Okanagan Valley

Just a few miles wide and 120 miles long, the Okanagan Valley owes its existence to a glacier that buried the land in ice a mile and a half thick about 15,000 years ago. The ice melted, leaving behind a chain of deep lakes framed by midsize mountains that rise 4,000 feet above the valley floor. The valley had a lot going for it long before its wineries began making premium wines a decade or two ago. Generations of outdoor fun-seekers have flocked here from Vancouver and Calgary (five and eight hours by car, respectively) to hike, bike, climb, camp, boat, swim, fish and golf in naturally beautiful surroundings. Long, sunny summer days add to the allure, and to the ideal growing conditions for the peaches and pears, apples and apricots, berries, cherries, plums and grapes that have given the Okanagan its reputation as British Columbia's fruitbasket.