtown Penticton is about 20 minutes.

See




Do

 * Spend the day at one of Summerland's six beaches:
 * in Trout Creek.
 * in lowertown.
 * in lowertown.
 * in lowertown.
 * in Trout Creek.
 * in lowertown.
 * See also "Drink" section for some of the locations.

Drink


For nightclubs, you will have to go fifteen minutes south to Penticton.

Wineries
Wine from one of the many local wineries. New wineries pop up all the time. And old ones change hands or names. Note, winery store hours vary seasonally.

Cope

 * The nearest hospital is in Penticton.